Why Does My Lawyer Want To See The Logbooks Of The Truck Driver That Hit Me?

As experienced New Orleans personal injury attorneys, we have dealt with the consequences of many terrible accidents involving large trucks. While these accidents have a variety of causes, a study by the National Transportation Safety Board has found that driver fatigue is a factor in 30 to 40 percent of large truck accidents.

Because of the dangers of truck driver fatigue, the federal government regulates not only the number of hours a truck driver may spend on the road, but also how long they may remain on duty when not driving. For example, truck drivers are not supposed to spend more than eleven hours driving after having completed ten consecutive hours off duty.

Truck drivers are required to document their time spent driving, their time off duty and hours of sleep in a logbook. If the truck driver has kept an accurate logbook as required by law, it may help your personal injury lawyer determine if the driver was fatigued at the time of the collision.

Even if the driver was “cheating” and not keeping an accurate logbook, the information in the logbook may still be helpful to your case. When the entries in a logbook look suspicious, your personal injury attorney may explore issues such as whether it is realistic for the truck driver to have covered the distances driven in the time claimed. False entries in the logbook would help establish that the driver knew he was fatigued, but chose to ignore the law and continue driving.

If you have been injured in a collision with a truck and have any questions, please feel free to call us at (504) 527-8767 for free consultation.