Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Semi-Truck and Tractor-Trailer Accident Documentation
Tractor-trailer collisions spread evidence across hundreds of feet of roadway and two connected vehicles. Delator Claims Division documents the scene, the tractor, the trailer and the other vehicles for motor carriers, insurers, attorneys and injured parties who need a neutral record.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Tennessee carries heavy freight traffic on I-40, I-24, I-65, I-75 and I-81, and a crash involving an articulated truck is cleared as fast as the wrecker operators can manage because the lanes need to reopen. Heavy recovery itself changes the scene: the trailer is uprighted or dragged, cargo is offloaded, and absorbent is spread over fluid spills. The tractor may be released to the motor carrier and back in a shop within days.
DCD dispatches to the scene, the tow yard or the terminal and documents what is physically present. That includes the equipment itself and the things attached to it, such as placards, unit numbers and inspection decals. We do not download engine or electronic logging data, and we do not interpret hours-of-service or maintenance records. Our record identifies what equipment was there and its visible condition so the parties know what to request and from whom.
Tractor-trailer situations that call for a field record
- A passenger vehicle went under the side or rear of a trailer and the guard and lighting condition must be recorded.
- A jackknife or trailer swing blocked several lanes and each vehicle's impact with the combination needs to be sorted out.
- A motor carrier's insurer wants its own record of the tractor and trailer before the unit is repaired and returned to service.
- Plaintiff's counsel has sent a preservation letter and wants the equipment photographed while it is still in the tow yard.
- A truck left the roadway on a grade or ramp and the shoulder, rumble strip and median tracks are still visible.
What is documented on the tractor, trailer and roadway
- Tractor and trailer identification
- Unit numbers, carrier name and USDOT markings, license plates, VIN plates, placards and inspection decals on both the tractor and the trailer.
- Underride guard and trailer lamps
- Rear impact guard, side structure, conspicuity tape and marker lamps, photographed with measurements of guard height and any deformation found.
- Dual tire marks and offtracking
- Dual-wheel tire marks, trailer offtracking marks and yaw marks, measured for length and position across lanes, with start and end points referenced to mile markers.
- Coupling and brake components
- Fifth wheel, kingpin area, air lines, visible brake chambers and slack adjusters photographed as found. No components are disassembled or adjusted by our investigator.
- Cab and sleeper as found
- Sleeper and cab interior, seat belt condition, mounted devices, cameras and any visible electronic logging unit, photographed without operating or downloading anything.
- Trailer interior and load
- Trailer doors, seals, cargo position, load bars, straps and floor condition, where the trailer is opened by someone with authority to do so.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Scene evidence on an interstate does not wait
Tire marks from a loaded combination can run several hundred feet and cross lanes, and on an interstate they are driven over continuously by through traffic. The shoulder evidence lasts longer: furrows in a grass median, struck guardrail and cable barrier, scraped concrete barrier wall, and gouges where trailer landing gear or an axle dug in. Highway crews repair barrier and guardrail on their own schedule, and a repaired section tells nobody where the truck struck it.
Working beside live interstate traffic limits what can be measured safely. Our investigators document from the shoulder and from overpasses or frontage roads where those give a clear view, and they reference positions to mile markers, bridge joints, sign structures and barrier sections that will still be there later. The notes state plainly which areas could not be reached. Where a lane closure is needed for detailed measurement, that is coordinated by the requesting party with the proper authority.
Two units, several owners, and data held by others
A tractor-trailer is often a tractor owned by one company, a trailer owned by another and a load belonging to a third. Each may have a different insurer. The documentation therefore treats tractor, trailer and cargo as separate subjects, each with its own identification photographs and condition record, so the file can be divided cleanly when the claims diverge. Markings on the cab door and the trailer nose are photographed exactly as displayed.
Much of the evidence in a truck case is electronic or documentary and sits with the motor carrier: engine data, logging device records, dispatch messages, camera footage, inspection and maintenance files. DCD does not obtain or analyze those. What the field record does is establish which devices and cameras were physically present on the truck and what condition the equipment was in, which gives carriers and counsel a factual starting point for their own requests and for any expert who examines the unit later.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Do you download the truck's engine or logging device data?
No. Data retrieval requires specialized equipment and authorization from the equipment owner, and it is arranged by the parties or their experts. We photograph the devices, their mounting and their visible state, and we do not power up, connect to or operate any system on the truck.
Can you get into the tow yard or terminal where the truck is held?
Access depends on permission from the party holding the equipment. Insurers and motor carriers usually arrange it directly. Attorneys for other parties typically arrange an inspection through counsel. Once access is confirmed, we attend at the agreed time, document within whatever limits the holder sets, and note those limits.
Will your investigator say whether the truck complied with regulations?
No. We record observable conditions such as tire tread, lamp condition, guard dimensions and markings. Whether any condition met a regulatory standard is a question for qualified experts and the parties. We also do not determine fault or causation on a documentation assignment.
Do you cover rural interstate stretches far from a city?
Yes. Coverage includes all 95 Tennessee counties under the four-hour statewide deployment guarantee, with dispatch at any hour. Crashes on rural stretches of I-40 across the Cumberland Plateau or I-24 over Monteagle are documented the same way as those near Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville or Chattanooga.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.