30
Wearing too many hats brings liability risks, article warns.
07/04/2011
CHICAGO, IL -- An Illinois appellate court has affirmed a jury’s multimillion dollar judgment against a full-service logistics firm for a truck accident involving one of its contracted carriers.
CH Robinson Worldwide was hit with a $23.7 million judgment after two people were killed in a road accident involving Toad L. Dragonfly Express of Illinois.
Although CH Robinson argued that it was not responsible since Dragonfly was a contracted carrier, the court found that CH Robinson exercised enough control over the transport to render the truck driver – Dragonfly driver DeAn Henry – essentially a CH Robinson employee.
In an article on the web site FORWARDERLAW.COM, attorney Steve Block of the Seattle firm Foster Pepper PLLC outlines how the many hats worn by modern transportation companies – as cargo owner, dispatcher, and controller of trucking operations – can produce huge accident liability.
In this case, CH Robinson’s business activities included purchasing food products, warehousing them, and providing ongoing transportation services. Although it was careful to specify that carriers and their drivers were independent contractors and not employees, CH Robinson actually dispatched the drivers, offering them loads at stated comp rates, and imposed strict rules including constant notification of the driver’s whereabouts, verification of freight and condition, delivery times, and fines for late delivery.
Courts have repeatedly ruled that the responsibility for an accident of subcontracted workers hinges on the level of control the contracting company has. In this case, the control was extensive. The most compelling fact was that CH Robinson’s stipulations would have made it impossible for Henry to deliver the load on time, within speed limits, and in compliance with federal regs regarding hours of service. Had she complied with those regs, CH Robinson’s late fines would have eaten up her entire freight charge.
In March, an Illinois appellate court affirmed a jury’s multimillion dollar award, and refused to set aside the trial judge’s denial of CH Robinson’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
Block concludes that “while transportation’s evolution focuses less on mode and role specificity, and more on market freedom, efficiency and profitability, industry participants should be mindful that with new roles come new liability exposures. And it’s not enough just to say in a contract that you’re something you’re not.”
07/04/2011
CHICAGO, IL -- An Illinois appellate court has affirmed a jury’s multimillion dollar judgment against a full-service logistics firm for a truck accident involving one of its contracted carriers.
CH Robinson Worldwide was hit with a $23.7 million judgment after two people were killed in a road accident involving Toad L. Dragonfly Express of Illinois.
Although CH Robinson argued that it was not responsible since Dragonfly was a contracted carrier, the court found that CH Robinson exercised enough control over the transport to render the truck driver – Dragonfly driver DeAn Henry – essentially a CH Robinson employee.
In an article on the web site FORWARDERLAW.COM, attorney Steve Block of the Seattle firm Foster Pepper PLLC outlines how the many hats worn by modern transportation companies – as cargo owner, dispatcher, and controller of trucking operations – can produce huge accident liability.
In this case, CH Robinson’s business activities included purchasing food products, warehousing them, and providing ongoing transportation services. Although it was careful to specify that carriers and their drivers were independent contractors and not employees, CH Robinson actually dispatched the drivers, offering them loads at stated comp rates, and imposed strict rules including constant notification of the driver’s whereabouts, verification of freight and condition, delivery times, and fines for late delivery.
Courts have repeatedly ruled that the responsibility for an accident of subcontracted workers hinges on the level of control the contracting company has. In this case, the control was extensive. The most compelling fact was that CH Robinson’s stipulations would have made it impossible for Henry to deliver the load on time, within speed limits, and in compliance with federal regs regarding hours of service. Had she complied with those regs, CH Robinson’s late fines would have eaten up her entire freight charge.
In March, an Illinois appellate court affirmed a jury’s multimillion dollar award, and refused to set aside the trial judge’s denial of CH Robinson’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
Block concludes that “while transportation’s evolution focuses less on mode and role specificity, and more on market freedom, efficiency and profitability, industry participants should be mindful that with new roles come new liability exposures. And it’s not enough just to say in a contract that you’re something you’re not.”