For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today
For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today
For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today
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Trucking Law<br />
Rapid Response Teams<br />
By Durward D. Casteel<br />
and Aaron J. Messer<br />
Pieces of evidence, each by itself insufficient,<br />
may together constitute a significant<br />
whole, and justify by their<br />
combined effect a conclusion.<br />
—Lord Wright<br />
Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it<br />
cannot perjure itself, it cannot be wholly<br />
absent. Only human failure to find it,<br />
study and understand it, can diminish<br />
its value.<br />
—Paul L. Kirk<br />
50 ■ <strong>For</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Defense</strong> ■ <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Investigation<br />
of Catastrophic<br />
Accidents<br />
Time is of the essence when investigating a catastrophic<br />
trucking accident since key evidence, such as a favorable<br />
witness, a faint tire mark, or accident debris, disappears<br />
quickly from a scene. <strong>For</strong> this reason, trucking companies<br />
and their third-party administrators or<br />
insurers use small groups of professionals<br />
known as “rapid response,” “go,” or<br />
“CAT” teams to assess and investigate accidents<br />
quickly. This article offers a primer<br />
on the makeup and activities of a successful<br />
trucking accident rapid response team.<br />
<strong>The</strong> article also addresses the application<br />
of the attorney- client privilege, the work-<br />
product doctrine, and spoliation to the<br />
team’s efforts and findings.<br />
Benefits of a Rapid and<br />
Thorough Investigation<br />
A thorough investigation has many benefits.<br />
First, it will increase the chance that a<br />
trucking company will have the evidence<br />
necessary to defend no-fault accidents, or<br />
to prove comparative fault on the part of<br />
other drivers or third parties such as highway<br />
construction companies or state transportation<br />
departments. Second, collecting<br />
and documenting physical evidence will<br />
allow a trucking company to evaluate wit-<br />
ness statements better, including that of<br />
the trucking company’s driver. Third, rapidly<br />
and thoroughly investigating an accident<br />
better positions a trucking company<br />
to influence investigations by governmental<br />
agencies because the company’s team<br />
can then provide evidence when appropriate<br />
to an investigating authority or to a district<br />
attorney. Finally, an investigation will<br />
assess an accident’s causes early and accurately.<br />
This early assessment will increase<br />
the chance of achieving a timely settlement,<br />
when appropriate, by providing the information<br />
necessary to set a proper reserve.<br />
Importance of Arriving at the<br />
Accident Scene Quickly<br />
Team members must arrive on the scene<br />
of a catastrophic accident as soon as possible<br />
so that key evidence can be preserved<br />
or documented. A rapid response has the<br />
advantages of<br />
• Identifying all potential witnesses, including<br />
law enforcement, fire depart-<br />
■ Durward D. Casteel and Aaron J. Messer are trial attorneys at Casteel & Associates in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y practice primarily in the areas of trucking and insurance defense. Both are active members of<br />
<strong>DRI</strong> and its Trucking Law Committee. <strong>The</strong> authors thank Cline Young for his assistance regarding the accident<br />
reconstructionist’s role in responding to a catastrophic accident, and the engineers at Delta [V] <strong>For</strong>ensic<br />
Engineering for their input into the electronic data section of this article.