"Black Box" Data Relevant to a Truck Crash? That's Un-Possible!
I am involved in a court case in Prince George's County where I am representing a lady who alleges she was injured when a tractor-trailer struck her car.
We live in an increasingly technological age. One consequence of this is that trucking companies often equip their vehicles with a "black box" that records vehicle data, such as speed, location, movement, etc. They do this to promote efficiency in terms of scheduling, cargo tracking, route determinations, etc. To some extent it is also probably done to make sure the drivers are where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to be doing, while they are out on the road.
Many lawyers think a trucking accident case is just a plain ol' car accident case on steroids. Wrong. This an example. Experienced truck accident lawyers, like me, know to ask for things like vehicle data recorder information in discovery requests. I do this in all of my truck accident cases, like the one in P.G. County I have going on now.
Well, I got a response back to my request. Here it is, verbatim:
OBJECTION. This Request is overly broad, unduly burdensome and seeks to discover information not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
Apparently, I had a liquid lunch at the local bar the day I wrote my request. Who would think that information about speed, stopping, vehicle load and driving time would be relevant to figuring out if a truck driver was negligent? Oh, right. EVERYONE. This response is about as ridiculous as arguing that a videotape of the accident is irrelevant.
That is, everyone except this defense lawyer with about 35 years of experience. What his response really means is "you are only getting this if you make me." The root cause of this phenomenon is lazy plaintiffs' lawyers who will not take the time to get this information the hard way. Obstructionist defense lawyers get away with this all the time because the plaintiff's lawyer doesn't read the discovery responses closely or at all until 2 weeks before trial.
Sorry dude, you picked the wrong guy. Red flag, meet bull. The only way I won't get it is if a judge denies my motion to compel it. Which I think unlikely, since there is nothing more relevant to a truck crash than vehicle movement data.
"The only thing neccesary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke, (1729-1797)
