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Pre-Litigation Tips

1. Get the accident report;
2. Identify the at fault parties;
3. Verify the insurance coverage;
4. Locate the truck and trailer; and,
5. Preserve the evidence of the tractor and trailer for inspection by an expert.

You can accomplish the tasks in this scenario using the following steps:

• Determine who the attorney represents, their relationship to the deceased, and what authorizations and documents you have in our file.
• The attorney represents the three minor children of the deceased.   The retainer and authorizations were executed by the deceased father’s brother.  The brother will be the administrator of the decedents’ estate and the guardian to both children.  
• Copies of the passports of the decedents and children were in the file, providing the basic information for all parties. 
• News media reports on how the incident occurred.

Task One:  Get the accident report. 

• Call the California Highway Patrol using the information from the news reports and passports to obtain the Traffic Collision Report number.  The CHP advised that the report was not completed and could not be released at this time.   
• Personally drive to the CHP office with the proper authorizations and ask the clerk for a copy of the face sheet to verify the parties and location of the vehicles.  Explain to the clerk that both parents are deceased leaving three minor children and that it will be detrimental to the children’s case if we do not have the identity of the parties and location of the vehicles to preserve the evidence.  After a lot of effort, the CHP agree to provide a copy of the face sheet.

Task Two:  Identify the At-Fault Parties.

• The at-fault driver and owner are identified in the face sheet of the CHP report.  The incident involved a big rig and the CHP report listed an individual as the owner.  This is a trigger that the name may be incorrect.  The person named may be the owner of the business that owns the trailer.  In order to preserve the evidence, all potential owners of the tractor/trailer unit must be identified. 
• Using Westlaw business tracker, conduct a search for the owner using the named person as the business contact.  If no results are returned, then narrow or broaden your search by including or removing a city and state to your search, or an alternative spelling of the name being searched.  The owner was located by identifying the link between the named person and their various addresses, and the address for a local business.  This can be tiresome when the person you are searching for has a common name.
• Once identified, use WestlawNext People Map function to identify all potential business links. Viewed each corporation and fictitious business name linked to the individual until all potential businesses are found.
• Use the Department of Transportation Safer System's website (http://www.safersys.org/).  Safer System and has company information and insurance information for big rigs.  Search for all trucking companies located within the same city as the person named in the accident report and looked at each company’s information until the correct company is located.  In this scenario, the owner of the tractor and the owner of the trailer were two different entities.
• Once the corporation’s name is located, use the Secretary of State’s website (http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/) to obtain the name and address of the agent for service of process to serve the preservation of evidence petition.

Task Three:  Verify Insurance Coverage.

• Contact the insurance company listed on the CHP accident report.  In this case, a claims adjuster advised that the subject tractor and trailer had been removed from the policy.
• Contact the insurance company listed on the Safer System website.  The insurance listed on the Safer System was ABC Insurance.
• Use the DMV website (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vehindustry/mcp/mcp_actve_carrier.htm) for a list of common carriers.  Contact ABC Insurance.  In this case, an ABC claims adjuster advised that DEF Insurance is the insurance company, a subsidiary of ABC Insurance.
• Contact DEF Insurance to open a claim and confirm that an insurance policy was in effect.

Task Four:  Locate all vehicles involved.

• Contact the tow yard for the clients’ vehicle as listed in the accident report.  They require the same documentation as the CHP to access the vehicle.  This allows a paralegal to take photographs of the vehicle and remove personal belongings from the car for the family. 
• Contact the tow yard for the tractor and trailer to confirm the location.

Task Five:  Preserve the Evidence of Tractor/Trailer for Expert

• Prepare a Notice of Petition to Preserve Evidence, Petition to Preserve Evidence, Verification to be signed by the brother of the deceased father, Memorandum of Points and Authorities, and Proposed Order naming the driver of the tractor, owners of the tractor and trailer, and DEF Insurance Company.  
• Request check for filing with the court.
• Contact the court clerk to obtain a date for the hearing within five days.
• Personally file the documents with the court and return endorsed copy to the office.
• Serve the documents on the parties, and file the proofs of service prior to the hearing in five days.