What Evidence Helps Prove an Underride Accident?
Underride accidents can be especially harmful to drivers and their passengers, resulting in serious injuries like brain injuries, disfigurement, and other grave lacerations. Because an underride accident can often lead to various questions on liability, how the accident occurred, and what the aftermath of a serious accident injury looks like, strong evidence is especially important.
Learn more about the evidence that can help prove your underride accident and responsible parties now from BD&J’s dedicated California underride truck accident attorneys.
Call 855-906-3699 or contact us online to learn about whether you have a claim.
What Are Underride Accidents?
Underride accidents occur when a smaller passenger vehicle slides underneath the rear or sides of a large commercial truck. In 2024, NHTSA data showed that the second highest impact points for fatal traffic crashes involving large trucks were the rear of the truck and the front of the other vehicle, which is often the impact point for certain underride accidents.
Evidence that Supports an Underride Accident Claim
After an underride accident, it is absolutely essential to collect evidence if you’re planning on pursuing legal action. Evidence that could help support your truck accident claim includes:
A Police Report
Reporting the underride accident to emergency services can get a swift police response and an accident report that highlights the events of the accident and the role of each involved party.
Black Box Data
The black box of a commercial truck (also known as event data recorder) can measure the speed of a truck, its braking distances, its location, whether seatbelts were buckled or airbags were deployed, and even the hours it was in operation.
Truck Driver Logs
Truck driver logs can reveal more about the truck driver who was operating the truck at the time of the accident, including the time in between their shifts and whether the driver was respecting the mandated hours of service regulations.
Dashcam or Surveillance Footage
Dashcam footage inside the truck can show what the truck driver was doing when the accident occurred, including whether they were distracted or failing to uphold safe driving habits like checking their mirrors and blind spots when merging on the road.
Surveillance footage from nearby businesses or buildings can show any dangerous truck maneuvers that resulted in the accident, or other environmental factors that may have played a role.
Medical Documentation of Injuries
Going to the hospital after a truck accident is necessary, especially when dealing with the injuries from being in a crushed or sliced car. In structural terms, the top of the smaller vehicle can often be sliced off when in a rear underride accident, leading to severe lacerations and other injuries for vulnerable drivers and their passengers.
Can I Still Have an Accident Claim if the Truck Had Rear and Side Guards?
If you were injured in an accident with a truck due to driver negligence or recklessness, you can absolutely still recover compensation for your injuries. Regardless of whether the truck was well-equipped or not, if the accident was caused by distracted, reckless, or even impaired driving, you are still eligible to recover damages.
How To Collect Accident Evidence
Knowing the right evidence to collect after an accident can be the key to a strong lawsuit. Collect accident evidence through the following steps:
- Get a copy of the police report. – A police report can help provide an additional account of the accident, as well as a police officer’s view on liability.
- Document your injuries and how they affect your daily life. – Keeping a pain journal that documents your daily life and how your injuries affect your physical capabilities can be key evidence to support injury impact.
- Continue medical treatment. – Continuing medical treatments as prescribed by a provider and keeping up with regular appointments can help monitor the extent of your injuries and the healing journey, including when the Maximum Medical Improvement stage is reached.
- Talk to other witnesses about the accident. – Other nearby motorists and pedestrians can be helpful to talk with and obtain their contact information for a different perspective of the accident.
- Meet with an underride accident lawyer in California. – Dealing with painful injuries and hefty repair expenses can already take over your daily life, so talking with an underride accident attorney can help bring an expert legal advocate on your side to help with evidence collection and other steps of the legal process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Do I Do After a Truck Accident?
Right after a truck accident, you need to call 911 and seek immediate medical attention. Attend to your injuries and your passengers as best as you can and get the information of the other truck driver.
How Long After a Truck Accident Should the Police Be Notified?
At the scene, you should immediately notify the police if you are physically able to. Vehicle accidents resulting in injury or death must be reported within 24 hours to the authorities.
What is the Deadline to File an Underride Accident Claim?
You have 2 years from the date of your accident to file a claim. If the accident involved a government agency, for example, if the accident was caused by a flaw in road design, then you have 6 months from the date of the accident.
How Can I Help My Attorney Maximize the Compensation for My Claim?
A couple ways you can help your truck accident lawyer in maximizing the compensation for your claim include bringing strong evidence, being upfront about the events of the accident, and letting your attorney handle insurance and other party communications, as well as negotiations.
Do My Chances of a Higher Settlement Increase by Having a Lawyer?
Yes, having legal representation can help increase your possible compensation by 4 times as much.
What Does a Spoliation Letter Do?
Spoliation letters are legal notices written to opposing parties when it comes to preserving digital evidence and other evidence which could be deleted, thrown away, or overwritten. These letters state the evidence type, the accident it pertains to, and ask for the evidence to be preserved.
In terms of underride accidents, a spoliation letter can help preserve black box data, surveillance footage, and even truck driver shift logs.
Can I Obtain Compensation for Future Medical Treatments for My Injuries?
Yes, compensation for current and future medical treatments is something pursued in an underride truck accident claim. This is why it is crucial you follow your medical provider’s treatment recommendations, as ignoring them can affect your claim compensation and even minimize your injuries.
What is Maximum Medical Improvement and Why Does It Affect My Compensation?
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is the peak stage for recovery after an injury. Reaching this stage means that no further treatment can better the condition of an injury.
During this stage, your physician will provide a disability rating that can determine lifelong physical impairment and whether you’ll be able to return to work. This can ultimately affect your compensation, especially when recovering damages for decreased quality of life and inability to work in the long-term.
Can I Sue a Trucking Company for My Accident?
Definitely. A trucking company can be held responsible for negligent hiring, failure to uphold state regulations for drivers, lack of safety training for drivers and the loading crews, and neglecting truck maintenance.
How Much Does I Have to Pay Upfront to Work with BD&J Attorneys?
Nothing at all. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means all case costs are advanced to you, and final attorney fees are deducted from the settlement amount after your case settles.
This means no upfront payment on your end, and no fees until we win*.
Can I Work with BD&J if Another Law Firm Was Representing My Case?
Yes, if you’re dealing with another law firm that you feel undervalues or minimizes your case, then BD&J is here to help.
Contact us to file a consultation for a second opinion on your case and to learn more about the process of working with our firm.
Diligent Underride Accident Attorneys That Help Your Case
Since our establishment in 2007, BD&J has helped Californians recover compensation for their injuries and other damages after an accident. With over $3 billion* recovered in client compensation and satisfied clients, you can be confident your case is in the right hands with our law firm.
When you or a loved one is hurt in a devastating truck underride accident, you can trust the legal advocates at BD&J to fight for you.
Complete our online form now to connect with a BD&J team member 24/7!