If you have been injured in a truck accident in Kentucky, your ability to recover maximum compensation will hinge on the strength of your evidence. The right evidence can help you identify every party who is at fault for the crash, which could include more than just the driver of the truck that hit you.
Strong evidence can also help you establish the extent of your injuries and the various harms you have suffered because of them. But if you do not act quickly, including by hiring an experienced personal injury attorney, critical Kentucky truck accident evidence can disappear or go missing, undermining your case.
Do not let that happen to you. Contact the Kentucky truck accident lawyers at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer now to get started with a free consultation.
The Importance of Keeping Documented Evidence in Kentucky Truck Accidents
Evidence is at the heart of any successful truck accident claim because it helps establish that:
- The truck driver or another party acted carelessly, recklessly, or otherwise with legal fault.
- The at-fault party’s behavior led to an accident that injured you.
- You suffered specific harms that a particular dollar figure can make right.
Critically, the standard of proof in personal injury cases like truck accident claims is “by a preponderance of the evidence.” In other words, you will need to supply sufficient evidence to show the court that it is more likely than not that another party caused the accident and that you deserve a specific amount of compensation as a result.
The Types of Evidence You Should Be Documenting After a Truck Accident
Truck accidents frequently involve significantly more evidence than the average passenger vehicle collision. Depending on the circumstances, evidence to save after a semi-truck accident might include:
- Electronic and vehicle data includes electronic logging device (ELD) records, event data recorder (EDR) information (black box data), GPS tracking, dashcam footage, telematics systems, and onboard communications. Electronic evidence can provide an objective account of the truck’s speed, braking, location, and route, as well as the driver’s behavior and compliance with hours-of-service regulations at the time of the collision.
- Accident scene evidence can include vehicle inspections, skid marks, debris fields, cargo spills, roadway gouges, accident scene photographs, videos from traffic cameras, and damaged vehicle components. Accident reconstruction experts can use physical evidence to recreate a likely chain of events leading up to the crash.
- Operational and driver records include commercial driver’s license records, training and employment records, hours-of-service logs, maintenance records, inspection records, dispatch records, and drug and alcohol testing results. Records can reveal whether the driver and trucking company complied with federal safety regulations and may support a claim against the trucking company for negligent hiring, supervision, training, maintenance, or operational practices.
- Personal documentation includes your medical records, medical bills, pharmaceutical prescriptions, wage-loss documentation, photographs of injuries, pain journals, and records of out-of-pocket expenses. Such evidence helps you demonstrate the nature and extent of your injuries, as well as your personal and financial losses resulting from the crash.
Some types of evidence might be difficult to get hold of yourself. Items like employment records and on-board vehicle data typically remain in the hands of the trucking company, which would very much prefer not to pay you what it owes you.
Fortunately, you do not have to recover the evidence on your own. Instead, you can hire our Kentucky truck accident attorneys for help preserving evidence after a truck crash.
Not only do we know what evidence we need to prepare your claim, but we can also send letters of spoliation to the trucking company and other involved parties. Letters of spoliation advise the recipient to preserve key evidence and face legal consequences if it is lost, deleted, or altered. Our attorneys can also advise you on the evidence that you can provide yourself, such as keeping a journal and writing down the events of the crash as you recall them.
Damages You Could Receive from a Truck Accident Claim
Armed with sufficient evidence, you can demand that the parties at fault for the truck accident compensate you for your:
- Medical expenses, including emergency medical care, hospital stays, surgeries, rehabilitation, medications, ongoing treatment, and anticipated future medical needs related to the accident
- Lost income during recovery, including lost wages, salary, tips, bonuses, commissions, and benefits
- Reduced earning capacity, accounting for any diminished ability to generate income in the future due to your lasting injuries
- Pain and suffering, or the physical discomfort, emotional distress, anxiety, and reduced quality of life caused by the accident and your resulting injuries
- Property damage, including reimbursement for the repair or replacement of a damaged vehicle and other personal property affected by the collision
Our Experience with Kentucky Truck Accidents
For over a quarter of a century, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer has provided the Kentucky Courage injured people need to stand up to the big trucking companies and insurers to fight for what is theirs. Kentucky Courage gets results, such as the $27 million we recovered in a case of coal mine negligence involving a truck accident that resulted in injuries to the spine, chest, and knees. Other examples of truck accident results include wins of:
- $3,675,000
- $2,500,000
- $1,000,000
The successes we have achieved for injured individuals like you have won us recognition by the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the American Association for Justice, the Kentucky Justice Association, Super Lawyers, and more.
When you come to us for help with your Kentucky truck accident investigation, you can expect us to:
- Meet with you during a free, no-pressure case review to understand your story and your goals
- Gather critical evidence to prove another party’s fault for what happened and calculate the full extent of the compensation they owe you
- Identify all potential avenues for securing compensation, including the complex and multi-layered insurance policies that might apply
- Aggressively pursue the maximum compensation in your case, whether through a negotiated settlement or an award at trial
Throughout the process, we will take care of all the legal aspects of your case. Leave the investigation, negotiation, and courtroom advocacy to us so that you can focus on resting and getting better.
Call for a Free Consultation on Your Kentucky Truck Accident Case
If you have been hurt in a truck accident in Kentucky, you need critical evidence to prove what happened and what you suffered as a result. Let Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer recover the evidence while you focus on your future.
Contact us today to get started with a free consultation about what happened.
