Injuries from commercial trucking accidents are often extremely severe and sometimes catastrophic. This is typically due to the size and power of tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles as compared to much smaller passenger cars. The more severe the injuries, generally, the greater the damages and possible compensation. Where the potential for significant compensation exists, trucking insurance carriers aggressively defend bodily injury claims.
One tactic an auto insurance company often uses to aggressively defend injury claims is to deny liability. That is where they contend that their truck driver or trucking company was not negligent or careless. They will even go as far as to blame the accident victim or someone else for causing the accident and resulting injuries. When an accident victim is met with this type of a denial, a trucking accident reconstruction may be very beneficial and sometimes necessary to get the financial compensation they deserve for the injuries they suffered.
Trucking Accident Reconstruction May Be Required
While trucking accidents in Massachusetts are separate and distinct from other personal injury claims and cases due to their complexity, one factor remains constant. In order for the injured party to recover financial compensation for the injuries suffered and losses incurred in a crash, they must be able to establish and prove that the other driver (e.g., truck driver) was negligent. Generally, the facts and circumstances of how an accident occurred is crucial to being able to prove negligence and successfully recover fair and just compensation.
The aftermath of a collision between a tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle can be devastating. Sometimes the damage to the vehicles and twisted metal make it difficult to determine exactly how the accident happened. In some cases, there are no witnesses to the crash other than the vehicle occupants. Under these circumstances, the truck driver will almost always blame the other driver or car for causing the crash (as opposed to admitting fault and taking responsibility). The truck driver may be worried about losing his or her job or, worse, being charged criminally for negligent operation of a motor vehicle. In very serious accidents, the accident victim may have no recollection of the accident due to severe injuries, such as a traumatic brain injury.
With these types of facts, a trucking accident reconstruction may be necessary to satisfy an injured party’s burden of proof in their Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit. An accident victim cannot recover compensation unless they can first prove that the truck driver or the trucking company was negligent and caused the crash that resulted in the victim’s injuries.
Overview of Trucking Accident Reconstruction
An accident reconstruction is where an expert obtains and evaluates evidence related to a crash and develops the most probable scenario of how the accident occurred. In other words, the experts try to reconstruct the crash to enlighten lawyers, the insurance companies, the judge and jurors of how the accident happened. This will allow these parties to make an informed and rational decision on how the trucking accident happened and who was responsible.
Generally, when a trucking accident reconstruction expert is retained there are numerous questions they try to answer: Why did the truck lose control? Was mechanical maintenance or failure the cause of the crash? The speed of the and load of the tractor trailer? Did the driver cause the crash, and could it have been avoided?
To answer these questions, reconstruct the accident and prepare their reports, accident reconstruction experts rely heavily on the physical evidence of an accident. This is why immediate trucking accident investigation is so important and always highly recommended when someone is severely injured in a commercial trucking accident.
The investigation should focus on obtaining as much physical evidence as possible to allow the reconstruction experts to determine how the accident happened. For example, the damaged tractor trailer and other vehicle, skid marks, photographs, video evidence, witness statements, police reports and trucking data (Black Box or data recorder evidence, log books, global positioning data, etc…) are all very important pieces of evidence an accident reconstruction expert relies on to reconstruct the crash and determine how it happened. Without preserving these vital pieces of evidence, an expert may not be able to accurately reconstruct the crash.
As stated above, when a trucking insurance company fears the possibility of paying a significant amount of compensation either through a settlement or jury verdict, they will aggressively defend personal injury lawsuits. That’s why anyone seriously injured in a trucking accident should retain the services of experienced Massachusetts trucking accident attorneys. Delays in hiring the right truck accident lawyers could result in relevant evidence being lost. This lost evidence could help a trucking accident reconstruction expert determine that the truck driver or trucking company was negligent and the cause of your injuries.
The lawyers at Mahaney & Pappas, LLP have extensive experience in handling trucking accident injury claims and have worked with investigators and reconstruction experts. We understand that time is of the essence and immediate action is necessary to put our injured clients in the best possible position to recover the financial compensation they deserve for their injuries. When an accident was not your fault, you should not be burdened with paying for the medical bills out of your own pocket and deserve to be compensated for any lost wages, pain and suffering and any permanent injuries or impairment the accident caused. Don’t delay after a trucking crash, contact an experienced Massachusetts Trucking Accident lawyer today.
Want to Learn More? Get Your Free Copy of Massachusetts Truck Accidents: The Guide to Handling Your Commercial Truck Injury Case