The smart blog 0715

Police Reports, Dashcam Video and Car Accident Evidence Evidence from a car crash starts to disappear within hours. Vehicles get towed and repaired, video gets recorded over and witnesses become hard to reach. A car accident attorney typically starts with the police report and any photos or video, then the data stored in the vehicles. This article explains how each source fits into a claim. The crash report Officers who respond to a crash usually prepare a crash repor

ECM Black Box Data and ELD Records After a Truck Accident When a tractor-trailer crash causes serious injuries, the most precise record of the last seconds before impact is often stored inside the truck itself. People call it the black box, but that label covers several different systems. For a truck accident attorney, knowing which device keeps which data shapes the first evidence requests in a claim. Which systems make up the black box on a commercial truck Most hea

The Timeline of an Auto Accident Claim A car accident claim moves through stages that can take months or longer. The property damage part often resolves within weeks, while the injury claim usually waits until medical treatment has run its course. An auto accident lawyer can explain where a claim sits in this sequence, though every claim is different. Right after the crash Getting medical care comes first, even if injuries seem minor at the scene, and records from tha

Driver Fatigue and Hours of Service Rules in Truck Accident Claims When a semi-truck crash happens near the end of a long shift, an early question is whether the driver had stayed inside the federal hours-of-service limits. Fatigue leaves little physical trace at a crash scene, which is why the answer tends to come from records instead of the road itself. A tractor-trailer crash lawyer reviewing one of these cases usually starts by comparing the driver's logs against every

What FMCSA and NHTSA Data Show About Truck Accidents Federal crash data gives a national picture of how often large trucks are involved in serious crashes. The figures below come from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and each is labeled with its year. A truck accident attorney might use figures like these for context, but statistics describe patterns across many crashes rather than what h

Driver Fatigue and Hours of Service Rules in Tractor-Trailer Crash Claims When a semi-truck crash happens near the end of a long shift, one of the first questions is whether the driver was within the federal hours-of-service limits. Fatigue leaves little physical trace at a crash scene, which is why the answer tends to come from records instead of the road itself. A truck accident attorney reviewing one of these cases will usually compare the driver's logs with every other

Liability in Car Crash Claims Explained Most car crash claims begin with the other driver, but the driver is not always the only responsible party. An employer, the vehicle owner, a government agency or a parts maker can also play a role. Sorting out who may be legally responsible is an early task for a car accident attorney, because each party may have separate insurance. Driver negligence Negligence asks whether a driver failed to act with reasonable care. Common ex