Ouellette & Associates, Inc. is willing to perform any task required to complete an on-scene truck investigation. This includes remaining in contact with the carrier and providing images, and at times, drone overviews, to help the carrier understand the possible liability involved in any given accident.

Truck Accidents

To give you an idea of what one can expect from our adjusters, here is a report from a large truck accident that took place on 2/14/15, by Brett Riggs.

We were contacted by a trucking company to perform an on-scene inspection due to a traffic accident that occurred on the Indiana Toll Road. The accident was due to heavy snow fall with 45+ MPH winds that were causing “white outs” over the entire area.

Due to the weather conditions and with traffic accidents occurring all around the area, gaining access to a location that would allow us to meet with the truck driver and examine the damages to his truck and trailer was difficult. However, with our knowledge of the area, we were able to get within a ½ mile of the accident site.

Upon our arrival, we found the truck driver, and we secured images of the damages to his unit and the vehicles around the accident site. These images helped us to better understand the cause of the accident, and to evaluate if there may be possible liability against the driver.

There were four other semis involved, in addition to the firm who requested the investigation. There were also six passenger vehicles involved, with four still on-site.

It should be noted that the area was still under hazardous driving conditions due to the blowing and drifting of snow on the roadways. Due to the weather conditions and high winds, we were unable to utilize our drone, which we purchased to provide additional overview images of the accident site. We remained in contact with the trucking company via telephone calls and email, providing images of the accident scene. When the driver was allowed to leave the site, he was warned that there were at least two other accidents in front of this location.

We met with the driver at the tow yard, in order to ensure the load and tractor were secured, and the driver was taken to a local hotel to stay until he was cleared to move his truck. The trailer was not able to be moved due to damages. It was determined that the driver did not have to have a DOT test due to the accident.

On Monday, we met with the driver to take him back to the tow yard, so that he could leave the area. We also worked with the tow yard on the storage fees for the truck, as well as with the carrier on the transfer of the load to another trailer.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with you on your future assignments!