Accident with a Tractor Trailer

Why is it important to get a hold of a lawyer right away if I have been involved in an accident with a tractor trailer, a big rig or any other type of commercial vehicle?

Answer:

Large companies that employ tractor trailer drivers have risk management employees who are responsible for responding to the scene of accidents to gather as much information as possible, including taking photographs, interviewing witnesses, measuring skid marks and sometimes actually performing an accident reconstruction of the scene. All of this is done in anticipation of a potential lawsuit by you. You need to have a lawyer on your side immediately to do some of those same things. A lawyer can hire an accident reconstruction expert on your side that do all of the same things that the defendant’s employees will do at the scene. In addition, there are Federal regulations that require the driver of a commercial vehicle used in interstate transportation to maintain log books and records of their activity, including the number of hours driven before the crash and the hours of rest the driver had before the crash. The log books and records are also to insure the proper maintenance and upkeep of the commercial vehicle, to insure its safe operation on the roadway. Defective equipment on a commercial vehicle and driver error were the causal factors in 99% of these type of accidents, that my law firm has handled over the past 20 plus years.