Owner Operator

February 2013

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BROKER BASICS secured, through a few highly visible court decisions, shipper and freight broker's responsibility for trucking accidents involving motor carriers selected by these brokers to transport property. There are two paths shippers and freight brokers can choose to proceed from this juncture: (1) Rely on FMCSA to keep "unfit" carriers off the roads, or (2) Individually investigate the carrier's safety record and establish their own "Do Not Use" criteria. In today's litigious society, this leads to a two edge sword and shippers and brokers alike are left feeling as if they are "damned if you do and damned if you don't." A number of transportation attorneys suggest that reliance on the FMCSA as the police of the highways is the way to go. However, in the event of a truck accident, it is very likely you will be sued. Their position is based on the long standing precedence in case law that shippers and brokers are exempt from liability under the regulations. There is no doubt about this. Except that the plaintiff's bar is constantly developing new strategies and legal arguments that challenge these long standing principles and as a result have been able to win in the lower courts significant settlements (in the millions of dollars) against the shippers and brokers. In 2002 a semitrailer truck rear-ended a car on Interstate 80 in Iowa. The truck driver had transported steel coils to Iowa and was returning to Illinois. A husband, wife, and daughter were occupants in the vehicle, with the mother losing the use of her lower extremities as a result of the collision. Suit was filed against three companies: the company that supplied the coils, the logistics company that arranged the transportation, and the company that leased the truck. The jury was asked to consider whether the three companies acted as a joint venture. At trial, the jury agreed that the three companies should be linked to the truck driver and awarded the plaintiffs a JOIN THE INDUSTRY'S FINEST DRIVERS AT GRAEBEL GRAEBEL VAN LINES IS LOOKING FOR QUALIFIED HOUSEHOLD GOODS/RELOCATION PROFESSIONALS 48-hour settlement (with properly completed paperwork) • Reduced deadhead/pooled tonnage • Discount protection on Interstate Transportation revenue • Performance-based agreement Lease purchase opportunities • Paid permits & trailer washes • Uniform allowances • No BIPD charges • • Learn more about a Graebel career today! Contact Vic Frazier at (888) 703-9821, or e-mail vfrazier@graebel.com MC # 158651; US DOT 220843 GRAEBEL VAN LINES' FORTUNE 500 CLIENTS PROVIDE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LONG-HAUL, SHORT-HAUL, AND LOCAL DRIVING PROFESSIONALS www.graebel.com/drivers / OWNER OPERATOR/ FEBRUARY 2013 / / 56 OO0213_text2.indd 56 1/7/13 1:16 PM

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