Truck Accidents and Black Boxes

Joel Hamner

Over the past several years, a large portion of my law practice has been devoted to representing people injured in wrecks with tractor trailer and commercial trucks.  Currently, we have cases pending in Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio.  Unfortunately, each of these wrecks resulted in serious injury or death.  The cases cannot be handled like a car accident.  The attorney must have a thorough understanding of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the requirements of the Federal Department of Transportation. My firm retains a team of accident reconstructionists and DOT Investigators that we can have at any accident scene within hours of the wreck.  Because of our training, experience, and team of experts, my firm has recovered millions of dollars for our clients in these type cases.

I want to provide you with some information that may surprise you, but probably shouldn’t.  While a family is at the hospital or grieving over the loss of a loved one, a trucking company investigator hired by the insurance company is rushing to the scene of the wreck. When tractor trailer drivers have accidents, the companies have plans in place to limit or contain the damage.  The truck drivers are often equipped with cameras and they are always told to call the company immediately.  This means that an investigator will often be on the way to the accident even before the police.

Most people don’t realize that tractor trailer trucks, like airplanes have “black boxes” (by the way, in airplanes the black box is really bright orange).  These are known as Event Data Recorders and they record certain information while the truck is being operated.  How long the truck has been operating, average speed, speed at the time just before the last braking event are all examples of the information contained within the “black box”.  The trucking company often does not want you to have this information (like one of the last cases we had where the truck was traveling 13 mph in excess of the posted speed limit before the driver lost control).

As soon as possible, it is extremely important that the trucking company receive a “preservation letter” to preserve the data in the black box.  In addition, it is imperative that the truck involved in the wreck not be altered in any way before our expert has had an opportunity to examine it. We have seen cases where truckers used mismatched brakes from the left side the right side and other cases where trailer brakes were not within the specifications required by the Department of Transportation.  Obviously, companies don’t want injured people to know these facts.

Finally, I realize that the family of a person injured in any wreck is not concerned with how, why, or who caused the wreck.  Unfortunately, that is the only concern of the trucking company and the insurance company.  The only way to level the playing field is to have someone, such as my firm’s team of experts, arrive at the scene of the wreck as soon as possible to protect the your loved one.  It’s a tough call to make, but one that is absolutely necessary.

Buckle up and drive safely.

McCutcheon & Hamner, PC