The Importance of Truck Maintenance Records in Accident Claims

The importance of truck maintenance records in accident claims cannot be overstated, particularly when the assignment of liability proves difficult. 

When you hear of negligence in truck accident cases, you might think about reckless driving or exploitative scheduling practices by trucking companies. However, the failure to maintain the roadworthiness of trucks is potentially an equally big problem. 

Maintenance records can provide critical evidence when it comes to this type of negligence. If you believe the failure of a trucking company to properly maintain its vehicles may have left you with injuries and related financial difficulties, you should contact a lawyer to discuss a potential path to compensation. 

Federal and State Maintenance Record Requirements

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets out detailed requirements regarding the logging of maintenance activities on trucks. This includes provisions related to most inspections and repairs, as well as routine upkeep. 

Informational Record

For the entirety of a vehicle’s service, its owner must keep the following information on file:

• The vehicle’s fleet number
• Its vehicle information number (VIN)
• Its make, model, and year
• Its tire size.

Maintenance and Inspection Schedules

Details of most types of maintenance work and routine inspections must also be kept. This includes information related to:

• A truck’s maintenance schedule, including the scheduled date of its next service. Companies must also keep a record of every time a truck is lubricated, inspected, and repaired in any way. These must be kept for a year after each relevant event while a truck is in service and for six months after a truck is retired from service. 
• Any roadside inspections a truck undergoes. These inspections are carried out on a random basis, typically by state officials on behalf of the FMCSA. There are six varieties of roadside inspection that can take place, and they can target the vehicle, its driver, or both vehicle and driver. The trucking company should promptly address any maintenance issue highlighted during a roadside inspection; failure to do so may constitute negligence. 
• Daily Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIRs). These are reports a driver must fill out at the end of each working day to notify their employer about any defects in the vehicle. These must generally be addressed to a satisfactory standard before the vehicle is driven on a public highway again. As is the case with issues raised during roadside inspections, any failure to take proper action to address these kinds of issues may amount to negligence. 

Accessing Maintenance Records in Truck Accident Cases

Securing maintenance records after a truck accident is not as simple as filing a request and waiting for an email. Trucking companies are often reluctant to provide documents that could expose liability on their part. The company in your case might deny your requests outright, or just make life difficult for you by ignoring your calls and emails. 

Having a skilled attorney on your side is critical. Your lawyer may be able to help by:

• Issuing a spoliation letter: Once you engage a lawyer to work on your case, they can send a letter of spoliation to the trucking company, legally obligating it to preserve maintenance records and other evidence related to the crash. 
• Filing discovery requests: During the litigation process, your attorney will be legally entitled to request various forms of evidence from the company if it’s named as a defendant. Discovery requests are more difficult for the company to ignore than requests you make personally; unless there is a relevant exemption it can use, it will be legally obliged to produce the requested evidence. The same goes for any third-party maintenance provider that may have worked on the truck involved in your case (if it is named as a defendant in your case).
• Engaging expert witnesses: Maintenance records (particularly those that come from a truck’s black box) can be technical and challenging to interpret. Your lawyer may be sufficiently experienced with matters like yours to assess the data themselves. More commonly, though, they will engage an expert witness (such as a mechanical engineer or trucking safety consultant), to perform an analysis and see whether the records contain any indication of negligence. 

Size and Weight Requirements

As well as maintenance and inspections, trucking companies must also adhere to restrictions when it comes to the size and weight of the vehicles they put on the road. These include:

• Height and width: Vehicles cannot generally be wider than 8 feet, 6 inches, and they cannot be taller than 13 feet, 6 inches. 
• Length: Individual vehicles cannot be longer than 40 feet. A single trailer on a combination cannot be longer than 53 feet, with no more than 41 feet between the trailer’s kingpin and the centerline of the rear axle or axle group. Each double trailer is limited to a maximum length of 28 feet, 6 inches. 
• Weight: Vehicles cannot weigh more 80,000 pounds.

Liable Parties When Maintenance Failures Cause Accidents

So, you’ve secured evidence that the truck involved in your accident was not properly maintained. What’s next?

Depending on the nature of the defect, one of a number of parties may be liable for damages in this situation. It’s important to note that these parties may have disputes among themselves regarding who should ultimately compensate you. While you might think this doesn’t matter too much as long as you get paid, arguments like this can cause significant delays in the settlement of cases.

The best way to minimize any such delays is to hire an experienced attorney who will advocate for you and take every available step to keep your case moving. 

Trucking Company

The owner of a fleet of trucks is generally responsible for maintaining its vehicles in a safe condition. If records show that the company involved in your case skipped routine inspections or ignored safety recommendations, it could be held liable for negligence.

Maintenance Providers

If a third-party maintenance provider (such as a mechanic) performed substandard repairs or inspections, they may face liability. For example, if a brake failure resulted from a mechanic's negligence in installing parts correctly, that mechanic or shop could be named as a defendant.

Truck Manufacturer

Sometimes, failures stem not from neglect but from defects in the truck that existed when it came off the production line. If a component like the brake system or steering mechanism was inherently flawed, the manufacturer of the part or truck may be held liable under product liability laws.

Drivers

While truck drivers are not typically responsible for long-term maintenance, they are required to perform pre-trip inspections and report issues. If maintenance records show that the driver involved in your case failed to report the problem that caused your accident, they may share in the liability. 

Partner With a Skilled Truck Accident Lawyer in Philadelphia

Truck accident cases that hinge on maintenance issues and the related records can get complicated quickly. As you can see, there are a lot of technical details when it comes to the upkeep of trucks and the documentation of it. 

If you’ve been involved in an accident with a truck, you need an attorney who understands how all this works and how to present relevant evidence in a way that will strengthen your case as much as possible. That’s exactly what you’ll find at the Cochran Firm in Philadelphia.

Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation about your case. You can reach us via the contact portal on our site or by calling us at 800-969-4400.