There are numerous
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations which require trucking companies to keep various documents for specified lengths of time. Yet, many times truck companies will destroy records after a wreck. When the companies destroy these records, it is known as "spoilation of evidence". When this destruction is uncovered, it can be grounds for sanctions against the trucking companies. These sanctions can include:
- Court's instruction to the jury that the destroyed evidence was harmful to the truck company;
- Exclusion of any evidence about the destroyed records; or
- Automatic judgment against the truck company.
Every great
tractor-trailer truck accident lawyer should be using investigating for destruction of documents as part of their case arsenal. This is an all too-often overlooked and under-investigated area. And when it does arise, truck companies often claim the destruction was accidental and that they would have not destroyed the evidence had they known it would have been relevant to a lawsuit. This is generally a bogus argument, but one that often succeeds. As
Missouri and Illinois Truck Accident Attorneys, we avoid these problems by sending a spoilation letter as soon as we are retained. The spoilation letter is sent to the truck driver, the truck company, and the truck's insurance company. The letter specifically requests informs the defendants of the potential for a lawsuit and demands that they preserve certain items of evidence. This letter also informs the truck company that we will seek sanctions and
punitive damages should they destroy any of specified evidence. Once this letter is received, the truck company is on notice of the relevance of the listed items and must take affirmative steps to maintain and preserve the evidence or risk harsh sanctions. The spoliation of evidence letter is another example of
why it is important to hire a truck accident lawyer immediately after the wreck. Otherwise, this gives the truck company time to destroy pertinent documents before they receive the spoliation letter.