Tractor-trailers fill many of Maryland’s highways. Truck drivers have rigorous schedules and spend many hours on the road.
The long hours can become tiresome and lead to distracted driving, resulting in a serious accident. If you have been in an accident with a large truck, you are likely to have suffered the most damage.
Healing and recovering from a truck accident may take weeks or months—or worse. Your injuries could leave you permanently disabled and unable to go back to work.
Proving a truck driver caused your accident because they were distracted could provide you with compensation for these and other losses. But proving distraction is challenging.
You need strong, direct evidence to prove truck driver distraction. Using a phone while driving is one common form of driver distraction.
Cell phone records and witness testimony
Obtaining the truck driver’s cell phone records for the day of the accident can help prove driver distraction. Using a handheld cell phone and texting while driving is illegal in Maryland.
Phone records showing that the truck driver was talking, texting or using the phone in any other way at the time of the accident is strong evidence of distraction.
Witnesses can be another form of evidence to prove truck driver distraction. Police officers who responded to the accident scene could be important witnesses if the truck driver admitted to being distracted.
Other ways to document evidence from the accident include obtaining copies of the police report, accident report or any tickets issued to the truck driver.
Additional testimony from other drivers who witnessed the accident can help prove distraction. Perhaps another driver saw the truck driver swerving off the road, drifting into other lanes or on their phone.
Review traffic cam footage. This is another valuable way to prove distraction. Many of Maryland’s highways have traffic cameras. The footage can show if a driver was looking at a phone or away from the road when the accident occurred.
Accident reconstruction specialists
Depending on the facts of your case, you may want to consider using expert witnesses such as accident reconstruction specialists. An accident reconstruction specialist is professionally trained in analyzing the causes of an accident and contributing factors.
An accident reconstruction specialist will carefully examine the physical evidence from your accident scene. This evidence might include damage to the vehicles, skid marks, tire tracks and the distribution of debris. They will document and interpret physical evidence to help recreate a snapshot of what happened before and during the crash.
Establishing negligence is required in any truck accident case. Showing a truck driver was distracted is just one piece of proving negligence.
The facts of your case must meet the four elements of negligence. This means showing the truck driver had a duty to obey the traffic laws and breached that duty by being distracted. You must then show that the distraction resulted in the accident and caused your injuries and vehicle damage.