Investigating an 18-Wheeler Accident in San Antonio, TX
Then there’s the matter of evidence. As we said, they go to work gathering evidence immediately. Do most people even know what evidence would be relevant in an 18 wheeler accident case? You need to have someone examine the evidence to see if you have a case. An investigation will allow you to determine who caused your accident and if there is more than one party.
A professional investigation allows accident victims to gather the evidence that they need to prove the defendant’s liability in court. That’s how court cases work best for the plaintiff. Jurors don’t want to be told how to decide. They want to make up their own minds after seeing photographs, hearing 911 call recordings, holding bits of defective tires, seeing improper loading manifests, seeing the driver’s employment and drug test results, and otherwise evaluating evidence that you collect during your investigation. Evidence isn’t a luxury or a bonus; it’s what you’ll need to bring to court if you want to win your case and get compensated for your losses.
Many times, based on initial evidence, it won’t be obvious who was at fault for causing an 18 wheeler wreck. Many individuals on the road, including other drivers and pedestrians, may have played a role in causing a crash and they may be partially liable. In other cases that we’ve seen, the mistake which ultimately leads to an accident occurs behind the scenes as the 18 wheeler is being loaded or maintained. Until we conduct a thorough investigation, there’s no sure way to know who should be named as a defendant in your lawsuit.
We look for the evidence you’ll need to win your case or to make the other party offer you a settlement commensurate with your losses and damages. We are experienced at getting what is needed to convince a jury. Our professionals record measurements, take pictures, talk to witnesses, perform forensic testing, gather police reports, find video surveillance footage, examine the wreckage, and collect evidence in a way that makes everything we gather for your case admissible in court.
Our San Antonio 18 wheeler accident law firm knows how to conduct a strong investigation. They can help determine who caused your injuries and how to get the evidence you’ll need to hold all of the defendants accountable for what they’ve done. It’s standard procedure for us to visit the scene of the accident in nearly every truck accident case that we handle, no matter how far away.
Why Contacting Legal Help ASAP Can be Vital After a Texas Commercial Trucking Accident
We once had a case in which our client was being blamed for causing a collision with an 18 wheeler. The other side argued that our client was at fault for driving without headlamps installed on his vehicle. Our lawyers went to the salvage yard where our client’s car had been towed to see if there was any truth to the defendant’s story. Sure enough, our client’s car was missing its headlamps.
But we believed our client. We weren’t satisfied with what we found. So we went to the salvage yard owner for the yard’s video surveillance footage. The tapes were scheduled to be erased later that day. We got to them just in the nick of time. On the tapes, we saw that the defendant had visited the salvage yard and taken our clients’ headlamps from his car. After that, we had no trouble proving that the defendant had tampered with the evidence and that his defense was a sham.
In this case, if our client had called us even a day later, the tapes which turned out to be so critical to his case would have been destroyed. He would have certainly lost his case and someone would have gotten away with a horrible miscarriage of justice. The bottom line is it’s best to start your investigation as soon as you can. Our lawyers can usually prepare a strong case, even if we aren’t contacted until several months after an accident occurs. However, the strongest cases are usually built when we’re contacted as soon as possible. We recommend that you don’t delay in contacting a lawyer for assistance.