IT'S ABOUT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY IN SEMI-TRUCK AND OTHER COMMERICAL VEHICLE COLLISIONS …

Missouri is one of the top 10 States with the most fatalities from large truck crashes in 2001, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

That is a frightening statistic. The fact is, accidents with large trucks often result in death and catastrophic injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a truck, we urge you to call Larson Law immediately. While time is of essence in most accident cases, this is especially so in a truck-crash case. Here are just a few of the reasons why:

The motor carrier must be stopped from destroying key evidence.

Although federal regulations require trucking companies to keep a driver's written log information for six months, there currently is no similar requirement to keep other information that may be critical to the case. The injury victim of a truck crash should involve a lawyer immediately so that steps may be taken to ensure that the motor carrier will not destroy this key evidence. It is imperative to obtain all information gathered by on-board recording, communications, and satellite-location devices; scale tickets; trip reports; bills of lading; inspection reports; weigh-station records; fuel reports showing all times and places of fueling prior to the crash, and each quantity of fuel purchased; internal motor carrier reports; records of driver pay; reports generated by the shippers and receivers; etc. Such evidence might reveal the truck driver's every move prior to the crash, and on occasion may even show that the driver logs were falsified in order to cover up hours-of-service violations and other illegalities.

A professional accident investigation should be commenced immediately.

trucking companies and their insurers are experienced with accidents. Many have investigator teams throughout the country who descend on the crash scene literally within hours after the crash. These trucking industry investigators naturally gather all evidence from which to conclude that the truck driver was not at fault. Contrary evidence may be ignored in the best instances, and, as mentioned above, destroyed or altered in the worst. It is therefore vital for a person injured in a truck crash to involve a qualified attorney as soon as possible after the crash, so that a thorough, professional investigation and reconstruction may be started while the truck is still there and while skid marks and other collision evidence are still fresh.

Statements and other evidence should be gathered early in the case.

The longer the injured person waits to talk to a lawyer, the more difficult it becomes to build a case based on what really happened. Witnesses should be located and interviewed as soon as possible while the crash event is still vivid. Police and emergency personnel should be contacted early, before other collisions and emergencies cloud their minds. The injured person's automobile should be preserved and inspected for any clues relevant to the collision.

Some lawyers treat a truck wreck as just a bigger-than-normal wreck. As you can see, such practice might in the end cost the injured client a lot of money where critical evidence, which might have been secured through competent lawyering and swift investigation, is instead lost, falsified, or destroyed.

Can Larson Law Help You?

If you have been injured in an accident with a large truck, and someone is not taking responsibility, call Larson Law and let us discuss your case with you on the phone. You have nothing to lose. We will not charge you a dime for our phone conversation or first meeting. If we take your case, we will do so on a contingency fee basis, so that if we recover no money for you, you will owe us no money.