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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

West Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuit Information: Preservation of Evidence Is A Key to A Successful West Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuit by Texas Truck Wreck Lawyer Jason Coomer

West Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuit Information: Investigation of The Accident Scene and Review of Evidence Are Keys to Successfully Litigating A West Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuit by Texas Truck Wreck Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

After a truck wreck, an efficient and effective investigation can create advantages in the preservation of key evidence and information that can win a large verdict in a law suit or result in an early and large settlement of an insurance claim.  For this reason, it is important to have professionals working for you that understand how to investigate a serious accident and preserve key evidence that can prove liability or damages.  For more information on investigating West Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuits and other Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuits, please go to the following web page: Texas Truck Wreck Lawsuit Investigation Information.

Investigation at the Scene of the Accident

Immediately after an accident, the trucking company and their insurance company are typically in route to the accident scene to collect evidence that will help them avoid paying or limit the amount that they pay for any deaths or injuries that were caused by the accident.  These individuals will be taking photos and video of key evidence that will help absolve their client of liability as well as attempting to take recorded statements of key witnesses in an attempt to lock in crucial testimony from witnesses.

Even though law enforcement professionals also investigate serious wrecks, their primary purposes at the accident scene is to get people to safety, protect people from other traffic, and to clear the accident scene for traffic to resume to move and flow.  Sometimes these law enforcement professionals do an excellent job of accident investigation and can easily determine the cause of the collision or accident.  At other times, they do incomplete interviews; accept the story of one or more biased witnesses; are influenced by the trucking company or insurance company's representatives; or are too busy getting the survivors of the collision to safety, clearing the debris & vehicles, dealing with tow truck drivers, and directing traffic to properly investigate the scene of an accident.   

If possible, it is typically useful to have your own experienced accident investigator at the scene of the accident to observe the accident scene; take photographs and video of the debris, vehicles, & skid marks; and make a list of all potential witnesses with contact information.  Whether this person is a family member, friend, truck accident lawyer, off duty police officer, or other competent person that you can trust, it is often important to have someone that can properly investigate the accident scene as close to the time of the accident as possible. For the experienced accident investigator, it is useful to have working cameras, measuring tape, a reflective vest, business cards, tape recorder, and a note book or device to take names, addresses and other information.

The experienced accident investigator will carefully search for not only obvious skid marks, drop offs, crush damage, and contact points, but also for inconspicuous clues such as damage to all vehicles, damage to guard rails, scuffs, scratches, and dried liquids.  Carefully documenting and measuring this crucial evidence can be extremely important in proving liability in a fatal collision or catastrophic injury accident case.   

Like preserving wreckage and data recorders, it is important to make sure that crucial documents are preserved and obtained from all vehicle owners and drivers involved in the collision.  Documents including key maintenance records, driver logs, communications with drivers, delivery schedules, driving records, police reports, witness statements, photographs, driver safety training materials, truck owner's and operator's manual, accident investigations, and medical records can all provide crucial information regarding the cause of a truck collision.

Therefore, after a fatal accident or catastrophic injury accident, a preservation letter is often needed to preserve crucial documents that can prove fault in a truck accident or commercial vehicle collision.  A letter/notice should have language regarding spoliation of evidence and instruct the potentially at fault parties to preserve all relevant documents and information concerning the accident

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