Auto Accidents with Trucks-Discovery

Discovery To Driver

Brien Roche

Truck accident discovery is critical. Trucks are complex. The relation between the company and the driver is complex. What follows is a series of proposed Interrogatories to the driver and then secondly to the company.

Exams

1. Give the dates and results of all medical exams required by the U.S. Department of Transportation. In addition state the date, name of the examiner, location of the exam and the results.

Record

2. State if you have been involved in any prior collisions or have received any prior traffic citations and if so then give the date, circumstances, and outcome of each.
3. If you have been cited for any violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations either in this incident or any other then give the date, facts of such and the outcome of any such citation.
4. If you have ever been placed out of service for any traffic citation or FMCSR violation state the date, facts and outcome of such.
5. Identify every state that has ever issued you a driver’s license. In addition give the date of such, the current status of that license and the date of any medical authorization issued for such license. Call, or contact us for a free consult.

History and Training

6. Set forth in chronological order your prior employment, the name of the employer, dates of employment, and the reason for separation.
7. Describe all driver training that you have had giving the dates, the name of the company or individual that provided the training and any certificates that you have received.
8. Describe in detail the pre-employment screening process associated with the position that you occupied on the date of this incident giving the date of any such screening and the circumstances.
9. Provide in detail all training that you have received from the company that you were associated with in regards to the vehicle in question in this case.  

Contacts

10. As to any communications between yourself and the company with which you were associated on the date of this incident give the date and time of those communications, the content of those communications, the names of the individuals involved in such communications and the nature of the communications, i.e. text, email, radio, or otherwise.
11. Describe in detail your relationship with any of the other named Defendants to this action as of the date of this incident.

Discovery to Companies

Owners

1. Identify precisely the owner of the tractor and the trailer involved and describe in detail all signage on either of these. In addition include within your answer the DOT number for each vehicle and all prior business names that you have ever operated under.
2. Set forth in detail your relationship with any other Defendants in this lawsuit.

Driver

3. State whether or not the driver of the vehicle in question was acting within the scope of the employment at the time of the collision.
4. State whether or not the driver who was involved in this collision was tested for the presence of alcohol or drugs after the collision and if so when, by whom, and what the results were of such testing.
5. Describe in detail the employment evaluation process for the driver in question. Also your answer should include but not be limited to the date of the driver’s road test, who conducted it and what the results were.
6. Identify in detail and by name any documents that constitute your safety policy or policies. State in what format they exist, i.e. paper, electronic, or otherwise.
7. Identify all policies concerning driver discipline for violation of any motor carrier safety regulations, stating the name of any such policy manual and state in what format these policies exist, i.e. paper, electronic, or otherwise.
8. State in detail your safety training practices for each driver. In addition identify all training documents and the names of the individuals responsible for overseeing safety as of the date of the incident in question.
9. Detail all factors affecting the driver’s compensation. Also within your answer set forth in detail precisely how the driver was compensated as of the date of this incident.
10. State the date of issuance of the CDL license for the driver of this vehicle and the date of the medical authorization for such license.

Data

11. If the tractor involved in this collision is equipped with any on-board or satellite vehicle tracking equipment or audio or video recording equipment then identify any such equipment. Also state who is the current custodian of any data from that equipment.
12. State who is the current custodian of all log books for the trip in question in this action and identify what form they exist in, i.e. paper, electronic, or otherwise.

The Truck and the Load

13. In regards to the trip that the driver was working at the time of this crash set forth in detail the cargo that was being carried, the trip route, all stops and intended destinations.
14. Identify the manufacturer and model number of the engine of the truck, the truck itself, and the trailer.
15. Set forth the gross and curb weight of the tractor and trailer as of the time of this collision or as of the beginning of the trip in question.
16. How many trucks and trailers do you own and/or lease and how many drivers do you employ or contract with as of the date of this collision.
17. If you contend that there was any equipment failure that contributed to this crash then identify the nature of the equipment that you contend failed. Also identify the nature of the failure, and identify any documents that would evidence any such failure.
18. If the truck in question was leased by you, then identify the date of any inspection of that truck, all documents evidencing any such inspection and in particular what the inspection disclosed.

Contacts

19. Set forth in detail all means by which you communicated with the driver from the beginning of this trip up to time of the collision. Also identify who is the current custodian of any such communications.

Work With A Trusted Auto Accident Attorney in the DMV Area

Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more information on truck accidents see the pages on Wikipedia. Also see the other pages on this site.