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
Trailer and Towed-Load Accident Documentation
Documentation of collisions involving utility trailers, campers, boat trailers, livestock trailers and other towed loads. Delator Claims Division records the hitch connection, the load and the roadway for carriers, attorneys, owners and claimants across Tennessee and delivers a neutral factual record.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
When a trailer is involved, the connection between two vehicles becomes evidence. A trailer that sways, jackknifes or separates leaves questions an ordinary collision does not: what size ball and coupler were in use, whether the coupler latch was pinned, whether safety chains were attached and how, whether the trailer had working lamps and brakes, and how the load was placed and tied down. The answers are in small components that are easy to overlook and easy to lose.
Many of these trailers are privately owned and used a few times a year, towed by pickups and SUVs to lakes, campgrounds, farms and job sites. After a crash the tow vehicle and trailer often go to different yards, and the hitch parts may be removed to make towing possible. Delator documents the tow vehicle, the trailer, the hitch components and the roadway, and keeps the notes factual and free of conclusions about cause.
Towing losses that benefit from documentation
- A trailer separated from the tow vehicle and crossed into another lane, and the coupler, ball and chains need to be recorded.
- Cargo such as a mower, lumber or furniture left an open trailer and the tie-down points and straps are in question.
- A following driver struck a trailer at dusk and reports that its tail lamps or reflectors could not be seen.
- A camper or enclosed trailer swayed and overturned on a grade, and tire, axle and load placement evidence needs preserving.
- A boat or livestock trailer was damaged in a crash and the owner's and the other driver's insurers each need photographs.
Hitch, load and trailer details recorded
- Coupler, ball and receiver
- Stamped ball diameter and coupler size, latch and pin condition, receiver and ball mount, with wear patterns and any deformation photographed at close range.
- Safety chains and breakaway cable
- Chain size, hooks, attachment points on both vehicles, any broken links, and the breakaway switch and cable where the trailer has electric brakes.
- Wiring connector and trailer lamps
- Plug and socket condition, cut or dragged wiring, lens and reflector condition, and lamp operation if the trailer can be connected to power.
- Load placement and tie-downs
- Where cargo sat relative to the axles, strap and chain condition, anchor points, and the rated markings visible on straps or binders.
- Trailer tires, axles and plate
- Tire size, date code, tread and sidewall condition, hub and spring condition, the manufacturer's rating plate and the registration plate where fitted.
- Tongue gouges and separation path
- Pavement gouges from a dropped tongue or jack, tire marks from the trailer and the route it took after separation, measured from fixed reference points.
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.
Small parts carry most of the evidence
A mismatched ball and coupler, an unpinned latch or a chain hooked to a bumper bracket can each be shown or ruled out by a careful look at the hardware, but only if the hardware is still there. Tow operators disconnect what they must to clear the road. Owners retrieve the ball mount from the receiver. A bent coupler is cut off so the trailer can be moved. Within days the arrangement that existed at the moment of the crash can no longer be seen.
Delator photographs each component in place where possible and individually where it has been removed, with scale and with any stamped sizes and ratings legible. The notes record what was found and where each item was located at the time of the visit. They do not state that a part failed, was the wrong size or was improperly used. Those are conclusions for the parties and any expert they retain, drawn from the record.
Two units, several owners and insurers
The tow vehicle and trailer may be owned and insured separately. A borrowed trailer, a rented camper or a boat on a friend's trailer puts three or four parties into one claim. Carriers want to know which unit was damaged where, what the load was and whose equipment connected the two. Attorneys in a comparative fault dispute want the lighting, the load and the hitch documented because each may be argued as a contributing factor.
The roadway record matters as well. A separated trailer leaves a distinct path: gouges where the tongue met the pavement, marks through a median or shoulder, and a final rest position that may be far from the tow vehicle. On rural routes and lake access roads, grade and curve geometry are measured and photographed. Carriers and their counsel who need statements or further inquiry can arrange that separately; claimants receive neutral documentation only.
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
Can you say whether the hitch was the wrong size for the trailer?
Delator records the sizes stamped on the ball and the coupler, measures them where the stamping is worn, and photographs how they fit. The report states those facts. Whether the combination was appropriate, and whether it contributed to the crash, is left to the parties and any expert they retain.
The trailer and the truck were towed to different lots. Can both be documented?
Yes. One assignment can include more than one location. The requester provides the yard addresses and arranges release for inspection, and the investigator documents each unit and then the scene. Storage yards may move or stack vehicles, so the notes record the condition and position in which each was found.
Does this include commercial semi-trailers?
Tractor-trailer combinations are covered on the semi-truck and commercial truck pages, which address fifth-wheel connections and commercial equipment. This page concerns ball-hitch, gooseneck and pintle-towed trailers such as utility, equipment, camper, boat and livestock trailers, whether privately or commercially owned.
What if the cargo that fell from the trailer has already been removed?
The trailer bed, anchor points, remaining straps and any marks left by the load can still be photographed, along with the roadway where the cargo landed. If the owner still has the item and the tie-downs, those can be documented together at the owner's location.
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.