What Safety Records Can Reveal After an Oregon Truck Wreck: Inspections, Screenings, and I-205 Corridor

The I-205 corridor carries heavy truck traffic, and it entails its share of risks for passenger car drivers. When you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, you have the obligation to prove negligence to win your case. There are many potential sources of evidence that can be used in your case. Your truck accident attorney can gather the physical evidence from the crash scene. They may also work directly with eyewitnesses who saw the crash. Your truck accident case may also feature safety records that can either bear directly on your accident or on the trucking company’s overall practices.

How Safety Records Can Be Important to Your Truck Accident Case

Safety records matter in several respects:

• There may be information that shows that the particular driver involved in your crash was unsafe, or that there were maintenance issues with the truck itself. This can be used to show that the trucking company was directly negligent in the circumstances surrounding your accident.
• The trucking company could be violating regulations on a company-wide basis, becoming a danger to drivers on the road. Although company-wide violations may not have a direct bearing on your accident, they can be generally helpful for your case.

Of course, direct evidence that shows what happened in your accident can be used to help prove negligence. That is the strongest form of evidence in your truck accident case. Overall evidence regarding the trucking company can show a pattern of conduct, and it can be used to strengthen your case. If you can show that the trucking company routinely fails to comply with regulations, a jury may be more likely to award you punitive damages at trial. Obtaining safety records on a company-wide basis may give you more leverage in settlement negotiations when the trucking company has reason to fear a jury.

How the Government Investigates Truck Accidents After the Fact

Government authorities will conduct an initial investigation in the wake of an accident. These inquiries are primarily conducted at the state and local level, depending on whether the road where the accident occurred was a state or county route.

In rare cases, the National Transportation Safety Board may conduct its own investigation. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will not investigate the accident itself. However, the FMCSA may give scrutiny to the trucking company itself based on what they have learned in the aftermath of the crash. They may take enforcement action against the trucking company if there have been violations of federal trucking regulations.

Specifically, the FMCSA may review on an overall basis:

• Driver qualification files
• Hours-of-service records
• Electronic logging device (ELD) data
• Vehicle inspection and maintenance records
• Drug and alcohol testing compliance
• Cargo securement practices
• Safety management practices

Your truck accident attorney will still need to conduct their own investigation of the accident. The government agencies have interests that are different from yours. Accordingly, you must have someone who represents your interests to get to the bottom of the crash and what the trucking company or driver may have done wrong.

How Your Truck Accident Lawyer Obtains Safety Records

The way that your Portland truck accident lawyer obtains safety records depends on what type they are:

• If you are seeking Federal inspection history, you can obtain safety records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Some of these records may be available through a publicly searchable database, while others may be obtained through a subpoena.
• Obtaining records of inspections conducted by states will follow a similar process. You may be able to obtain them online or subpoena them from the government if you have an active lawsuit.
• Safety records that are in the hands of the trucking company are subject to discovery in a lawsuit. Your truck accident lawyer can send a spoliation letter to the trucking company early in the process. This letter will direct them to preserve relevant evidence in your case in anticipation of possible litigation.

Ideally, it will be a combination of government records, physical evidence, and trucking company evidence that can form the basis of a winning case. For example, you may request the truck’s black box data in the discovery process. This data can show how the operator drove the truck immediately prior to the accident. The trucking company will also maintain the individual driver’s records that can show things like a dangerous history of positive drug or alcohol tests. The key is that you hire a Portland truck accident lawyer now, so they can obtain evidence before it is lost permanently.

Contact a Portland Truck Accident Law Firm to Learn More

The truck accident attorneys in Portland at Schauermann Thayer can conduct a comprehensive investigation of your crash, examining all possible sources of evidence. The first step that you can take is to schedule an initial consultation, which you can do by visiting our website or by calling us today at (360) 695-4244.