Tag Archive for: litigation mitigation

NUCLEAR VERDICTS: THREE STEPS FOR HOW YOUR FIRM CAN AVOID THEM

Nuclear verdicts quadrupled last year, leaving hundreds of carriers out of business and thousands of drivers out of jobs.

And while there is a great appetite out there for the “deep pockets” of the trucking industry, with a few tweaks to your training and documentation system, you can insulate yourself from them.

How can I protect my company from nuclear verdicts?

Nuclear verdicts can put a trucking carrier out of business, and any gap in training or documentation is an opportunity for a plaintiff’s attorney to make the case against your company. Protect your company by establishing a culture of safety and documentation.

A Look Inside an Attorneys’ Nuclear Verdict Playbook

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have a sophisticated bag of tricks, in which they comb through data to discover vulnerabilities in carriers’ processes and procedures. They use these data analytics to make decisions on whether to go to court or settle or when to drop a case altogether.

Attorneys look at a variety of data, including CSA scores, logs, and reporting inefficiencies, then drill down on those issues to prove their cases and win millions of dollars for their plaintiff. Attorneys have data analysts ready to get the next nuclear verdict, so trucking companies need to be armed and ready, protecting their vulnerabilities and ensuring that all processes and procedures are above par.

The “Dirty Five”

Attorneys have a well-known attack strategy for nuclear verdicts, using the “Dirty Five” against drivers. These are five categories that are known winners for nuclear verdicts:

  •  Driver Fatigue
  •  Distracted Driving
  •  Driving Under the Influence
  •  Poor equipment maintenance
  •  Inexperienced or poorly-trained driver

Your Nuclear Verdict Playbook

If attorneys have a playbook for getting nuclear verdicts, you should have one for avoiding them. Gone are the days when a robust safety program was a “nice to have.” Welcome to the days of “establish your program, or you’re out of business.” 

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions has published a new whitepaper, which details our strategy on a data-driven approach to avoiding nuclear verdicts. Read the whitepaper and learn about how a culture of safety and accurate, detailed documentation can save your company from nuclear verdicts, extravagant insurance premiums, and bankruptcy.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions’ Checklist to Avoid Nuclear Verdicts

If you’re not quite ready to commit, we are offering a checklist to get you started on nuclear verdict prevention. Follow the steps below to protect your company and your drivers.

  1.   Avoid accidents in the first place by creating a culture of safety that utilizes short, frequent, consistent online safety awareness training partnered with real-time documentation.
  2.   When accidents do happen, mitigate liability and the likelihood that the case goes to trial by making sure that 1) the driver is prepared to begin your company’s defense at the site of the accident, and 2) your office is prepared to quickly produce consistent documentation and a safety portfolio that discourages litigation
  3.   If the accident goes to trial, make sure that driver training, company policies, licensing, and medical records are thoroughly documented, reducing the threat of nuclear verdicts

Key Takeaways:

  •  Nuclear verdicts are on the rise, and trucking companies must be hyper-vigilant to reduce risk exposure.
  •  Create a culture of safety using Infinit-I Workforce Solutions’ training toolkit and documentation system.
  •  Plaintiffs’ attorneys have a data-driven approach to snagging nuclear verdicts. You need a data-driven playbook on how to avoid them.
THE EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR VERDICTS ON THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY

In 2019, trucking bankruptcies quadrupled due to nuclear verdicts. The strategy seen in courtrooms time and time again involved plaintiff’s attorneys pleading to the juries’ “better angels” to award families millions of dollars as a result of a crash with a truck. This is with or without the trucker’s fault and seems to have no relationship to the actual incident or its severity.

What is a nuclear verdict?

A nuclear verdict is defined as a judgment in excess of $10 million as a result of a truck-related crash. Nuclear verdicts also indicate a disproportionate relationship between the settlement and the actual economic or physical damages incurred by the plaintiff.

Nuclear Verdicts in 2019

In the first half of the year, 640 carriers went out of business because of nuclear verdicts, according to the Wall Street Journal. The problem has been noticed by major publications, including Business Insider and Bloomberg, calling 2019 a Recession for the trucking industry.

And while the American Trucking Association is working on proposed legislation to combat nuclear verdicts, that will be years in the making. 

The Ripple Effect of Nuclear Verdicts

Nuclear verdicts don’t just affect certain trucking companies; they affect us all. From job loss to insurance premium prices, the downstream effect of nuclear verdicts is affecting the entire trucking industry.

In 2019 alone, tens of thousands of drivers lost their jobs due to carrier bankruptcies as a result of nuclear verdicts. With that level of job loss, it’s no wonder 2019 was deemed a trucking recession. Imagine if tens of thousands of people were put out of work in any other industry as a result of rampant lawsuits with no reform in sight: 10,000 investment bankers, 10,000 plumbers, 10,000 doctors…you get the idea. There would be protests, legislation drafted, and major structural changes implemented. But the cultural narrative regarding “big trucks” in this country, even though they are a driver of America’s economy, is that truck drivers and truck companies are dangerous on the road.

This is why trucking companies must be hyper-vigilant. 

Preventable Risk

Hyper-vigilance in this day and age means assessing and managing preventable risks. When nuclear verdicts are on the rise, so are insurance premiums. Now it is more important than ever to protect your company and your drivers through regular maintenance and safety training.

According to the FMCSA, last year, driver error accounted for 87 percent of crash risk, while 10 percent was caused by preventable maintenance. With the added scrutiny on trucking companies and the prevalence of nuclear verdicts, it is more important than ever to address those preventable risks to avoid losing your business altogether.

How Can Nuclear Verdicts Affect My Company?

Currently, insurance premiums are rising year over year by 50 – 100 percent, even for smaller carriers. Carriers of all sizes are being affected by nuclear verdicts, with insurance companies mitigating losses on the front end. Some insurance carriers even are getting out of the business altogether.

When profit margins hover around 5 percent, the doubling of insurance premiums can be injurious to trucking companies, even forcing some companies into bankruptcy.

To read more about the downstream effects and help on calculations for future cost models, check out our whitepaper.

What Can I Do to Avoid a Nuclear Verdict?

  •  Driver training is the single best thing you can do to protect your company from a nuclear verdict. Contact one of our experts today about customizable training for your drivers.
  •  Establish processes and procedures for truck maintenance across your enterprise, even for contractors. 
  •  Documentation, documentation, documentation. If you don’t document it, it didn’t happen. Make sure all your training and maintenance records are stored and updated properly.
RISING INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR TRANSPORTATION FIRMS: WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

In the last couple of years, insurance premiums for transportation firms have been skyrocketing, and there’s no end in sight. The best trucking companies with the best CSA scores see a 20 to 30 percent increase, while other companies can see a double and even triple increase. Why are we seeing rising insurance premiums for transportation firms and what are the causes?

Causes and Effects of Rising Insurance Premiums for Transporation Firms

Rising insurance premiums for transportation firms can potentially affect the nationwide economy, as costs are passed from insurance companies to trucking companies, and down the line to consumers. A big part of these rising premiums is litigation and the increased frequency of nuclear verdicts.

Nuclear verdicts are settlements for $10 million and up, and 2019 was a record year for them, topping out at nearly $300 million for the record-breaker. With that kind of money going out the door on a regular basis, insurance companies are having a harder time insuring trucking companies. In fact, many insurance providers have completely exited the trucking business altogether. These rising costs impact the insurance companies’ loss ratio, which then results in rising insurance premiums for transportation firms.

How is a loss ratio calculated?

Insurance companies calculate loss ratios to determine profitability. They calculate money lost in claims vs. money paid in premiums to determine their loss ratio. When the ratio gets narrow, premiums increase.

Risk Exposure

By being in the trucking industry, you accept a certain amount of risk. However, every trucking business owner should take an honest inventory of what risks they can actually control, then develop a strategy to address those risks.

Insurance companies are looking for reasons to increase your premium, so you need a tool to help mitigate that risk and demonstrate to your insurance provider that you are insurable and maintain a culture of safety.

With insurance premiums rising so sharply, there is an opportunity to lighten the risk exposure with quality safety training for drivers. Safety programs have been shown to help mitigate the rising costs of insurance premiums and reduce the instance of nuclear verdicts.

Safety First

A high-quality safety program must be accessible for drivers and have flawless, immediate reporting. Driver scores completed modules, and ongoing engagement go a long way toward proving to an insurance company or a courtroom that you have an airtight culture of safety.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is a customizable, cloud-based tool that helps you create and enforce your unique safety program. With short, engaging videos, drivers can engage on their phones without impacting drive or rest time. Each module has a quiz, and scores are recorded in real-time. 

In an environment of high risk and low profit margins, you need to do all you can to mitigate rising insurance premiums and litigation. Our safety training solution can help.

What do I need to know now? | Rising Insurance Premiums for Transportation Firms

  •  Insurance premiums for transportation firms are rising rapidly, sometimes doubling or tripling year over year.
  •  Your transportation firm can mitigate rising costs by implementing our customizable training solution.
  •  Documentation could save your company in the courtroom and make you more insurable.
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION: DOT TO AUDIT DRUG-TESTING POLICIES

The U.S. Department of Transportation is reviewing its drug policies in light of marijuana legalization. And it looks as if the policies are about to get tougher.

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RECORDS. RECORDS. RECORDS. THE KEY TO MITIGATE RISK

Proper Records are Key to Mitigate Risk

The trucking industry can be a risky business. Every business has moving parts, but the moving parts for the trucking industry weigh several tons and are rolling down the road at 60+ mile per hour.

You also have the financial risk that includes millions of dollars in cargo, plus significant health and safety hazards to deal with. These risks can lead to devastating financial losses if you are not careful.

So, how can you manage and mitigate risk associated with your industry? The best answer is improved safety practices and proper documentation.

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WHY DOCUMENTATION IS KEY TO RISK MITIGATION

What are your biggest risks in the trucking business? Apart from road conditions, hazardous freight, and unpredictable passenger vehicles, your biggest risks are financial. How do you make wise choices, mitigate costs, and stay on the black side of your ledger? Discover how the key to risk mitigation is frequent training and documentation.

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2016 Trucking Best Practices Webinar

Vertical Alliance Group, recently announced seven speakers for their 2016 Trucking Best Practices Webinar Series. These free webinars are designed to provide trucking companies with ongoing current training on a variety of topics and feature experts from across the industry sharing ideas, strategies, and success tips for running a successful trucking company. Topics include everything from truck driver safety training and legal regulation updates to day-to-day business operation strategies.

“As the leading provider of online training for the transportation industry with our Infinit-I Workforce System, Vertical Alliance Group is always looking for opportunities to provide educational resources to trucking companies,” said Jay Wommack, president and CEO of Vertical Alliance Group.  “We had a record numbers of companies participate in our 2015 webinar series, and the feedback we received on each webinar was so outstanding, we decided to continue the series in 2016.  We have invited back some of our most popular speakers to address new topics this year, plus we have mixed in several new speakers whom we met at industry conferences.”

The company will be announce five additional speakers in June of this year to complete the 12 month series.

“There is no cost to attend these events, but registration for each event is limited to the first 1000 attendees.  Those spots fill up quickly, so we encourage people to sign-up now for the webinars they are most interested in attending.  We will send you reminders for the events as they get closer.  If your schedule  changes and you aren’t able to attend the live event, we will also send you a replay of the webinar within 24 hours of the live event,” said Tina Bell, marketing manager for Vertical Alliance Group.

Building Women’s Leadership in the Transportation Industry
January 21, 2016| 3 p.m. CST

anne miner
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 1

About the Webinar:
It’s difficult to execute a game plan when there are inherently diverse personalities, learning styles, and terms of engagement within the team. While diversity is a gift to any business, it can also be frustrating and cumbersome to an ambitious team where everyone may have a slightly different perception of your vision (or perhaps a different vision altogether!).

In this hour long webinar, Anne will share best practices and principles to help develop and lead a team within the transportation industry.

Anne Miner, MBA is an international speaker, best-selling author, executive coach and long time business owner. Since 1987, Anne’s trusted expertise on business excellence has made her a highly-respected woman of influence. But it is her ability to use her deeply-rooted values, unwavering determination, and multitude of experiences that attracts many who seek her professional guidance. She has successfully empowered many “to go over, under, around or through the obstacles on any path and to be courageous in pursuing dreams.”

With more than 25 years leading her own company, The Dunvegan Group, Anne brings experience and perspective, as well as innovative approaches to leadership.


Understanding Best Practices in Produce Shipping
February 18, 2016| 3 p.m. CST

pamela lugg young
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 2

About the Webinar:
With the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2015, there are a lot of changes haulers of produce need to be aware of in order to ensure compliance. In this hour long webinar, Pamela Lugg will share best practices for produce haulers.

Pam is the owner of Pam Young & Company. With an academic background that includes a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in History and Art, along with a teaching credential and a law degree, Pamela Lugg Young became the owner of a logistics company that specializes in refrigerated transportation services by pure accident — that she is still enjoying 17 years later. Her philosophy is simple, “It is important to understand the needs of the shippers and the demands of getting fresh produce safely to its destination. Since there are lots of details that must be addressed, matching the right refrigerated hauler with a shipper is of utmost importance.”


Loss Control as Cost Containment
March 17, 2016| 3 p.m. CST

Gary Flaherty
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 3

About the Webinar:
In this webinar, Gary Flaherty from Canal Insurance will share information on what tools are available through insurance companies to help with cost containment. Gary will share insights with attendees on what insurance companies look for and why they look for certain things in an effort to help attendees understand how to mitigate their chances of accidents and also decrease their insurance premiums.

Gary Flaherty is the Assistant Vice President, Risk Management Services, at Canal Insurance. He has more than 20 years working in the insurance business and specializes in claims adjudication, physical damage handling and repair networks.


Independent Contractor Misclassification, Are You Prepared?
April 21, 2016| 3 p.m. CST

Rob Moseley
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 4

About the Webinar:
How can carriers protect their independent contractor business model when the current administration at the federal level wants every driver to be an employee and every employee to be a union member?

Independent contractors can be a troublesome area for motor carriers. Attorney Rob Moseley works with motor carriers to manage contractual relations and negotiate the Federal Regulations and decisions. Rob defends class action litigation brought by contractors and employee drivers related to “Truth in Leasing” cases, Fair Labor Standards and other employment issues. Rob is also versed in disputes (including workers’ compensation) involving owner-operators.
In this webinar, Rob will address:
• Trends with Owner-Operators
• Issues Regarding Worker’s Compensation
• Issues Regarding Unemployment
• Truth in Leasing

Rob Moseley is the head of the Smith Moore Leatherwood firm’s Transportation Industry Group representing trucking companies, brokers and logistics companies with disputes involving commercial transportation accidents, federal & state safety regulations, commercial insurance coverage disputes, freight claims, and other disputes involving trucking companies. He has tried over 80 cases to jury verdict in federal & state courts of unlimited jurisdiction. One of Rob’s assets is his ability to advise trucking companies on proactively assessing and addressing risk both internally and externally, as well as planning for growth and development. He works closely with the firm’s Corporate team in this respect.


Don’t Wreck It More! How to Respond After an Accident.
May 26, 2016| 3 p.m. CST

Mike Bassett
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 5

About the Webinar:
Accident prevention is the primary concern of every commercial vehicle driver and safety program, but no matter how careful you are, simply being on the road exposes you to the possibility of an accident. Before an accident happens, your company needs a plan in place to ensure you and your drivers know the appropriate responses to make on the scene and throughout the investigation. In this hour long webinar, attorney Mike Bassett will share insights on how your responses can impact litigation down the road.

Mike H. Bassett, J.D., is the founder of The Bassett Firm, where he practices in the areas of transportation litigation, products liability, personal injury, premises liability, professional liability and employment litigation. He received his B.B.A. degree, Cum Laude, from The University of Texas at El Paso and his J.D. degree, with distinction, from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Mr. Bassett was a former briefing attorney for Justice Ted Z. Robertson of the Texas Supreme Court, and he is also a certified mediator and neutral. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section, the Dallas Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute’s Transportation Committee and Trucking Subcommittee, the American Trucking Associations and the American Transportation Lawyers Association. Mr. Bassett was also a Texas Super Lawyer in 2006.


Conquer Distracted Driving by Becoming an ACE
June 16, 2016| 10 a.m. CST

Terry Mathis
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 6

About the Webinar:
Distracted driving is currently one of the major causes of accidents. While most other categories of accidents are decreasing, distracted driving rates remain on the rise. While cell phones are involved in a large percentage, they are not the only contributing factor. Most organizations attempt to address this issue with new policies, training, or a combination. Policies tend to focus on limiting cell usage, which doesn’t address other factors, and training tends to not change habit. ACE (Attention, Control, Eyes on Road) was created to address this challenge.

This presentation by safety, culture and performance improvement expert, Terry L. Mathis, will familiarize you with ACE and how you can use this technique to curtail distractions and ensure road safety while driving. Distracted driving happens to us all, on and off the job. ACE can help to address the three most common types of distractions, and can be used in conjunction with other driving programs.

Session Highlights:
1. The 3 principles of ACE – how it can be internalized and emphasized to apply to every situation
2. The 3 most common types of distractions and how to avoid them
3. Driving with ACE
4 check my reference. Pre-planning to minimize or stop distractions
5. How to train your truck drivers on ACE

Terry L. Mathis is the founder and CEO of ProAct Safety, and author of two books. His most recent is the bestseller, STEPS to Safety Culture Excellence. EHS Today has listed Terry three consecutive times as one of ‘The 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS’. He is a veteran of over 1600 safety, culture and performance improvement projects in 39 countries and has personally advised many of the best in safety in every major industry


Punitive Damages in Transportation Cases: Changing Driver Conduct
August 18, 2016| 3 p.m. CST

Jim Foster
7 Trucking Best Practices Webinars 7

About the Webinar:
When a trucking company is involved in an accident a lot of things come into question that can influence the amount of money they are ordered to pay under punitive damage judgements. There are best practices companies can implement, including training and proper documentation, to mitigate their risk as a company for improper actions of drivers.

Jim Foster is a partner at Cassiday Schade LLPs, Chicago office and is engaged in the practice of civil litigation, with a primary emphasis on transportation and product liability litigation. He has defended trucking companies in both personal injury matters and in breach of contract cases. He has also successfully defended at trial product liability cases involving the design of an automatic door and the design of a milling machine.