Our Results-Driven KY Lawyers Explain How a Spoliation Letter Can Preserve Evidence in Your Truck Accident Injury Claim
Your truck accident injury claim is only as strong as the evidence that supports it. By destroying evidence, the truck company could prevent you from securing the full amount of compensation you deserve. 
There are steps a knowledgeable Central KY truck accident lawyer can take right away to preserve this evidence and protect your claim. Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey has extensive experience handling all aspects of truck injury claims, including sending out spoliation letters to keep evidence from disappearing.
Evidence Needed in a Truck Accident Case
One factor that distinguishes commercial truck accidents from collisions involving passenger cars is the documentation and evidence relevant to your case. This documentation includes records of the trucking company’s hiring, training, and supervision policies, as well as maintenance, repair, and driver hour logs.
To succeed in holding the potential defendants in your claim legally and financially responsible for your injuries, you need evidence of their negligent actions. Several different types of evidence in the defendant’s possession may be relevant. These include:
- The truck’s black box data
- Dashcam video
- The truck driver’s hours of service log
- Inspection, maintenance, and repair records
- The truck driver’s personnel records, qualifications, medical reports, and drug and alcohol reports
- Records of any voicemails, text messages, or calls between the truck driver and company during or following the accident
- Any correspondence that pertains to the accident
- The trucking company’s hiring policies and other relevant procedures
There is nothing to keep this evidence from being deleted pursuant to the trucking company’s data retention policies unless the trucking company is put on notice to preserve the data. This is a key step to take after a truck wreck because liability is much harder to prove without this evidence. It’s important to prevent the disappearance of evidence, and that’s why your lawyer would likely send out spoliation letters.
The Job of a Spoliation Letter
It’s likely that the trucking company and other possible defendants won’t preserve evidence unless they are threatened with legal consequences. That’s why a spoliation letter is so crucial. A spoliation letter, also known as a preservation of evidence letter or preservation letter, requests in writing that the trucking company preserve evidence and serves as formal notice that the company is not to destroy or dispose of any evidence that could apply to your injury claim.
The Specific Components of a Spoliation Letter
To be effective, a spoliation letter should be comprehensive and specific yet reasonable in terms of the requests it contains. The letter should make the trucking company aware of the consequences, including legal penalties, of failing to preserve the evidence as requested.
Having a knowledgeable truck accident injury attorney draft and send this letter for you is important to ensure that its contents are well-organized and easy to understand, its tone is professional, and it is sent promptly and to the correct recipients.
You need to act fast to preserve evidence in a truck accident case. A spoliation letter does your claim little good if it’s sent after the trucking company has already deleted or thrown out evidence. Hiring a truck accident attorney quickly can help preserve the evidence in your case.
Potential Defendants in Your Kentucky Truck Accident Injury Claim
It isn’t only the truck driver who hit you that may be named as a defendant in your injury claim. Often, catastrophic truck accident cases involve a complex web of liability on the part of multiple defendants that may include the following:
- The trucking company
- The owner of the truck or tractor
- The owner of the trailer (often separate from that of the tractor)
- Any company responsible for inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the vehicle
- The manufacturer of any defective vehicle or component
The loss of even a few pieces of evidence could jeopardize your claim against one or more of these defendants and can reduce the potential compensation available to you.
Let Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey Handle Your Claim, Starting With a Spoliation Letter
Taking proactive steps to preserve the evidence is only one of the ways your Central KY truck accident attorney will assist you after an accident. At Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey, we investigate the details of your truck accident case to identify all potentially liable parties and will promptly send out spoliation letters to preserve vital evidence.
Throughout the course of your case, you can count on our experienced Central KY injury lawyers to protect your legal rights and fight for the compensation you deserve. For honest answers to your questions and common sense advice that provides peace of mind throughout the difficult litigation process, turn to Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey.