When a trucker driver injures you in an accident, you need evidence of their negligence to recover compensation. One crucial piece of evidence you are entitled to use in your Texas accident claim is the trucker’s driving log, but most victims do not know how to obtain it.
Fortunately, our attorneys can help you get a copy of the trucker’s logbook after filing your lawsuit. Trucking companies must keep hours of service logs for up to six months, so getting your case started quickly so the evidence is still available when we file. After filing, we will immediately send the defendant a spoilation letter instructing them to preserve the evidence. We can then get the logs and other evidence the defendant possesses during the discovery phase of your claim. The log will typically tell our team how long a driver was on the road, when they started the trip, and many more details that can help prove their negligence.
Call The Queenan Law Firm today at (817) 476-1797 for a free case review with our Dallas, TX truck accident lawyers.
How Can I Get a Copy of a Trucker’s Driving Log to Use in My Texas Truck Accident Lawsuit?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) holds truckers and trucking companies to very strict standards, including highly specific driving time limits. Truckers in Texas are required to log their hours of service each trip and submit their logs to the trucking company once the trip is complete, according to 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(a)(1). These logbooks contain a wealth of information and can help prove if hours of service regulations were violated during an accident. If you file a lawsuit against a negligent truck driver and trucking company, you are entitled to copies of their logs as potential evidence.
However, truckers and trucking companies might be reluctant to just hand over their records even though it is mandatory, especially if they illustrate the driver’s negligence. Our Abilene, TX truck accident lawyers know the proven strategies to make them turn over the logs in your case. But you must start your case soon after the crash so you do not miss out on obtaining it. Trucking companies are only obligated to keep driving logs for six months, even though Tex. Civ. Prac & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) gives you two years to file a lawsuit. By filing your lawsuit quickly, we can use the powers of “discovery” to preserve and obtain copies of the trucker’s logs.
Spoliation Letters and Protective Orders
Our team typically begins by sending a “spoilation” or “preservation” letter to the trucking company’s legal representatives. This letter acts as a formal request and puts the defendant on notice to maintain the evidence until it is transferred to us. If they do not, the court can sanction them.
For an extra level of protection, we can seek a protective order for the logs. This is an order directly from the court to maintain the evidence for discovery.
Request for Documents During Discovery
We will usually get the trucker’s logbooks once we begin the “discovery” process. During this phase of litigation, each side must exchange documents and other evidence in their possession that is relevant to deciding the case. No side is allowed to keep evidence because it might harm them unless it is protected by a legal privilege, like the attorney-client privilege. Driving logs are not generally protected by privilege.
When we send our “request for documentation” to opposing counsel, we can also demand many more records you are entitled to besides the trucker logs. We can get inspection and maintenance records, driver qualification records, drug and alcohol testing results, and internal communications relating to the conduct and accident. This will help reveal other violations that might have occurred and illustrate a pattern of negligence.
Again, if the defendants refuse to turn over the evidence within the required time or stall, we can request that the court order them to produce the documents. If they still fight our demands, the court will likely order sanctions to punish them and potentially find them in contempt of court.
Interrogatories and Depositions
Interrogatories and depositions are other tools our attorneys can use to confirm what we discovered in the logs and prove your case. Interrogatories are written questions that the defendants must answer under oath. Our team will draft the questions in the interrogatories with the goal of getting the defendants to admit to specific facts. We will ask about the driver’s conduct prior to the accident, as well as trucking company policies regarding how trips are calculated and logs are kept.
Once we review the answers to the interrogatories, we can schedule depositions. During depositions, we can question the defendants under oath as a formal proceeding, usually meeting at one of the attorney’s offices. We will ask most of the questions sent in the interrogatories and many more. We can ask the trucker specifically about their log-keeping practices and gather testimony that can be used at trial. The answers at the deposition become part of the official record, meaning they can be used to trial to challenge the defendant’s credibility. If they say something different in court than during the deposition, we will bring it up to show the discrepancies in their story.
What Information is Included in a Trucker’s Driving Log?
Truckers are required to record a great deal of information in each log for every trip. The total miles driven in a day, the starting time of the 24-hour period, and the total hours for the trip will be particularly important. Truck logs also include a section for the driver’s remarks, which might provide crucial evidence of negligence. The entries in the log must also be current and filed with the trucking company within 13 days of a trip’s completion.
Call Our Texas Truck Accident Lawyers Today for Help Getting Evidence to Prove Your Claim
For a free case evaluation with our Midland, TX truck accident attorneys, contact The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.