In the state of Missouri, the statute of limitations—the time allowed for filing a personal injury claim—is 5 years, beginning on the date of the accident. If the claim is not filed within this five-year period, the court will refuse to hear the case. For a wrongful death claim resulting from a truck accident, the statute of limitations is three years. Following a truck accident, it is particularly important to file your claim as quickly as possible for a variety of reasons.
Commercial trucking companies, while required under the law to keep records of safety inspections and logbooks of driver’s hours, are only required to keep such records for 6 months, and after that time the records can be destroyed. This means that critical evidence in a truck accident case could be lost or destroyed if an experienced truck accident attorney is not consulted. Many trucks are now equipped with a “black box” which will show how the truck was being driven at the time of the accident as well as a complete history of the truck driver’s driving habits.