Quickly Hiring an Oklahoma Truck Accident Lawyer
Hiring an Oklahoma truck accident lawyer immediately will protect your rights. The insurance companies will try to gather information to try and avoid responsibility. Insurance company lawyers and investigators will often immediately reach out to the investigating officers and any witnesses. The insurance companies may try to get written statements and affidavits. By quickly hiring a lawyer after a trucking wreck, the injured person’s lawyer can immediately reach out to the investigating officer and any witnesses in order to accurately account for and preserve the memories and records of what happened in the wreck. In addition, the investigating police officer will generate a report. The injured person’s attorney can review the accident report to address any potential issues.
In some instances, a lawyer may request an addendum or supplement to the report to make sure accuracy is preserved. Additionally, the injured person’s attorney can obtain and review the dash-cam footage, body-cam footage, and 911 audio related to the wreck. All of this information will help the lawyer build the case.
The injured person’s attorney can immediately send preservation letters to the trucking company, driver and insurance companies. These letters are also commonly referred to as anti-spoliation letters. Within the letter is notice to preserve all relevant documents, data, audio, and video.
FMCSA
Most trucking companies are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”). The FMCSA’s mission is to “reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.” The FMCSA establishes safety standards and regulations for trucking companies and their drivers, including rules on driver qualifications, hours of service, and vehicle maintenance. In addition, the FMCSA requires trucking companies to retain documentation for specific periods of time.
Driver Qualification Files
Every trucking company must maintain a file for their drivers. This file includes the driver’s application for employment, a medical examiner’s certificate, road test certificate, and an annual motor vehicle record inquiry. These files must be retained for three years from the date the driver’s employment ends.
Hours of Service Records
Truck drivers are limited to the amount of time they can drive a truck during a specific time period. Trucking companies and their drivers must keep accurate and complete records of a driver’s hours of service. These records must be retained for six months from the day they were created.
Vehicle Maintenance Records
Trucking companies must maintain records for all inspections, repairs and maintenance performed on each truck. These records must be retained for one year from the date of the inspection, repair, or maintenance.
Accident Records
Trucking companies must maintain an accident register for all accidents involving its vehicles. The register must include the date and location of the accident, the numberof deaths and injuries, and a brief description of the accident. This register must be retained for three years from the date of the accident.
Drug and Alcohol Testing Records
Trucking companies must maintain records of all drug and alcohol testing performed on its drivers for five years from the date the records were created. Drivers must be tested prior to employment, randomly, and after certain injury producing accidents.
Spoliation
In Oklahoma, spoliation is the “destruction or material alteration of evidence or the failure to preserve property for another’s use in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation.” Barnett v. Simmons, 2008 OK 100, ¶ 21, 197 P.3d 12, 20. Spoliation includes “intentional or negligent destruction or loss of tangible and relevant evidence which impairs a party’s ability to prove or defend a claim.” Id. “A spoliation sanction is proper where (1) a party has a duty to preserve evidence because it knew, or should have known, that litigation was imminent, and (2) the adverse party was prejudiced by the destruction of the evidence.” Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. Grant, 505 F.3d 1013, 1032. The duty to preserve material evidence “‘arises . . . before the litigation when a party reasonably should know that the evidence may be relevant to anticipated litigation.’” Akins v. Ben Milam Heat, Air & Electric, Inc., 2019 OK CIV APP 52 ¶ 34, 451 P.3d 166 (emphasis in original).
In the event a trucking company or driver fails to preserve information, courts can impose various sanctions, including judgments against the trucking company and driver. Adverse inference instructions to the jury can also be given by the court. For example, if a trucking company fails to preserve the alcohol and drug test results for its driver, the court could instruct the jury to assume the driver was under the influence.
Every year over 450,000 large trucks are involved in accidents. More than 100,000 people are injured and almost 5,000 people are killed. Getting a lawyer immediately after an accident helps keep the trucking company, driver and insurance company in check.
