Whenever I get hired on a case involving a commercial vehicle, I send a spoliation letter to the defendant immediately. A spoliation letter is a letter telling the trucking company to save evidence so I can be sure that all investigation that needs to be done can be done without the truck, documents and other materials being tampered with.
On a recent case, I was able to prove that a defendant driver was not only speeding, but speeding with cruise control on while driving through a construction zone when he rear ended my client.
By law, once a spoliation letter is received, none of the evidence discussed in the letter may be destroyed or changed without approval of the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s attorney. Valuable evidence such as maintenance records, driving logs, the contents of the vehicles, and even items such as beer bottles or cell phones with may have contributed to cause the wreck are often cleaned before the attorney can properly investigate. If any evidence is destroyed after a spoliation letter is received, the defendant can face huge penalties if the evidence tampering is discovered.
A copy of my most recent spoliation letter, with personal information removed, is available for download by clicking here.
If you have been hurt in a crash with an 18-wheeler, you need a lawyer who will immediately begin working for you and perform all necessary investigation. Please call me today at 817-885-8000 for a free case evaluation.