Shipper griped about securement, threatened to remove the load..

Even if they ultimately have no liability, it's pretty easy to add them onto a lawsuit. Just getting their name off the Defendant list will cost a minimum of $10,000. If they have to sit for depositions they're looking at $2,000 a piece (just in legal fees, not counting their own time).

But set aside legal liability. What happens when the consignee refuses the freight for damage? Maybe it got wet, maybe boards cracked, whatever. What is the shipper's responsibility then? Do they eat the cost to keep the customer? Do they try and go after the carrier? Whatever they choose, it comes with a cost. The cheapest option is for the shipping manager to say "that's not okay, fix it or don't haul it".

 

I am big on personal responsibility.
That said, if you are under the impression that because you did something right, correctly and legally, that you can’t be held liable for every penny you ever did or will earn because of someone else’s idiocy; you are mistaken.
My father got named in a $25 million lawsuit in regards to sales of a product that he never sold, and was not even in business until years after that product had already been off the market. He spent almost a half a million defending himself, with all the proof right there in black and white.

 

Problem is th lawyers sue EVERYBODY, so, drivers insurance company, driver in case hes hiding something of some value, shippers insurance and the shipper, transport company if hes a company driver or lease op, the trailer manufacturer, the trailer dealer that sold it, the driver that delivered the trailer, his company, ..... you get it.
Lawyers, are the scourge of the earth and the reason we pay so much insurance.
Eagles had it correctly...

You say you haven't been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if they gave you some cash
The more I think about it old Billy was right
Let's kill all the lawyers kill 'em tonight
Don't want to work you want to live like a king
But the big bad world doesn't owe you a thing
Get over it
Get over it
If you don't want to play then you might as well split
Get over it get over it

 

I don’t know the rules and regulations on who is responsible and at what time but I have seen Prime drivers pull in with coils that were strapped down with a 1” Walmart strap that I wouldn’t use on my Harley so In a case like that I would hope someone would step in

I’ve also watched guys chain down aluminum coils with no protection on corners or any idea of what they were doing
I asked the loader how they let that go on. He said it’s on his trailer. Not our problem
This was at a very safety conscious company

 

If you’ve signed BoL, it’s yours.
It’s your truck, you gotta deal with it, take the load off.
Pay me for truck furnished not used $500 minimum.
And you’re paying me before you take this load off, you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you.

 

I think it was posted earlier but we assume the driver had it secured
Without pics how do we know he even secured anything?
Or maybe all he had was some rope and bungee’s?
I agree with a lot of posts but we have all seen the truck go by us that was improperly secured and we shake our heads but maybe in this case the shipper actually saved a major catastrophe??

 

I can give you 1 that happened to me personally
I bought some property at a auction..A few days later the seller found out I bought it he hire a guy to come cut the pound dam open with a excavator.. So I didn't have water for the livestock..
I Took him and the contractor that did the work both to civil court for damages... and lost .. I also have a very good attorney...
So moral of the story it can be a open and shut case in everybody's eyes .. but in civil court it doesn't rule in the way of reasoning

 

I don't understand why a shipper would be responsible for a product falling off someone's trailer.
The cargo securment might be done correctly when it leaves the shipper but the consequent conduct of the driver might still jeopardize it.
For example, a driver might be too lazy too retighten the straps or drives inadequately
For example, can those tragic accidents when coils of steel roll over the the trailer after a hard braking be blamed on a shipper?
Of course, it would be different when the characterstcs of the cargo are making it somehow unique for securment and then the shipper must choose the carrier with care.

 

You don't need to even mention a law in a civil suit. All you need is someone with a boo boo convinced it's someone else's fault and a lawyer willing to take their money. Look at the opiod settlements. They're all FDA approved medicine, all entirely legal to use if prescribed, but it has to be the company's fault someone didn't read the bottle and only take that pill if absolutely necessary.