Driver damaged company trailer - Canada

Not sure what you've agreed to with the carrier but you shouldn't be liable for more than the deductible IMO.

 

SO did you discuss this issue with your lawyer?

 

Then your driver shouldn't have pinned to it until the customer did their job.

What customer takes on that reponsibility?

 

You should have done that right away, mitigate any issues by saying to the carrier "I'm letting my lawyer take care of this for us."

 

Customer having scraper doesn't equal customer being responsible for the trailer being cleared of snow.

 

There can't be a lot of snow on the ground under the scraper otherwise the scraper is useless. The tolerance between the scraper and the roof must be minimal for the scraper to be effective. The trailer moved AFTER he set the brakes. B.S. If he did move how fast was he going when he set the brakes? If it is the companies' responsibility to keep the trailer clean, it sounds as if he was using that companies' equipment. There must be rules somewhere about using this type of equipment. IMO it is the driver's and your problem. He was in a big hurry to get out of there and screwed up. (1) He should have known the scraper would pass very close to the roof to do its' job. (2) The trailer moved after setting the brakes. (So he said.) (3) He should have known it is the customer's responsibility to keep the trailers clean. Provided he was properly trained. If he lives and works where snow scrapers are used he should have known what was taking place. In summary, you and the driver work it out between yourselves. The customer did what they wanted to do to prove a point. Expensive lesson. Some times life just sucks.

 

Also, you need to clarify; you said the trailer belongs to the customer. Does the trailer actually belong to the carrier and the scraper was at the customer's (shipper's) yard?