When should a lawyer consider a broker’s liability?
Brokers have a duty to ensure their loads are being delivered by safe trucking companies
When a serious truck wreck occurs, the trucking company and the truck driver are obviously the subject of legal discovery.
But what about third parties?
One third party that’s routinely is overlooked by attorneys who litigate truck accident cases is the broker.
Brokers who hire trucking companies to transport goods across the country have a legal duty to select safe trucking companies. In fact, if a broker does not hire a safe trucking company and a crash ensues due to the truck company’s negligence, the broker may be found negligent as well, if the broker fails to make an adequate inquiry into the safety record of the particular trucking company it selects.
3 things truck lawyers can do when investigating a broker’s role
So what should a lawyer be looking for when exploring whether a broker was negligent?
1. Did the broker due its due diligence?
A great place to start is looking at whether the broker did its due diligence before entrusting a trucking company. Specifically, an attorney should look into whether the broker even bothered to check the CSA scores.
2. Does the broker monitor safety?
Many brokers fail to make even this basic inquiry. CSA scores provide invaluable insight into whether or not a trucking company is safe. In fact, CSA scores are an important indicator available to the general public in determining whether a trucking company is safe.
3. Does the broker have its own files?
Find out whether the broker maintains its own independent files separate from the trucking company so that it can keep track of a trucking company’s safety scores historically over time. It’s not enough to just look once and never follow up again.
