Evidence in Southlake Truck Accident Cases
Even if it seems obvious to you that the truck driver who hit your car is the one to blame for causing that collision, any claim you file against them or their employer seeking compensation for your ensuing damages will only be as strong as the evidence you have supporting that claim. Unfortunately, trucking companies know this and are not above intentionally hiding or destroying important information to keep you from holding them accountable for their negligence.
This is one of many reasons why seeking help from a skilled 18-wheeler crash attorney can be critical to achieving a favorable outcome from a lawsuit or settlement demand built around a truck wreck. Legal counsel can not only help find and preserve key evidence in Southlake truck accident cases but also build the strongest possible claim around that evidence, which accounts for all your crash-related losses.
Evidence to Prove Liability for a Crash
Most of the time, the most important piece of evidence for proving someone at fault for a Southlake truck accident through a civil lawsuit or settlement demand is the accident report generated by the police officer(s) who responded to the crash scene. On top of providing crucial information about what the officers believe happened and who they know was involved in the crash, this report may also include one or more citations against a truck driver for violating traffic laws. Such a citation could be key to proving that a specific illegal act the trucker engaged in was the main cause of the crash.
Even if the police report does include such a citation, it is usually important to have supporting evidence from other sources when trying to hold a truck driver at fault for causing a collision, such as:
- Eyewitness testimony
- Data from the truck’s black box
- Photos/videos of the accident scene
- Footage from dashboard//surveillance cameras
- Driving logs or records showing where a truck was going and what cargo it was carrying
- Inspection or maintenance records to establish whether a truck was in safe operating condition
An experienced attorney could provide irreplaceable guidance about what evidence may be needed to support a specific claim.
Evidence to Establish the Severity of Damages
Beyond just proving that a specific person’s negligence directly caused the accident, truck accident victims in Southlake will also need substantial evidence to show that they suffered “compensable losses” and then establish a fair financial value for those losses. For “economic” forms of harm like medical expenses and lost work wages, this can typically be accomplished with objective records like:
- Bills
- Receipts
- Invoices
- Previous pay stubs
Things can get much more complicated with “non-economic” damages like physical pain and psychological distress, though, since these are inherently subjective losses that each person will experience differently from another. A seasoned lawyer could help build a strong argument for compensation based on things like:
- Input from medical experts
- Testimony from friends and family
- Contemporaneous notes about pain and distress from injuries
- Comparisons to damages awarded for similar cases in past claims
A Southlake Attorney Can Go into More Detail About Evidence in Truck Accident Cases
Just like every person involved in a truck crash is unique, so is every civil claim built around this kind of incident. What may be crucial evidence for one case may be entirely irrelevant to another, and the process of finding and making effective use of different kinds of information can vary wildly depending on the circumstances.
What is almost always the same, though, is the importance of getting help from a knowledgeable lawyer to avoid any issues with evidence in a Southlake truck accident case. Call today to learn more.