On June 24th, the Amtrak California Zephyr was traveling from Chicago, Illinois to Emeryville, California north of Oakland when it collided with a semi-truck on Interstate 95 in Nevada, about 70 miles east of Reno. The driver of the truck was killed, as were six passengers on the train. Dozens more were injured, and as of the time of this posting, many are still unaccounted for.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has begun its investigation into the cause of the crash. Meanwhile, a personal injury lawsuit has already been filed in the case. An Amtrak attendant is suing the driver and the trucking company for negligence. The plaintiff in the case has already obtained a court order in an effort to preserve evidence from the crash. Why is such an order necessary?
Trucking Company Logs and Records
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issues rules and regulations that cover truck drivers, the trucks themselves, and the trucking companies. These regulations dictate the hours behind the wheel for truckers and mandate periodic inspections of tires, brakes, and other critical components.
The regulations require truck drivers and trucking companies to maintain log books showing compliance. By obtaining these log books, the NTSB, or a plaintiff's attorney, can determine whether the driver was logging in too many hours, and whether the truck was properly inspected and maintained. An important piece of evidence, log books may sometimes be lost or destroyed in the accident, either accidentally or intentionally. A forensic analysis may even be necessary to determine if they have been doctored after the fact. The plaintiff's protective order should help preserve such evidence.
Other lawsuits may follow from those injured and the family members of those who were killed. As you can see, taking swift legal action is important to protecting your rights and preserving crucial evidence after a crash. If you or a loved one has been involved in a train accident, contact Los Angeles Lawyers Fisher & Talwar at (213) 891-0777 for immediate assistance.
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