Discovery issues in trucking accident cases
Carriers in trucking accident cases often hire biomedical "experts" in defending a case. These supposed experts are hired to look at photographs of the vehicle and the plaintiff’s medical records and state that it was physically impossible for the plaintiff to have been injured severely in the wreck.
These "expert opinions" are the hallmark of junk science. They make untold millions testifying for insurance companies. Their conclusions and opinions are often completely unsupported by the facts of the case. When these "experts" appear in trucking accident cases, it is very important to try to discredit and disqualify them. Juries need to know their biases so they can properly determine a case. Often these experts are both physicians and engineers, so the jury gives them great credence. In truth and fact, they are paid assassins to confuse the jury.
It is extremely important in trucking accident cases to get information regarding the financial ties between the insurance companies and their "experts." When you show a jury that the "expert" makes a fortune from the insurance companies saying the same thing over and over, the jury can understand how disingenuous the opinion is. Lawyers should always share this information with each other rather than trying to reinvent the wheel every case.
Some of the important discovery requests in trucking accident cases are as follows:
1. Maintenance records, trip sheets, fuel receipts and other documents which often show that the driver was driving more hours than shown in the log books or allowed by law.
2. The driver’s qualification file.
3. The driver’s employment file.
4. All drug and alcohol tests, including pre-employment and post-accident results.
5. All driver’s logs (these are often destroyed after six months).
6. Where the driver has been fired, request the employer’s submissions to the Texas Workforce Commission regarding the driver’s unemployment claim. Sometimes carriers who deny that the driver was at fault will tell the TWC that the driver was fired for unsafe driving and causing an accident.
7. Documents which are required to be kept by Part 391 of the Federal and Texas Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, including employment applications, road tests, physical examinations, records of violations and annual reviews of driving records.
After a trucking accident, it is also very important to take lots of high-quality pictures of your client’s vehicle. Also, try to take pictures of the defendant’s truck before it is repaired. Photograph the scene and talk to all witnesses and physicians.
Contact Corpus Christi trucking accident lawyer Scott Nelson if you are injured in a trucking accident. Mr. Nelson also serves all of Texas.
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