Truck Accident Black Box Data: 30-Day Spoliation Window in Houston, TX

A Houston truck wreck case is often won or lost in the first 30 days, before the black box, ELD, and dashcam data get written over. Hank Stout, Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and co-founder of Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Lawyers, joins Abby Arnold to walk through the electronic evidence a truck case lives or dies on and how fast a spoliation letter has to go out in Houston. Questions answered in this episode: Why do the first 30 days after a Houston truck wreck decide the case? What is the difference between a black box, ECM, and ELD? Who owns the black box data after a truck crash? Can a trucking company legally delete black box data in Texas? What happens in court when a carrier destroys evidence after a warning? How do you get a Houston CR-3 crash report? Does Texas House Bill 19 change how truck wreck evidence is used? Topics covered: ECM and black box data, Electronic Logging Device data, dashcam and telematics, spoliation and preservation letters, accident reconstruction, the Houston CR-3 crash report, the Port of Houston and I-45 freight corridor, House Bill 19's bifurcated trial, and federal motor carrier recordkeeping requirements. Hank Stout on the 30-day window: "If you don't preserve that evidence quickly afterwards, then it'll just get written over." Hank Stout on data destruction: "It's typically the cover-up that gets you in trouble the most." Hank Stout is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and co-founder of Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Lawyers (no fee unless we win).