It isn’t easy to get the evidence and information you need to prove your case. In a wreck between a Houston Metro light rail train and a dump truck, for instance, probably both the train and the truck will have EDRs (Electronic Data Recorders). These devices can tell you fast a vehicle was going before and during an impact, whether the driver tried to brake, and if the vehicle changed course.
But the trucker and the Houston transit authorities might both seek to delay your case and your access to the data, during which time the data may become lost or spoiled. You need an experienced Houston truck wreck attorney to help you gain the access you need. Once your attorney files your claim, he gains the legal right to subpoena the records and the data you need as evidence. Your attorney would also be able to trace the chain of liability and bring a charge of negligent hiring or vicarious liability against the ultimate employer of the truck driver.
An experienced Houston truck wreck attorney will also have access to professional accident investigators and accident re-creation specialists that can help reconstruct the sequence of events that led to your injury. If a defendant claims, for instance, that he ran a red light because the sun’s reflection kept him from seeing the color of the light, specialists can examine the light in the accident context to see to what extent this might be true. (Of course, if the driver can’t tell the color of the light, he should not just “run” the light. He should stop and look until he can see its color.)
In addition, you and your Houston truck wreck attorney could find some information about previous violations on the FMCSA website. The FMCSA site includes information in several categories.
Carriers subject to FMCSA regulations keep professional teams of lawyers and accident investigators always at the ready to defend them from liability. They fiercely contend accident claims. So you need to get your own Houston truck wreck attorney delving into the case on your behalf immediately. Delay allows the other parties time to lose, spoil, destroy or hide necessary evidence. Don’t take the chance of losing your case to inaction. Call today for a free truck wreck consultation.