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What Evidence Do I Need to File a Truck Accident Claim in Washington?

Uncovering the cause of a truck wreck and proving who was at fault can be a very complicated process and typically requires a wide range of detailed evidence. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a truck wreck, much of this evidence will not be easily accessible to you. And you likely have more important things on your mind, like focusing on taking care of yourself and your family. An experienced 

 can help victims collect the evidence they need to support their truck accident claim.

Keep reading to learn more about the types of evidence you need to support your truck wreck case and how an attorney can help gather this evidence on your behalf.

Collecting Evidence for Your Truck Wreck Case

If you’ve been injured in a truck wreck, collecting evidence to prove that the truck driver or company was negligent and caused your crash is crucial to receiving the compensation you deserve. In the state of Washington, contributory negligence laws state that your compensation depends on how much fault can be assigned to the other parties involved. Truck companies and their lawyers will try to manipulate evidence and events to place some of the blame on you and reduce or even eliminate your right to compensation. A truck accident attorney can help you collect the evidence you need to counter these opposing claims and support your case.

The police report includes the responding officer’s initial thoughts on the crash and physical evidence gathered from the scene, in addition to information about the parties involved and any injuries sustained. This could include:

Name, phone number, and license number of the truck driver

Name and insurance information for the freight company

Testimonies from pedestrians and other drivers who witnessed the collision

Video or other surveillance that captured the wreck

You can also collect much of this information on your own — if your injuries don’t require immediate medical attention. If you are unable to collect evidence from the scene, an attorney can put together their own crash report with additional information not included in the police report and perform other follow-up tasks such as interviewing the witnesses.

Many trucks are equipped with event data recorders (EDRs) that collect information such as how fast the truck was traveling at the time of impact and when (or if) the brakes were applied. In addition to EDRs, truck drivers are now required to use electronic logging devices (ELDs), that show how long the truck driver has been working.

Because fatigue is a serious concern for truck drivers and one of the top causes of truck wrecks, drivers have regulated working hours. An ELD can show if the driver has been working longer than allowed. Since freight companies are often held liable for truck wrecks along with the truck driver, these companies are unlikely to hand over such evidence voluntarily. Contacting an attorney is usually the only way to obtain this crucial evidence.

The ELD Mandate Is Working, but Trucking Companies Keep Fighting It

Besides electronic devices that can provide information about the truck and driver, there are other pieces of evidence pertaining to the truck driver (and the freight company) that need to be collected.

Trucker’s history of drug or alcohol usage

Some drivers avoid going to the hospital after a truck crash because they don’t believe their injuries require medical treatment. However, not only can minor aches and pains be signs of more serious injuries, but medical records are an essential part of proving your claim. If you try to claim that you were injured in the crash but didn’t seek treatment, the opposition will state that you were not actually injured. Always seek medical treatment after a collision, and have your attorney help collect all the relevant paperwork and medical records supporting your hospital visit and injuries.

Accident reconstruction is the process of collecting and investigating the evidence from a crash scene to recreate the crash and help investigators determine what happened and who is at fault. These recreations could be a series of calculations included in a report or an elaborate digital simulation of the crash. Quality attorneys will have experience with accident reconstruction, but they often hire accident reconstruction specialists with a background in engineering or forensics who can also serve as an expert witness at trial.

Why Accident Reconstruction Is Critical in a Truck Accident Case

Expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists, can provide an additional type of evidence if your case goes to trial. These experts can give testimony that will provide judges and juries with information that supports your claims. An accident reconstruction specialist, for example, would present reports and recreations of the crash backed up by data and calculations. Other expert witnesses who your attorney might arrange to testify on your behalf will likely include medical experts or mechanical experts, along with specialists in other fields that played a part in your specific truck wreck.

Seattle Truck Law | Experienced Truck Accident Attorneys

If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck wreck, let the attorneys at Seattle Truck Law handle evidence collection, expert witness testimony, and your case so you can concentrate on healing and moving forward. Our attorneys have experience dealing with freight and insurance companies and working with other experts to prove your right to compensation.

 to schedule your free consultation so we can help you move forward with your claim and focus on getting well.

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.

My Spouse Was Injured in a Truck Accident — What Can I Do?

If your husband or wife recently suffered serious injuries in a devastating 

, you’re probably struggling to collect your thoughts and get your bearings. While contacting a lawyer and filing a lawsuit might seem like one stress too many, it’s important to learn about your rights and legal options quickly because the insurance company won’t wait to start gathering evidence and building a defense against any potential claim or lawsuit.

Keep reading to learn about your rights and options after a truck wreck, including the types of compensation your family can receive and how an experienced lawyer can help.

What Kind of Compensation Can My Family Receive After a Truck Accident?

If a truck driver or trucking company caused a wreck and injured or killed your spouse, you have the right to work with an attorney and file a personal injury claim that could provide your family with financial compensation, either in the form of a settlement or a jury verdict.

While no amount of money can bring your husband or wife back or make your pain go away, the compensation from an injury claim can help address some of the enormous financial burdens that a death or disability creates. With this burden lifted, your family can focus on tending to your grief and emotional needs, not to mention the endless around-the-house tasks and other practical matters that always follow a loss.

Washington state law allows car crash victims and their families to receive compensation for all the following types of damages:

Truck crash victims often require complex and expensive medical care. Sometimes the intensive treatment lasts for weeks or months, and even after the victim becomes stable, they may require lifelong care. All this assistance creates enormous medical costs for victims and their families, with victims’ lifetime medical expenses frequently adding up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

For many truck crash victims and their families, medical bills are just the beginning. They also bear the costs of traveling to and from countless appointments with doctors, therapists, and other medical professionals. In addition, victims often have to modify their homes to accommodate their post-crash limitations, and these modifications can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Families of truck wreck victims often suffer from a significantly reduced household income when the victim is unable to work for a long time after the wreck — or ever again. Over a lifetime, the amount of income that the victim and their family lose out on can add up to millions of dollars.

Any married person knows that their husband or wife contributes much more to the household than a paycheck. The effort that a spouse puts in around the house, the time they spend with children, and the companionship they provide are even more difficult to replace than their income. While it might seem hard to translate all these contributions into dollars and cents, experienced attorneys know how to establish the value of lost services for an injury lawsuit.

Truck accidents create devastating injuries, and victims experience pain and suffering that no one should have to endure. Thankfully, the law recognizes this fact and lets victims and their families recover additional compensation to address this pain.

Much like damages from lost services, it might seem impossible to express your loved one’s pain and suffering in terms of money, but don’t worry. If you 

, they have guided victims through this process before. They also work closely with experts in economics, medicine, and more to translate your spouse’s ordeal into monetary compensation.

If your spouse suffered fatal injuries in the wreck, the law provides for additional compensation to address death-related expenses like funeral and burial costs.

Working With an Experienced Attorney Matters

The types of compensation listed above aren’t guaranteed, even if you feel like your case against the trucker or trucking company is very strong.

The insurance company representing the truck driver or truck company has experience defending itself against injury claims, and they’ll start working to reduce their responsibility as soon as they learn about the wreck. Insurance companies often send “rapid response” teams to crash sites to start gathering evidence and crafting a story of the crash that breaks down the victim’s legal case. Sometimes, these teams even hide or destroy evidence, although it’s against the law for them to do so.

If you try to file a claim and recover fair compensation for your family’s losses, the insurance company will fight your claim aggressively. To get out of paying the fair value of your claim, they may argue that your spouse was at fault for the wreck, try to blame another driver or the road conditions, or claim that some of your spouse’s medical treatment wasn’t necessary. At the same time, they’ll probably make you a low offer for compensation and discourage you from contacting a lawyer.

The Clock Is Ticking for Your Truck Accident Case

Insurance companies will tell you not to contact an attorney because they know seeking help from an experienced truck accident lawyer gives you and your family the best chance of recovering full and fair compensation for the losses created by the wreck. And even if they can’t keep you from contacting a lawyer, they know that any delay they can create will make it more difficult for you and your attorney to build a strong case.

Statutes of limitations also apply to all injury and wrongful death claims, so it’s important to act quickly. If you wait too long to contact a lawyer and file a claim, you could lose any chance to receive fair compensation for your family’s financial losses and your loved one’s pain and suffering. So if your loved one has been hurt or killed in a vehicle collision with a tractor-trailer or other large truck, please don’t wait — 

get in touch with an experienced truck accident lawyer

Contact Seattle Truck Law Today if Your Spouse or Loved One Suffered Injuries in a Truck Accident

If someone you loved suffered injuries or died in a devastating truck crash, Seattle Truck Law Attorney Morgan Adams is here to help. With years of experience and a sole focus on large vehicle cases, Morgan Adams has the expertise and resources needed to guide you through a complex vehicle accident claim and fight for justice on your behalf.

 if you need help. We offer free initial consultations to assess your situation and discuss your legal options, and we handle cases on a contingent fee basis, which means that you won’t pay attorney’s fees unless we help you and your family receive compensation through a settlement or verdict.

Seattle Truck Law is a personal injury law firm with a primary focus on large truck and bus crash cases. We serve clients throughout Washington state.

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What Evidence Do I Need to File a Truck Accident Claim in Washington?

My Spouse Was Injured in a Truck Accident — What Can I Do?

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