The latest Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) confirmed what many carriers already feel: the legal climate is now one of the biggest risks motor carriers have to manage. For the third year in a row, the economy ranked as the trucking industry’s No. 1 concern, but lawsuit abuse reform climbed to No. 2—its highest position in the survey’s 21-year history. Insurance cost/availability followed right behind at No. 3.
The report, which surveyed more than 4,200 motor carrier executives, drivers, law enforcement officials, and other industry stakeholders, reflects a significant shift in priorities across the trucking community.
For years, the industry conversation was dominated by the driver shortage. This issue fell entirely out of ATRI’s overall top 10, while legal and insurance risk moved firmly into the spotlight.
So what’s behind this shift, and what can fleets actually do about it?
What Do We Mean by “Lawsuit Abuse” and “Nuclear Verdicts”?
In ATRI’s language, “lawsuit abuse” covers a mix of trends that are driving up claim severity and litigation costs:
- “Nuclear verdicts” refer to jury awards that often exceed $10 million in crash cases.
- Aggressive litigation tactics focus on punishing a carrier’s “safety culture” rather than just the crash itself.
- Third-party litigation funding helps bankroll high-dollar suits and encourages more cases to go all the way to trial.
ATRI’s earlier research found that verdicts over $1 million against motor carriers rose sharply over the last decade, and that average awards in large truck crash cases grew from a few million dollars to well over $20 million in some years—a jump of nearly 1,000% over time.
Even when a case never reaches a jury, settlements are becoming more frequent and more expensive. Between the immediate financial losses and the insurance premium hikes, this creates a significant economic burden for motor carriers.
Why Carriers Are So Worried
For fleets, the lesson is clear: strong safety and compliance programs are no longer just best practices; they are financial protection. ATRI and industry analysts point to a few clear pressure points:
- Insurance premiums keep climbing. ATRI reports that trucking auto liability premiums rose by 36 percent per mile in the past 8 years.
- Nuclear verdicts and social inflation are major drivers of those increases, especially for fleets with even one serious loss on their record.
- Smaller and mid-size carriers are most exposed. A single large claim, or even a significant premium spike, can force tough decisions regarding coverage limits, growth plans, or even staying in business at all.
Legal risk is also changing how fleets operate. Many carriers are:
- Being more selective about freight, lanes, and contracts.
- Re-evaluating indemnity language and broker/shipper requirements.
- Investing heavily in cameras, telematics, and documentation—not just for safety, but to defend themselves when something goes wrong.
With legal risks becoming increasingly unpredictable, fleets are looking for ways to reduce their exposure before a claim ever reaches a courtroom.
How Lawsuit Exposure Shows Up in Real Cases
When plaintiff attorneys build a nuclear-verdict case, they rarely focus only on the crash facts. They zoom out and attack the carrier’s overall safety culture and compliance record. Research and claims experience show they lean on things like:
- Hiring and qualification: Did the carrier miss obvious red flags in a driver’s history?
- Driver monitoring: Did the carrier rely on a single annual MVR pull, or did it have a process to catch new violations, suspensions, or license downgrades as they happened?
- Hours-of-service, drug/alcohol compliance, and prior violations: Do logs and dispatch practices support safe scheduling, or do they hint at fatigue, pressure, or past violations that went unaddressed?
- Maintenance and inspections: Are DVIRs, repair orders, and defect reports complete and traceable, or do they resemble “check-the-box” paperwork with no corresponding action?
In other words, once a case hits the courtroom, it’s no longer just about the crash — it’s about whether the carrier can prove it runs a safe, well-managed operation.
Practical Ways Fleets Can Protect Themselves
While you can’t eliminate the risk of a big lawsuit, you can make your company much harder to attack (and much easier to defend) by tightening up the fundamentals.
1. Upgrade Hiring and Qualification Standards
Go beyond the bare minimum when you put someone behind the wheel. A defensible process typically includes:
- Full MVR history in every state where the driver has held a license
- PSP reports and prior-employer safety history
- Clearinghouse queries and robust pre-employment drug testing
- Clear written criteria for what you will and won’t accept (recent DUIs, patterns of violations, serious crashes, etc.)
The goal is to be able to show, on paper, that you screened carefully and made a reasonable hiring decision.
2. Keep Driver Files Tight and Digital
Non-compliant or sloppy driver qualification files are low-hanging fruit in both audits and litigation. Build a system (not sticky notes) to stay ahead of:
- Medical card renewals
- CDL renewals and endorsements
- Annual reviews and road tests
- Ongoing training and coaching
Stored digitally, those records are easier to maintain and quicker to produce in the event of an audit or lawsuit.
3. Move From Annual MVRs to Continuous Monitoring
FMCSA only requires annual MVRs—but if a driver gets a suspension, DUI, or serious violation the day after you pull that report, you could be blind for 364 days. Plaintiff attorneys know this.
An MVR monitoring program flags new activity in near-real time so you can:
- Pull drivers off the road when they become disqualified
- Document corrective action and retraining
- Prove that you didn’t ignore a problem you “should have known about”
That alone can make a big difference in how a jury (or an insurer) views your safety culture.
4. Document Safety, Maintenance, and Coaching
If it’s not documented, it’s tough to defend. Make sure you can pull clean records that show:
- Pre- and post-trip inspections and timely repairs
- Hours-of-service compliance and follow-up on violations
- Use of cameras/telematics and how you act on that data
- Regular safety meetings and targeted coaching after incidents
The story you want to tell is simple: we take safety seriously, we act on problems, and we can prove it.
Where US Compliance Services Fits In
Nuclear verdicts aren’t going away, and the carriers that protect themselves best are the ones who treat safety and compliance like daily habits—not just paperwork after a crash.
If you’re looking at your MVR process, driver files, or safety policies and thinking, “We should probably tighten this up,” we can help. US Compliance Services works closely with fleets every day to close the gaps that plaintiff attorneys often exploit.
If you’re unsure where to start or just need a quick review of your processes, our team is here to help.
