Every year, 3 million people are victims of injuries caused by a car accident on roads in the United States. Whether someone is driving a car or a truck, they have to realize that the vehicle has inherent risks. When people ignore those risks and drive recklessly, there are often grounds for wrongful death cases. A wrongful death case is what a person can use in order to get compensation for the death of someone that was the fault of another individual or entity. In the case of truck accidents, wrongful death cases involve several steps that a competent attorney will be able to handle for you. The most important thing is you need to get comfort during what can be a very difficult time. Getting money or the care you need after a wrongful death occurs certainly won’t bring the person back. It can be a powerful step towards repairing your life after a potentially traumatic incident, however.
A Spoliation Letter will Be Sent and an Inspection will Be Performed
A spoliation letter is a letter sent to the trucking company for which the driver works. The letter asks the trucking company to preserve any evidence in connection with the collision. This could include the truck itself, and it’s various parts, whether they were damaged in the accident or not. It may also involve the company holding off on making repairs to parts of the vehicle that may have caused the accident. Getting this sent out right away is, therefore, an important step to take in order to make sure there is an effective, comprehensive investigation.
A thorough inspection is another powerful tool in wrongful death cases. A tractor-trailer has many moving parts that can fail. It is the responsibility of the trucking company to make sure these are in good working order. If they are not and a wrongful death occurs, they would be held either liable, negligent, or both. Determining the level of culpability is the job of the attorneys who handle wrongful death cases. They will make sure the truck and the trailer are thoroughly inspected. Semi truck accident cases can be caused by several different factors such as faulty air brakes or a compromised coupling system. Overloaded trucks can also be the cause. A competent attorney has team members who have the expertise necessary to find what went wrong in order to establish who was at fault.
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Getting Documents from the Trucking Company
Wrongful death cases can benefit greatly from the documentation kept by a trucking company. When a trucker works, he or she is supposed to fill out a log. The log keeps track of miles traveled, how long it took to travel those distances, places gone and even fuel purchased along the way. All of this data can be used to help establish negligence or culpability. Wrongful death cases are bolstered by the data on these documents. A good attorney can get these and use them to get you what you deserve.
Interviewing Witnesses
Usually, when an accident occurs, there are at least a few witnesses at the scene. The only way to know what they saw or know about the situation is to interview them. Doing this would take a considerable amount of time if you had to do it yourself. In addition, conducting an interview is a delicate process that is best handled by someone with the specific skills to do it right. Your team of attorneys can help make sure the interview happens in a timely fashion and that all the information they need is gathered. Wrongful death cases are challenging cases to investigate because of all the emotions involved. A skilled interviewer knows how to toe the line between being business-like and still sensitive to the situation of the interviewee.
If you are considering pursuing a wrongful death case due to a truck accident, be sure to get the right attorney. Sending the spoliation letter and doing the inspection are best handled by someone who has experience in getting these things done. The same can be said for getting the right documents from the trucking company and interviewing witnesses. While these are straightforward tasks, they also involve a certain amount of skill. The right attorney can handle them for you.
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