If you get injured in an accident involving a large truck in Texas, your injury claim may involve unique types of evidence compared to a typical car accident. One example is Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) data, which shows a driver’s history of past accidents and roadside inspections. A meticulous truck accident lawyer can help you obtain and use PSP data to strengthen your injury claim.
What Is PSP Data?
The Pre-Employment Screening Program is a report required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that shows the past five years of a commercial driver’s crash history and the past three years of inspection records. The FMCSA keeps a database of all PSP data from commercial truck drivers around the nation.
What Can Be Found Within the PSP Database?
PSP data typically documents a commercial driver’s crash history, with all reported crashes and their dates, locations and severity. Crashes involving the driver will be documented in the PSP, whether or not the driver was at fault. Any roadside inspection violations or out-of-service violations will also be recorded in the PSP.
Driver-related safety issues, such as moving violations, traffic infractions, criminal convictions, drug or alcohol use, and a history of risky behavior, should all be included in PSP data. PSP reports show federal information across the driver’s career – not just the driver’s history within the State of Texas.
What Is the Role of PSP Data in a Truck Accident Claim?
When a truck accident occurs in Texas, an investigation will be conducted to determine who is at fault. The goal of the investigation is to identify safety issues and decide who is liable, or legally and financially responsible, for crash-related losses. The liable party will be responsible for paying for victims’ injuries, medical bills and property repairs.
As an injured truck accident victim, you or your personal injury attorney will need to provide evidence against the person or party you are attempting to hold liable. PSP data may provide a strong form of evidence in support of your case against a truck driver or trucking company. It can show signs of negligence by one or both parties.
Federal PSP reports can demonstrate that a truck driver had a history or pattern of unsafe behavior, such as repeated accidents or moving violations. This can prove that the truck driver should not have been allowed behind the wheel. It also shows trucking company negligence in allowing an incompetent, reckless or dangerous driver to continue to drive.
How to Access PSP Data for Your Truck Accident Case in Texas
In the immediate aftermath of a serious trucking accident in Texas, it is generally in your best interest to contact a personal injury lawyer to help you preserve and collect evidence in support of your claim. A lawyer can initiate certain legal processes to require a trucking company to keep and share evidence, including driver-related reports and data.
A lawyer can assist you with obtaining PSP data. Typically, this data is only accessible to the truck driver and employers. However, a lawyer can bypass these restrictions using official legal processes. This may include truck driver authorization (written consent), formal discovery, subpoena and a court order. Your lawyer can then use the data collected in your favor to showcase a truck driver and/or company’s negligence.