The Importance of ECM Download in a Dump-Truck Wreck

Personal Injury Case Analysis:

Over the past 35+ years, I have handled numerous cases involving dump trucks. In fact, the very first truck accident case I was hired to handle involved a dump truck hauling gravel on U.S. Highway 31 in Hamilton County, Indiana.

The truck left the roadway, went through a building and struck my client. Since that first case, I have handled several cases involving negligence on the part of dump truck drivers.

The most recent dump truck case that our law firm, Craig, Kelley & Faultless, handled was in Tennessee, just outside of Knoxville. Dump truck cases can be complicated and are different from typical semi tractor-trailer cases.

First of all, in my experience, many companies in this business don’t maintain their vehicles properly. I think it is extremely important in these cases to have a heavy truck mechanic examine the dump truck that was involved in the wreck.

Another issue that I have run into with dump trucks is that some have Mack engines. Mack engines’ electronic control modules (ECMs) cannot be downloaded by most accident reconstructionists. The software is proprietary, and only a few companies in the country can download it. In my most recent case, I used Delta |v|, which has one of its offices in Nashville, TN.

Fortunately, in the Tennessee dump truck accident, our client was not killed, nor did he receive catastrophic injuries. Of course, when you are first hired, you don’t know if your client is going to make a full recovery or not. In this case, we weren’t sure if the client’s concussion (mild traumatic brain injury) would resolve itself or not. He was suffering from post-concussion symptoms early on and at the time we were hired.

What I would recommend, and what we did in his case, is have the truck inspected and the ECM downloaded. That way, you have the information that may be necessary to use in litigation, resulting from ongoing complicated injury symptoms. If you do not do a download in the beginning, you likely will not be able to do it later. So, play it safe and do the download while you still can.

Our client made a great recovery, and we were able to settle his case without the need to file suit.