Truck crashes
A truck leaves records. We ask for them early.
Commercial trucks keep driver logs, inspection files, repair records and sometimes engine data. Companies don't have to hold on to all of it forever, so the first thing we send is a letter asking them to.
On the South Plains the truck may belong to an oilfield service company, a freight carrier or a farm operation, and more than one company may share responsibility. Finding out who is part of the work.
Oilfield and freight carriers
Farm and equipment haulers
Drivers, owners and the companies behind them
The first letter
What we ask the carrier to keep
It goes out in the first days, before routine deletion can take anything.
Driver logs and hours
How long the driver had been working, and where.
Inspection and repair files
Brakes, tires and lights: what was checked and what wasn't.
Engine and braking data
Speed and braking in the seconds before the crash, where the truck records them.
Dispatch messages
What the company told the driver about the schedule.
Hiring and training records
How the driver was chosen and prepared.
Photos and dashcam video
Anything the truck's cameras or the company's own people recorded.
Who is responsible
More than one company may share the blame
- 01
The driver
Often the first name on the report, and rarely the only one that matters.
- 02
The carrier or owner
The company that dispatched the truck and kept, or skipped, its maintenance.
- 03
A loader or contractor
A badly loaded trailer or a rushed contract can be part of why a crash happened.
- 04
A parts or repair company
When a tire, brake or part fails, the company that made or fitted it may answer too.
Questions
Common after a truck crash
Will the trucking company's insurer call me?
Probably, and soon. Their adjuster is trained to get a recorded statement early. You can say politely that your lawyer will call back, and then call us.
Why do these claims take longer?
There are more parties, more insurers and more records, and experts often review the truck before anyone puts a number on the claim.
Does it matter that the truck was from out of state?
Federal safety rules for commercial trucks apply on any road. Where the company is based can change where a case is filed, and we'll explain how for yours.
Before the truck goes back on the road
The sooner we write to the carrier, the more of its records are still there. Call any hour, or send a few lines.