Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog
Introduction
49 CFR Part 393 discusses “[p]arts and accessories necessary for safe operation” of a CMV. The regulations therein provide explicit instructions about many of the components that fit together to make up a CMV. Prompt inspection of a vehicle, particularly in a case where no obvious reason for a collision is apparent, is important. For this reason, counsel is advised to send a letter to the motor carrier requesting that the vehicle be preserved – without repairs or alteration of any kind – until there is an opportunity to inspect it. If the client does not retain counsel until after the vehicle has already been repaired or disposed of, then discovery of any inspection conducted by the motor carrier, either by an expert or shop mechanic, is the best available substitute. Even if the vehicle has been disposed of, counsel should attempt to find out what yard it was sent to; it may still be sitting there, even months after a crash.
It is also important to obtain any report prepared by authorities that documents any inspections of the vehicle. Either or both the state or federal DOT may have inspected the vehicle at some point. Their inspection report may have noted vehicle deficiencies that designated it (or should have) to be placed out of service. Some of these problems may have been a consequence of the incident itself, and thus not a factor for you. However, matters such as measurement of tire tread, brake pad thickness, and the like, documented by a government official charged with investigating the condition of the vehicle, oftentimes at the actual scene, can be worth their weight in gold.