Truck Claims-Building a Trucker's Defense & What the Feds Require- Helping Truckers and Their Lawyers

My friend Jeff Trainor who runs a great tranportation insurance link on Linked In showed me interesting facts about what an insured is required to have as deemed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ( FMCSA). This analysis was developed by a most capable attorney named Steven M. Gursten.

Helping truck accident lawyers better understand preservation of supporting documents strengthens a trucker's case.. Many commercial truck crash cases begin with investigation of the driver. For pre-deposition or interrogatory analysis, there are several other ways to “fact check” the accuracy of a driver’s daily log book. Receipts for food and gas accumulated throughout the day, bills of lading, toll receipts, “EZ Pass”-type toll collection system records, and on-board GPS tracking print-outs are just a few examples of the verifiable footprints a driver leaves behind when he’s on the road. A savvy truck accident lawyer will be able to determine whether it was feasible for the driver to actually make the trip he documented in his daily log. A trucker should make sure he has that information for his defense.

Federal truck law 49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1) requires motor carriers to retain all supporting discovery documents at their principal places of business for a period of six months from the date of receipt. Under the regs, “supporting documents” are defined as motor carrier records, maintained in the ordinary course of business, used by the motor carrier to verify the information recorded on the driver’s daily log.” Essentially, any documents directly related to the trucking company’s operation, which are retained by the truck in connection with the operation of its transportation business, are considered “supporting documents.”
Failure to preserve these supporting documents for six months after driver submission is considered a “critical” offense under Appendix B to § 385. In discovery, some carriers do not preserve their drivers’ daily logs and supporting documents, A carrier that does not preserve this data carrier is violating federal law.

If the carrier did have such supporting documents in its possession, and it’s later found that the driver violated federal driving limits, the case against the carrier itself will be significantly strengthened.

Under 49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1), the carrier has the burden to investigate and audit its driver’s hours of service through supporting documents. Simply ignoring false logs presented by its drivers will not absolve a carrier from liability.

If a trucker asks you what they can do to mitigate damages after a loss, give them this information.