In a serious car accident or truck accident, it’s critical to secure an accident vehicle as soon as possible following an accident. A product defect may have caused or contributed to the injuries suffered. These defects can include tire defects, seat belt defects, or other parts of a vehicle. The vehicle must be secured so that important evidence is not destroyed.
What Steps Should be Taken if Vehicle Product Defects Are Suspected?
If a defective vehicle product is suspected, the car or truck should be secured and stored in an indoor, weatherproof storage facility. To make sure that this occurs, if you have been injured or a loved one has been killed, please call my office so that we can see that the vehicle is properly secured.
It’s important that this process take place as soon as possible after the accident, as insurance company actions may include salvaging or scraping an automobile they insure when it has been involved in an accident.
Moreover, some vehicle and component part manufacturers have “first response” teams employing investigators to gather evidence of incidents reported on television, the radio, or in the newspaper. For a number of reasons, tires, tire treads, air bags, black box evidence, seat belts, and the vehicles themselves have been known to disappear from storage or tow lots before an auto accident attorney can gain control of the vehicle.
What Does an Insurance Company Do With A Vehicle Following an Accident?
The most likely scenario following an automobile accident is that the insurance company will take possession of the vehicle and place it in a storage lot. This does not mean the evidence is protected. In most instances, the insurance company transports the vehicle to a large unsecured lot where the vehicle is exposed to the weather. This may result in rust and corrosion of a vehicle’s component parts which could prevent an expert hired on your behalf from being able to determine and testify that a manufacturing defect caused or contributed to your injuries or the death of a loved one.
What We Do to Preserve Vehicles and Evidence
As an experienced car accident attorney, I will take whatever steps are necessary to preserve the vehicle. The process begins by sending the insurance company and any storage lot a “preservation” letter from our firm.
The letter will state that the subject vehicle and its component parts, including such things as the tires, seat belts, air bags, black box, seats, and the windshield, are crucial evidence in a potential auto manufacturer defect case, and that no part of the vehicle should be altered, removed, or destroyed. The letter will also state that the vehicle and its component parts should be moved to an indoor weatherproof storage facility.
In many cases, insurance company adjustors are interested in a potential subrogation claim against a third party automaker and will fully co-operate with our firm in storing and preserving the vehicle. In these cases, we are often able to reach a specific agreement from the insurance company to preserve the vehicle. If the insurance company is unwilling to agree to preserve a vehicle, we will seek a temporary restraining order to safeguard the condition of the vehicle for evidentiary purposes
To Increase Your Chances of Winning, It’s Important to Begin The Legal Process As Soon As Possible After an Accident
Please call me at your earliest convenience – day or night. I can meet with you and begin the process of protecting your rights and seeing that important evidence in your case is preserved.
If we serve as your legal counsel, we will do so on a contingency “no fee unless we recover for you” basis.