{"id":47034,"date":"2017-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skolnicklaw.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/dont-wait-to-hire-an-attorney-after-a-truck-accident\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T09:38:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T14:38:55","slug":"dont-wait-to-hire-an-attorney-after-a-truck-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skolnicklaw.com\/dont-wait-to-hire-an-attorney-after-a-truck-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t wait to hire an attorney after a truck accident"},"content":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019ve been in an accident with a truck, you were probably lucky to survive it!<\/p>\n
However, you\u2019re probably also facing months (or years) of painful recovery. A lawsuit is more than likely going to be necessary to preserve your rights and get you the benefits that you need in order to live.<\/p>\n
That makes it very important to hire an attorney as soon as possible because you need someone to act quickly on your behalf to make certain that evidence is preserved for your case. Otherwise, that evidence might be gone forever.<\/p>\n
Here are the types of evidence that your attorney should automatically seek to preserve through the appropriate court orders:<\/p>\n
1. The truck\u2019s electronic control module (ECM), which is essentially similar to the \u201cblack box\u201d that you hear about on airplanes. ECMs can capture everything from how often a trucker exceeded the speed limit over the last several weeks to how often he or she used the seat belt.<\/p>\n
2. Statements from witnesses that were on the scene and first responders. Paramedics, police officers, firemen and even good Samaritans who were on hand shortly after the accident need to be interviewed while their memories are fresh. They may remember off-hand comments now that they\u2019ll forget later \u2014 but those comments could be evidence that a trucker was distracted or overly-tired when the accident happened.<\/p>\n
3. The trucker\u2019s logs need to be collected before any pages are \u201clost\u201d or there\u2019s any time for information to be scrubbed from them. While most companies are honest and will turn over the books without any changes, some supervisors or company owners may give into temptation when they\u2019re facing a hefty insurance claim by someone with serious injuries \u2014 especially if they\u2019re worried that they\u2019ve violated any federal regulations regarding the number of hours their driver was on the road.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve been in a truck accident recently, contact a personal injury attorney for advice<\/a> as soon as possible.<\/p>\n