Running 99% legal

Let me tell you about an incident that actually happened to me in Long Island NY. I got to the cust, was asked to verify the load as it was staged in the warehouse, I counted it and then was going to stand by my truck to make sure that all 52 big pallets and 1 little pallet make it on the truck. dock worker brings the 1st 2 pallets over tells me I cant stand on the dock, I must go sit in the truck or the foreman's office. I go to the office, now I cant see the back of my truck or the staging area from where I was asked to sit. After almost 2 hrs,the foreman, who has been in and out of the office the whole time, tells me I am ready to go. He produces a set of bills and a seal. We sign the bills, I go out to my trailer to put a loadlock on the load that I threw on the dock when I backed in, the loadlock is already on the load! I see 4 pallets floor to ceilling and 1 little pallet on the floor, I check the load lock to make sure it is tight and where it will be most effective to secure the load. The whole timeI am doing this, I neither see or hear the dockworker with the forklift. Now at this point, You might think I am done right? Me too! Wrong!!
As I start to pull out of the dock (no lights or dock lock BTW), the dock worker attempts to enter my trailer with the last 2 pallets of my load. He rides the forklift off the dock, into the pit! Thankfully he didnt get hurt at all. (bumped his head and hits his knees) He even denied medical treatment at the time, until 3 days later, after he spoke to a lawyer, all of the sudden, he is crippled and initiates a $1 million lawsuit against me and my company. Almost 1 year later, it goes to a deposition. Their lawyers had subpeoned (ugh, me cant spell reel gud!) everything. Logs, fuel records, tolls, everything they could think of trying to prove that somehow I was negligent. They went as far as to call my truck driver training school and their practices in in order to question them as well! Long story short (I know, too late!) the suit was tossed out and no one was found negligent. (Of course, no one paid for my lawyers fees or my lost time either. So I feel like I still lost! ONLY THE LAWYERS WON!) So I know first hand, how far they will go to nail our butts when they see money!

 

597 miles driven
11 hrs on duty
$202.98 earned
I actually only had 11 hrs on duty for real! It was a drop/hook at the shipper AND recv'r! I wish they were always that easy! So far, so good! But it's way too early in the game to let the fat lady sing. (talk about your mixed metaphors!)