One of the most critical pieces of evidence in a truck accident is the driver qualification file (DQF) that is kept by the trucking company that employs the driver. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency that oversees all commercial carrier companies, requires that a DQF is kept on every driver. The file should contain the following:

Any medical certifications, as well as results for any medical test results
Copies of all licenses
Driving record of the truck driver
Drug and alcohol test results
Employment applications
Personnel records
Records of service hours
Records of annual reviews
Road test results
The driver’s employment history
Training certificates
Vehicle maintenance records

It is not uncommon for a trucking company to not willingly want to provide a truck accident attorney the DQF, especially if it contains damaging information. If this occurs, then the attorney can obtain a subpoena from the court to force the company to turn over the file.

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Needless to say, the truck company attorneys try to make it difficult for personal injury trucking attorneys to get to the bottom of the truth if the negligence of the truck driver caused a serious trucking accident. There are many other avenues we take to get to the truth: driver logs showing the hours of service, subpoenas for the medical records of the truck driver where relevant, credit card receipts, and records can also show important variables in some cases and then surveillance video footage maintained by highway departments or truck stops sometimes can be relevant as well. There are a lot of pieces to put together a solid tracking injury case on behalf of an injured victim, and that is why it is important to consult with a truck injury attorney with years of experience and prior jury trials in this field.

Our trucking accident injury firm always supplies free confidential consultations to potential clients involved in serious truck accident cases.

What is a DQF in a truck accident?

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