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Why It is Important to Act Immediately After a Catastrophic Truck or Bus Crash

When there is a catastrophic truck or bus crash, the insurance and trucking companies have investigators on the scene almost immediately. No matter the time of day or night, they immediately deploy a “rapid response team” nominally directed by a defense lawyer.

We had a case in which the trucking company’s defense attorney appeared in wreck scene photos. More often they are present but are careful to avoid being photographed. In one of our cases, the truck driver logs went missing when an insurance investigator had access to the truck cab while state troopers were preoccupied with traffic control on the interstate.

Some lawyers who do not specialize in truck accident cases seem comforted by the idea that they can send a detailed “spoliation letter” demanding preservation of records and data, and federal regulations that require preservation of certain records for set periods of time. However, we have seen that trucking companies often prefer a modest fine and an “adverse inference” jury instruction over disclosure of the truth. We have even seen a trucking company remove a tractor-trailer from policy impound without permission and put it back in service, thereby erasing crucial electronic data, the day before their attorney was scheduled to meet us for a joint inspection by agreement. We arrived at the impound lot and the truck was gone.

Because of such experiences with deception, cover-ups and loss of crucial evidence, our preference when we are hired early enough in a catastrophic crash case is to immediately ask a court for an injunction for preservation and inspection of evidence.

In one recent case, a real estate lawyer close to the victim’s family called us while the victim was still on life support in the local hospital. We immediately filed a petition for temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent moving the truck or tampering with electronic evidence until we could have our expert do an inspection and download data. That gave us access to a treasure trove of evidence that could have been “lost” or destroyed if we had delayed.

The long list of items we seek to preserve under a temporary restraining order is constantly evolving. Generally, however, it includes everything in and on the truck and trailer, including a wide variety of electronically stored information. Examples include “black box” data about movements of the truck, forward-facing and driver-facing video, records of communications with the dispatcher, shipper and consignee, shipping documents, and mechanical inspection of the truck and trailer before they can be altered or put back in service.

If we do not get this kind of crucial evidence early, it may be lost forever.

Time is of the essence. If a family member is killed or catastrophically injured in a truck or bus crash, call us immediately at 404-253-7862. If it is outside normal office hours, please specify that this is a catastrophic truck or bus crash needing immediate response.

Client Reviews

My family hired Ken after our parents were killed in a trucking accident in GA in 2013. We worked with Ken for 19 months before our case settled. During this time I thought Ken was outstanding. He was accessible to us at all times and maintained consistent communication. He was patient with us and...

David U., Client

When tragedy struck our family in the form of the wrongful death of our son and caused me physical injuries and changed our lives forever, we dragged our feet about hiring a lawyer. I didn't want to face having to go through the stress. Big mistake. The first thing you do is hire local counsel. I...

Carolyn R.

After my parents were killed in a tractor truck accident on December 2013, he fought hard against the insurance companies to help my brother, sister, and I. He was honest and always available to answer any questions I had. Ken went out of his way to meet with my brother and I while on vacation in...

Joan M., Client

I first met Ken when I watched him try a very difficult case involving catastrophic injuries. He was an incredibly effective advocate and was able to obtain justice for his client. I have since come to know him as one of the state's leading trial lawyers, particularly in trucking cases, which...

John H., Attorney

Ken Shigley is an excellent trial lawyer in the area of commercial trucking. He knows the specialized rules for handling truck wreck cases for the victims and their families when tractor-trailers leave a devastating loss, catastrophic injuries and deaths. He is an advocate who understands the impact...

Myles E., Attorney

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