Nobody brings a personal injury claim unless they believe they can win it, but in some cases, even when the evidence is technically on their side, a person might lose a case simply because a spoilation letter was not issued. What is this letter and why is it so important? Continue reading to get the facts and then contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to request a free legal consultation.
The Basic Facts About Spoliation Letters
A letter of spoliation is sent to the opposing party. It is a request that asks for all evidence to be preserved. It can be general and ask for all relevant evidence to be preserved, or it can be specific and request that a certain piece of evidence be preserved. In most cases, a spoilation letter will alert the other party not to tamper with evidence, hide evidence, or destroy evidence.
The Importance of the Letters
A person who is not familiar with the law might argue that this type of letter is pointless because if a company is going to destroy evidence, getting a letter asking them not to is not likely to prevent them from doing so. However, what these letters are meant to protect is records that are destroyed under the guise of regular business.
For example, if there is voicemail evidence, a person could claim that they did not think about it and simply deleted the voicemail because they always clean out their voicemail at the end of the week. The spoilation letter issued by a personal injury attorney can be very specific to protect this voicemail.
There Are Many Types of Evidence That Can Be Protected by These Letters
A spoliation letter can cover a huge range of evidence types, including paper documents (including personnel records), social media posts and other correspondence over social media, electronic records of all types, blueprints, hard drives, medical records, phone records (including call logs, texts, and voice mails), backup discs, and other types of material evidence.
The specific type of evidence covered in a spoliation letter for any particular accident will depend on the type of accident. For example, if you were involved in a truck accident, your attorney could include inspection records, records of repairs, maintenance reports, and other relevant documents within the letter.
Let an Attorney Handle This Potentially Difficult Process for You
If the letter is not worded correctly, it might not be legally binding. Even if it is legally binding, it might not cover everything you assumed it would cover. For these and other reasons, it is important to allow a personal injury attorney to take care of this process for you. Contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation today.
