Truck Damaged by Vendor due to improper loading

Your insurance company will pay for the damage and decide if they want to go after the shipper for reimbursement.

On every single BOL on loads I carry where I'm not allowed on the dock to supervise the loading process, I make sure to write on the BOL in big letters "SLC" (shipper loaded and counted). That way there aren't any questions on whether I'm responsible for damage or not. If you weren't allowed on the dock while they loaded the paint, your insurance company should go after them for damages.

 

I think this going to be a lesson for you. You may not touch the freight but you're going to have to make sure it's secured. There's always time to look it over when you pull away from a dock before you close the doors. If you've got a roll up door you've got to make it clear that you aren't moving it before you look it over and secure it as you see fit.

Welcome to being the middle man.

 

Perhaps in theory...
Even as tall as I am, I cannot see if the pallets are well squeezed in and adjacent to each other just by standing at the back of the trailer. Not to mention that seeing the inside trailer perspective is not always possible. I'd say, unlike open decks, we often rely on loaders competence. Perhaps, the reefer is a little different as it requires you more often to examine the pallets being loaded counting the product, but only slightly.

 

You're missing his point, it's not in theory, it's in fact.
The driver is responsible for load security, and you can be certain the broker is going to hold you to it. Doesn't matter if its preloaded, driver not allowed on dock, whatever.
He was making the point you have to accept your responsibilities, and take them seriously. You blame anyone you like, but the buck stops with you ( or maybe your insurance company but ffs dont go there)

 

That would be incorrect. See below......

The Law Office of Seaton & Husk, LP

A substantial amount of cargo claims litigation revolves around the shipper load and count exception in the Bill of Lading Act. See 49 U.S.C. §80113. This statutory provision says that a carrier is not liable for loss and damage (1) when the goods are loaded by the shipper, (2) when the bill notes "shipper's weight, load and count" or words of similar meaning, and (3) when the carrier does not know whether any part of the goods were received or conformed to that description.

Similarly, carriers are not liable for damage resulting from improper loading when the shipper loads the goods and words such as, "Shipper's weight, load and count" indicate that fact.

 

Brokers will do their best to convince carriers that this is the case, but in reality it's not. I had it happen a few months ago on a load back to Missouri from NorCal. Had a load of food products, mostly ingredients for processed food including a couple pallets of rice starch and powdered chocolate. The load was going between 2 locations of the same company. The guys that loaded it put 2 double stacked pallets on the back and I couldn't see anything in front of them because their warehouse was a clean environment and I wasn't allowed on the dock. I made sure to note on the BOL that the shipped loaded and secured the freight, and that I wouldn't be responsible for damages for improper loading. Sure enough, when I arrived at the receiver, the shipper put two pallets of the rice starch right in the middle of the trailer without butting them up against other pallets or even the walls of the trailer. They fell over and the bags burst open. The foreman at the receiver made me suit up in sterile clothing and had me come into look. He said I needed to clean up the mess and pay for the busted bags of product. I said that wasn't going to happen, and showed him the BOL. He said that he was going to refuse half the load, and told him to note that on the BOL and sign it. I sat in a Love's for 4 days while they tried to figure out what to do. Luckily I booked the load through Convoy, and got a ton of detention and layover pay. I finally called the home office of the company that owned the freight I was hauling and spoke with a VP. He made a few calls and arranged for a company to re-stack the mess in my trailer, and paid me more to take the partial load back to California than I made on the original load. All in all it was a long, but very profitable 2 weeks for just one load.

 

That doesn't apply to load that are not sealed.

 

That's your statement, which I don't believe and disagree, unless I am convinced otherwise by some more authoritative and official source e.g. a legal case or a judgment.

My long time conviction is that when a driver has an obligation/shipper requirement to be on a dock to oversee a loading process and he chooses not to then he assumes the liabilities in blanco also for shortages and overages.

Otherwise, if shipper takes upon themselves to load the product without the driver's involvement then shipper load and count with conjunction of arriving with seal intact should exonerate the driver from most of the liabilities with damaged product due to obvious loading and securement errors. For example, double stacking pallets of cereal causing bottom layers of boxes to be squashed, not wrapping bales of paint, not applying air bags where needed, leaving spaces between pallet rows, etc.

There is of course the abusive driving factor, but that should be rather distinguished from obvious poor loading procedures.

 

I'm sure you have an excellent point.
But you didnt mention you had annotated the Bill's with s.l.c., signed for seal intact on arrival etc. I still think it's on you for pulling an insecure load but really, I know nothing.
I really hope you can apportion blame somewhere where it sticks and you're not out of pocket on the deal.
Idiot that I am, I still think it's on you tbh but that's because, as mentioned, I know nothing. Well , except how to properly secure and transport a load, an insignificant matter that has prevented me from learning from experiences like yours.

 

It's been a long time since I've taken an unsealed load. Not sure I've ever taken one that the shipper loaded without my supervision. Of course reefer loads are a little different than dry van.