Commercial vehicle accidents happen all the time. Many occur when truck drivers don’t see others in their blind spots. For instance, if you’re driving alongside a semi on the highway, the driver may not notice you and attempt to enter your lane. If that happens, there may be nowhere to go, and you could end up in a serious collision.
Every commercial vehicle accident becomes a race for investigators. Immediately after calling for medical care, it’s likely that the truck company’s insurance agent and attorney has been contacted. On top of that, a rapid response team could be on the way. This team’s entire purpose is to find evidence that can be used against the other drivers involved in the crash, so that the truck driver faces less of a threat from lawsuits.
As a passenger-vehicle driver, you need to take immediate steps to preserve evidence for yourself before it begins to go missing. You should talk to your attorney about obtaining the driver’s daily log and the truck’s black box. Some trucks have computerized system that track things like the amount of time behind the wheel, speeds traveled and other helpful information that could be used in court.
Your attorney will also make sure the truck driver is tested for drug or alcohol use following the crash along with identifying other potential causes for the collision. Getting help from your attorney and investigators is an important part of building a case against a driver who has hit you. This is a good idea for any crash, but especially for one with a commercial driver.
Source: FindLaw, “Commercial Vehicle Accidents: Race to the Scene,” accessed June 08, 2018