Accident investigators have one goal: to find the truth. The best of them are seekers of truth and fact, digging into wrecks and delivering unbiased evidence to attorneys.
“I’m privileged to work for folks who want the truth,” crash consultant and investigator David Myers said on a recent podcast episode.
His job isn’t to fit anyone’s narrative. Rather, it is to use his skills to find the hidden truths within a catastrophic collision. Here is what Myers has learned in his time studying commercial motor vehicle crashes across the Midwest.
Do Not Assume the Police Accident Report is Correct
Myers, before he opened his crash consulting business, served as a police officer for several years. His firsthand experience showed him that police aren’t always thorough or exact in their crash reports.
If police suspect criminal activity is involved in a wreck, they’ll dig deeper. If not, their goal is to get victims to safety, clear the roads and reopen them to traffic. They are not trained to inspect these wrecks like investigators or reconstructionists are.
This is why it is so important for victims of large-truck crashes to contact an attorney as soon as possible. Experienced truck wreck lawyers hire experts to dig deeper.
Be Sure to Hire a Truck Accident Attorney
Not only should you be skeptical of police reports — you should look closely at lawyers, too, before hiring one.
Myers said he has seen semi-wreck victims contact a lawyer they have used before, like a family law attorney. This is a mistake.
“Those guys are great for wills and estates,” Myers said, “but not for the specialized trucking case.”
Managing partner and podcast host David W. Craig has been hired on thousands of motor vehicle wreck cases throughout his 38-year career. Today, he is recognized across Indiana and the country as a commercial trucking lawyer and is regularly hired by other lawyers to help with trucking cases.
It is important that clients hire a lawyer whose niche matches their needs. After a semi wreck, not just any attorney can bring you justice. You need a trucking lawyer.
First Stop: The Scene of the Crash
From the moment a wreck occurs, evidence begins to dwindle.
“The scene will change,” Myers said, “and it will change quickly.”
Your lawyer should send reconstructionists and investigators to the site of your wreck as soon as they are hired. Unfortunately, evidence is often tampered with — on purpose or by accident.
For example, Myers said he recently investigated a crash that occurred when a semi-truck ran a stop sign and struck another vehicle. At the time of the crash, the stop sign was obscured by a tree in someone’s yard.
Wanting to be helpful, the neighbors trimmed the branches that hid the stop sign to prevent other accidents. This isn’t unusual, Myers said.
In construction zones, signs are moved around, lanes are reopened, etc. Crash consultants must speak with experts or contractors to determine what the circumstances were at the time of the crash and if any of them factored into the wreck.
Other evidence that reconstructionists can discover at a wreck site:
- Lighting
Investigators can use a device called a “lumen meter” to measure the ambient lighting from street lights (or the lack thereof). It helps them determine whether a person or object could be detected in the environment. Lack of visibility and inadequate lighting often contribute to wrecks.
- CCTV
Nearby businesses may have security footage of the wreck. However, this footage is often deleted within a week or 10 days, so investigators must request it immediately.
There may be other available video footage, like dash-cam recordings from other drivers.
- Witnesses
Any person who was near the roadway at the time of a crash could be a witness. This could be another passenger car driver or trucker, a pedestrian, a cyclist, or someone looking out the window of a nearby house or business. Sometimes, a few of these people will be listed on the crash report — but not always. Investigators can find possible witnesses from 911 calls made.
- Road defects
Potholes, roadway debris, uneven surfaces, cracks, or faded markings can all contribute to vehicle collisions. Reconstructionists should closely examine the area around a wreck to note whether the road itself endangers drivers.
Gather Any and All Evidence
If crash victims or witnesses have taken cell-phone photos of the scene, these should be obtained.
Experienced crash consultants have the technology to preserve a wreck site. These technologies have transformed accident reconstruction. Today, reconstructionists like Myers can use drones and 3D scanners to produce simulations, recreations and animations of a crash.
Do Not Trust Defense Attorneys or Insurance Adjusters
One of the biggest reasons you should act quickly after a crash? The trucker’s employer and insurance company will be contacted immediately. Often, the defense side will have investigators and insurance adjusters at the scene of a crash before the wreck is cleared.
As the plaintiff (the injured party suing the negligent trucker), you have the burden of proof. Your attorney must prove that the truck driver/trucking company was negligent. If your attorney’s team isn’t at the wreck site early, the opposing side may tamper with evidence.
The semi-truck itself is a trove of information. Myers has found narcotic pain medications, sleeping pills, and other drugs that could cause drowsiness in commercial motor vehicles before.
“You can bet if the driver is allowed in there — or, perhaps, even the company — to clean out personal effects…you can guarantee that those medications are going to be gone,” Myers said.
This leads us to our next point.
Trucking Lawyers Must Send Preservation of Evidence Letters
To prevent the opposing side from hiding or destroying evidence, your attorney should issue preservation of evidence letters. These forbid the trucker, his company or the insurers from touching the vehicles.
The company-issued dash cam and, if applicable, the trucker’s personal dash cam footage should be preserved, as well. This footage should show the wreck, but it may also shed light on a driver’s daily habits. Do they regularly change lanes without using a turn signal? Do they tailgate other drivers?
If an attorney does not send these preservation letters, the case is in jeopardy.
Myers said he has seen cases where the semi-truck was repaired and sent back out onto the road before he could inspect it. Your attorney must act quickly to prevent this.
Inspect the Semi Tractor-Trailer as Soon as You Can
Semi-trucks and other commercial motor vehicles take longer to inspect than passenger vehicles. Myers follows a 13-page inspection form when he examines a heavy truck, and he recently spent 14 hours doing so in Chicago.
“This isn’t an inspection that’s going to be done in an hour,” Myers said. “We are going to go through every system on that truck and the trailer…We’re crawling underneath the truck. We’re going to each wheel, each axle, each brake pad, checking for proper operation.”
Commercial motor vehicles have hundreds of parts that need to be inspected. Most of them, if poorly maintained or damaged, could contribute to a serious crash.
These include the tires and wheels, braking systems, headlights, the trailer and how it was loaded, among countless others.
Heavy trucks have electronic control modules (ECMs) that record data from the engine. By downloading this data, crash consultants can determine if a truck’s brakes were applied, how fast it was moving, mechanical issues and more.
While less time-consuming, inspections of passenger cars are also important. Like semi-trucks, they contain a wealth of data. This data tells investigators whether the driver was operating the vehicle safely or not. The vehicle equipment (tires and tread, airbags, brakes) will be inspected, too.
The Bottom Line: Inspections Are Necessary in Truck Wreck Cases
If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in a heavy truck wreck, you deserve answers.
The truck wreck attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless work on a contingency fee basis — meaning that if you don’t get paid, we don’t either.
It costs clients nothing to hire Craig, Kelley & Faultless to investigate their wreck. In managing partner David Craig’s career, there have been cases where he discovered that the victim was at fault and that he could not pursue the case against the trucker. But the family learned the truth.
In countless other cases, David and his team investigated the wreck and learned that the police report was incorrect. He was able to tell the families that their loved one did nothing wrong and settle their cases.
We’ll Do the Work for You. Hire a Truck Wreck Attorney.
The personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at Craig, Kelley & Faultless have a network of experts prepared to investigate your truck wreck.
No one should be injured or killed by a driver’s negligence. We will work tirelessly to give you answers and bring your family justice.
The firm is headquartered in Indianapolis and represents commercial motor vehicle wreck victims anywhere in the United States. Our attorneys serve as co-counsel on trucking cases across the country.
Reach out to us for a free case consultation at (800) 746-0226 or with our online form.
David W. Craig is a nationally recognized truck accident lawyer who sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. He was the recipient of the National Thurgood Marshall “Fighting for Justice” Award for his work helping victims of truck wrecks. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help people navigate a terrible situation by answering questions that come after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow Indiana law safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.
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