Ryan Bradley | May 9, 2025 | Tractor Trailer Crash \ Uncategorized
Key Takeaways:
- A spoliation letter is a legal document that stops trucking companies from accidentally deleting or deliberately destroying evidence after an accident.
- While federal law requires trucking companies to maintain driver logs and other crucial evidence, they may legally destroy such records after a few weeks or months. This makes issuing a quick spoliation letter essential.
- A truck accident attorney can draft a strong spoliation letter requesting the preservation of black box data, driver qualification files, dispatch communications, and more, significantly increasing your chances of securing maximum compensation.
Evidence is everything when you’re involved in a trucking accident. Unfortunately, trucking companies don’t waste time and may rush to repair vehicles or erase maintenance and hours-of-service records. Without immediate action, valuable evidence proving a driver’s or company’s negligence could vanish, hurting your chances of securing fair compensation.
A spoliation letter is key to preserving the proof you need to build your case. In this article, we’ll explain what a spoliation letter is, why it’s essential in trucking cases, and how an experienced attorney can ensure your spoliation letter is bulletproof.
What Is a Spoliation Letter?
A spoliation letter, also called a “preservation letter” or “evidence preservation letter,” is a formal written demand sent to the trucking company after an accident. It creates a legal obligation for the trucking company to retain all specified evidence related to your crash. Without this letter, trucking companies can dispose of crucial evidence that could prove their liability. At Bradley Law, our Truck Crash Spoliation Letter requests over 60 items to preserve and we always modify these to fit the facts of the case. Sometimes we request additional items or remove certain ones from the letter, depending upon the facts of the case.
To ensure compliance, a trucking company or another responsible party could face serious penalties and adverse court actions if they destroy evidence after receiving a spoliation letter, including:
- Fines for violating the preservation order
- The jury being instructed to assume that the destroyed evidence would have hurt their case (known as spoliation instruction)
- Sanctions like having to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees or court costs
- The court ruling in the plaintiff’s favor without trial
What a Spoliation Letter Should Include
An effective spoliation letter isn’t generic. It should be comprehensive and tailored to your specific accident, including demands to preserve:
- All electronic data like ELD records, GPS tracking, and dashcam footage.
- Driver records, including a complete qualification file, hours-of-service logs, cell phone records, and message exchanges with dispatchers.
- Vehicle information like maintenance logs, repair orders, inspection certificates, and parts replacement records.
- Internal company policies, such as safety protocols and hiring procedures.
The letter must be properly served on all relevant parties, including the trucking company and insurer.
Get Professional Help
Crafting a legally valid spoliation letter isn’t something you should handle alone – it requires a skilled and experienced attorney who knows exactly which evidence to demand from trucking companies and how to word the legal demands.
The one decision that could save your entire case? Consulting an experienced truck accident lawyer within days of your crash.
Evidence You Must Secure in a Trucking Accident
Truck accidents aren’t just car accidents involving bigger vehicles. An accident with a commercial vehicle typically involves several at-fault parties, like the driver and trucking company, creating unique and challenging complexities for plaintiffs. On top of that, commercial trucking operations generate several types of evidence that simply don’t exist in ordinary collision cases:
- Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). ELDs or black boxes track driving hours, rest periods, speed, braking patterns, and other essential data. They can reveal critical details, like whether a driver was speeding or failing to take the mandated rest breaks.
- Driver Qualification Files. Trucking companies must maintain records on each driver, including their driving history and license information, results of drug and alcohol testing, and previous accident reports. These files can reveal negligent hiring by a trucking company, like hiring a driver with a bad driving record.
- Maintenance and Inspection Records. Commercial trucks require regular inspection, repair, and maintenance as per federal regulations. A trucking company’s records might show failed safety inspections, failure to repair critical systems like brakes, or violations of other federal regulations.
- Load Documentation. Improper loading of cargo can be a significant factor in truck crashes. Load documentation typically details cargo weight, distribution, and securement methods, among other data.
- Communications Records. Messages between dispatchers and drivers can reveal pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines or evidence of driver exhaustion. They may even show a trucking company encouraging drivers to violate out-of-hours regulations or falsify logbooks.
Just one piece of preserved evidence can make or break your case and transform it from a basic insurance claim into a substantial recovery. A truck black box may show a driver exceeded federal hours limits by hours, proving fatigue. A maintenance record could reveal that a trucking company knew about faulty brakes before your crash. Without a spoliation letter, these smoking guns vanish forever.
The Clock Is Ticking: Why You Need to Move Fast After a Crash
The aftermath of a tractor-trailer accident can be confusing, especially if you suffered significant injuries. But timing is crucial. Even if you haven’t decided to pursue legal action, sending a spoliation letter immediately after a crash preserves the evidence and your options in case you need to fight for what you deserve in court.
Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you’re certain about filing a lawsuit. By then, the electronic data showing the driver hadn’t slept in 16 hours or the maintenance record revealing known brake problems might have already disappeared. A spoliation letter costs relatively little to prepare, but it protects evidence that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to your case. Without a spoliation letter, a potential truck accident settlement could turn into a denied claim that leaves you struggling with medical bills and lost wages on your own.
Why Hire a Truck Accident Attorney?
Truck accidents can create devastation far beyond most car crashes. Victims may face catastrophic injuries and overwhelming medical bills, and worse, they’ll be up against powerful corporate trucking companies with teams of lawyers working against them.
An experienced truck accident attorney levels this uneven playing field, handling complex federal regulations and technical evidence while you focus on your health and recovery. An attorney can immediately protect you and your case by crafting a comprehensive spoliation letter that:
- Demands all relevant evidence
- Is legally binding
- Gets properly served on every responsible party
- Includes follow-up to ensure compliance
- Creates legal leverage if evidence is destroyed despite a spoliation notice
Bradley Law Preserves the Critical Evidence for Your Claim
At Bradley Law, we understand the devastating impacts truck accidents have on victims and families. The worst thing you can do after a crash is wait, as that allows the trucking company to destroy vital evidence for your claim.
Contact us today for a free consultation to learn about your next best steps and options for getting what you deserve.