Evidence Wins Cases
Michigan Truck Accident Evidence The 72-Hour Truck Crash Protocol
A loaded truck crash is not a bigger car crash. Within hours the carrier has an investigator at the scene, and the records that prove what happened—engine data, electronic logs, telematics, dashcam—begin overwriting themselves. This is what Joseph Dedvukaj does in the first seventy-two hours, and why each step matters.
General information about evidence categories and timing. Not legal advice, and not a description of strategy in any particular case.
- 72
- Hours That Decide the Case
- 6
- Truck Results on This Page
- 30+
- Years in Michigan Courts
The Protocol
What happens in the first seventy-two hours
Each window below names the records pursued and the reason the clock matters. It is a description of categories and urgency, not of strategy in anyone’s case.
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Hour 0–6
Identify and Freeze
Before anything can be preserved, the right parties have to be named — and told, in writing, not to destroy anything.
- Carrier and vehicle identification
- The tractor, the trailer and the driver frequently belong to three different companies. Naming the wrong one wastes the only window that matters.
- Spoliation preservation notice
- A written demand that the truck, its electronics and the carrier’s records be preserved. Once it is served, routine deletion stops being routine.
- Crash scene and video
- Gouge marks, debris fields and skid evidence are cleared within hours. Nearby business and traffic cameras typically overwrite in days.
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Hour 6–24
Target the Electronic Record
Commercial trucks generate data that a passenger car does not. Almost all of it has a short life.
- ECM / EDR download
- The engine control module and event data recorder hold speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before impact. Continued driving, or a repair, can overwrite it.
- ELD and hours-of-service logs
- Federal rules require electronic logging, but only require carriers to retain the supporting documents for six months. Fatigue cases are won or lost here.
- Telematics and dashcam
- Fleet telematics and forward-facing cameras are usually cloud-hosted on a retention clock set by the carrier, not by law.
- Driver qualification file and dispatch
- Licensing, medical certification, prior violations, training, and the dispatch messages that show what the driver was told and when.
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Hour 24–48
Map the Money and the Relationships
One truck can involve a driver, a motor carrier, a broker, a shipper, a lessor and a maintenance contractor — each with its own insurance.
- Ownership, broker and shipper chain
- Who owned the tractor, who leased it, who booked the load and who loaded it. Each relationship can create a separate route to liability.
- Maintenance and inspection history
- Brake, tyre and annual inspection records, plus repair orders — evidence that a defect was known before the crash.
- Insurance towers
- Federal minimums are frequently far below the cost of a catastrophic injury. Excess and umbrella layers have to be found, not assumed.
- Witnesses and surveillance
- Independent witnesses become unreachable and memories fade. Surveillance from surrounding properties is pursued while it still exists.
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Hour 48–72
Set the Inspection and Name the Gaps
By the end of the third day the case has a shape: what is secured, what is contested, and what is already gone.
- Expert evaluation
- Accident reconstruction, trucking-industry practice, and treating-physician input evaluated against what the evidence will actually support.
- Vehicle inspection strategy
- A joint physical inspection of the tractor and trailer arranged before repair, salvage or sale puts the vehicle out of reach.
- Federal and state regulatory issues
- Where the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Michigan’s no-fault act each apply — two different bodies of law running at once.
- Evidence gaps identified
- An honest list of what could not be obtained, and why. Knowing the hole early is worth more than discovering it at deposition.
Why the Clock
Truck evidence has an expiry date
Nothing here is hidden by anyone. It simply stops existing on a schedule that has nothing to do with how long an injured family needs to recover enough to call a lawyer.
| Record | What it is | Typically gone in |
|---|---|---|
| Roadside and scene evidence | Gouges, debris, fluid trails, skid and yaw marks | Hours |
| Third-party video | Business, traffic and residential cameras near the crash | Days |
| ECM / EDR | Engine and event data — speed, brake, throttle at impact | Overwritten by continued driving or repair |
| Dashcam and telematics | Forward-facing video and fleet tracking, usually cloud-hosted | Carrier retention policy, often days to weeks |
| ELD / hours-of-service | Electronic logs and the documents that support them | Supporting documents required to be kept six months |
| The vehicle itself | Tractor and trailer in post-crash condition | Repaired, salvaged or sold |
| Witnesses | Independent accounts of what the truck actually did | Contact details go stale; memory degrades |
Retention varies by carrier, equipment and the regulation that applies. Treat every figure above as a reason to move early, not as a deadline to rely on.
The Method, Applied
Michigan truck cases Joe has resolved
Every one began the same way: identify the carrier, preserve the record, prove what the truck actually did.
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$3.85M
Commercial truck accident
$3,850,000 Settlement for Trucker Injured by Fatigued Co-Driver
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$1.35M
Fire Truck Accident
$1,350,000 Settlement: Overcoming Governmental Immunity in Fire Truck Collision
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$975K
Truck accident
$975,000 Settlement: Holding Trucking Company Accountable for Red Light Collision in Sterling Heights
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$975K
Trucking accident
$975,000 Settlement: Using Expert Reconstruction to Win a Disputed Truck Accident Case
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$900K
Trucking accident
$900,000 Settlement: Victim of Fatigued Truck Driver Gets Justice
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$685K
Forklift driver negligence
$685,000 Settlement: Using Safety Regulations to Win Forklift Accident Case
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.
Attorney Access
You Hire Joe.
You Get Joe.
A truck crash case is decided by what is preserved in the first days and by who is willing to try it if the carrier will not pay. Both of those are the same person here.
Joseph Dedvukaj
Michigan Car & Truck Accident Trial Lawyer
- Joe evaluates the case
- Not an intake screener working from a script. The lawyer who would try the case is the one who decides whether to take it.
- Joe is reachable
- Direct access to the attorney handling your matter, including evenings and weekends. Serious truck cases do not keep office hours.
- Joe tries cases
- Practising in Michigan since 1994. Carriers and their insurers price a claim differently when the lawyer across the table has taken cases to verdict.
The Book Behind the Protocol
164,000 Pounds
What Happens After a Michigan Truck Crash — and Why the First Seventy-Two Hours Decide Everything
The carrier's investigator is often at the scene before the injured family has been told which hospital to drive to.
Talk to Joe
No Fees Unless We Win
If you or someone in your family has been hurt by a commercial truck in Michigan, the evidence is already on the clock. Call Joe, day or night, for a free consultation.
Free consultation • Confidential • No obligation