Every year thousands of trucking fatalities occur and even more are injured as the result of truck accidents. One out of every nine traffic fatalities involves a trucking accident. In 2003, 4,669 trucks were involved in fatal traffic accidents resulting in 4,289 deaths. The majority who suffer as a result of fatal traffic accidents are innocent drivers and passengers. However, truck driver fatalities are also a great concern. The costs for fatal traffic accidents exceed $20 billion, including $8.7 billion in productivity losses, $2.5 billion in resource costs, and quality of life losses valued at $13.1 billion.

Interstate trucking is governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations which are rules unfamiliar to most attorneys. If you have been involved in a catastrophic interstate truck accident, it is essential that you promptly hire an experienced trucking trial lawyer.

In a catastrophic truck wreck case, you must act quickly on behalf of the victim to get an experienced trucking lawyer on the case. This is due to the speed with which trucking companies and their insurance company start working to “lose” evidence. There is also “black box” data generated by engine control modules (ECM’s) on all late tractor engines. This data, which must be properly downloaded, will be important in proving the performance of the truck and its driver. Some modules only save information for a small period of time before it is overwritten by new data-making it crucial to get this information as soon after a wreck as possible.

As soon as the truck driver reports the wreck to the dispatcher, the risk manager is notified immediately – no matter the time of day! That risk manager then places a call to his or her designated defense lawyer – that’s right, an attorney is typically hired within hours of the accident. The defense then retains a claims investigator, under the cloak of “attorney work product,” to immediately go to the scene. So within hours of the accident, the insurance company already has a claims investigator at the scene seeking evidence favorable to the defense. I have seen evidence “disappear” after an accident. The insurance adjuster will then try to settle with you or your family so that the story can be buried before it hits the media. The adjuster will make an offer of settlement that is large enough to be tempting but at a bargain price in light of what the company knows. The company wants you to deal with them directly. They will try to tell you that you don’t need an attorney.

You do need an attorney. You need an experienced truck accident attorney. This is true whether your truck accident occurred in Illinois, Missouri, or in another state. There is a tremendous amount of evidence that may be lost forever if you don’t have an experienced attorney who can quickly act to preserve it. The larger trucking companies generally use on-board computers and satellite communication systems that generate an enormous amount of data that may be invaluable to the your case. You need this information to win your case. There are federal laws that allow the trucking companies to purge this information after a certain amount of time. You must act quickly.

There are major differences between a truck accident case and an automobile accident case. If your attorney doesn’t know that, you need a new attorney. We are St. Louis injury attorneys. We handle trucking cases in Illinois and Missouri. If you or a loved one have been injured by a truck or trailer, you likely have questions. Call us at 1-800-517-0602 for a free consultation.