Insurance claim

[youngtea]

Kooner transport has been rejecting a small claim damage on 1 skid. Consignee has the BOL signed indicating the damages with photos. Their insurance denies the claim because it's below their deductible.

Anyone know what to do next? These guys are frustrating to deal with and lack professionalism.

 

[Fr8Guru]

Kooner transport has been rejecting a small claim damage on 1 skid. Consignee has the BOL signed indicating the damages with photos. Their insurance denies the claim because it's below their deductible.

Anyone know what to do next? These guys are frustrating to deal with and lack professionalism.

Can you prove it was damaged during transit?

If only 1 skid is damaged out of a full load, hard to prove it was done during transit it and not at time of loading.

 

[youngtea]

Can you prove it was damaged during transit?

If only 1 skid is damaged out of a full load, hard to prove it was done during transit it and not at time of loading.

In situations like these what happens? Who is at fault?

From my understanding once the carrier signs for the shipment and leaves the shipper, they are liable for the freight. Am I mistaken?

 

[FR8 4ME]

In situations like these what happens? Who is at fault?

From my understanding once the carrier signs for the shipment and leaves the shipper, they are liable for the freight. Am I mistaken?

I believe you are right, here. If the driver picking up doesn't note any damage at the time of loading but the receiver does at the time of delivery, it would seem the responsibility belongs to the carrier.

 

[Fr8Guru]

I believe you are right, here. If the driver picking up doesn't note any damage at the time of loading but the receiver does at the time of delivery, it would seem the responsibility belongs to the carrier.

Devil's advocate -

Driver isn't allowed on the dock.
Skid that is damaged is at the front of the trailer.
How can the driver reasonably check that skid?

But yes, driver is ultimately responsible for the load. If you sued Kooner, they would eventually lose but is that worth it?

 

[MikeJr]

There are so many unanswered questions. Was this a TL? Was the driver allowed on the dock during loading and unloading? Was each skid shown to the driver (all 5 visible sides)? Did the forklift operator cause damage to a skid on the truck while loading another skid? Was there damage to the inside of the trailer that could have caused damage to the skid?

In the end it can't be argued that damage exists, but it can be argued how it actually happened. Perhaps someone knows how it happened, perhaps it happened and no one was present to witness it.

The details will usually turn something up.

I remember a messy one where paint pails became damaged, the customer was trying to point to the carrier 'hard breaking' in transit and because it was a TL, loaded by the shipper the carrier was like 'we didn't crossdock it, what do you want from me?'. It sucked because the paint got all over the trailer floor etc.

It was a number of years ago, in the end it was a temp guy loading the truck and he loaded one skid at the front of the trailer and put a 2x4 across, then all the other skids. As soon as the driver had to stop, 40 000 lbs of freight were pushing on that one skid at the front. Of course it couldn't handle that kind of pressure. The temp loader did not follow SOP of how the company loads it's product on a trailer.

Learning Lessons...

Mike

 

[loaders]

Once a freight claim has been filed, the onus is on the carrier to prove that they are not responsible. It is not up to the shipper to prove anything. They received damaged freight, it was properly documented and photos were taken. In a situation like this, put your own insurance company on notice and let them go to bat for you. Keep pestering Kooners insurance company and flood them with all the pertinent documentation. It never ceases to amaze me that there are some carriers who feel their procedures are so good, so professional that they will never experience a freight claim. Come on…..even the best carpenter hits his thumb occasionally, it’s a fact of life in this business. Trying to walk away or ignore a claim because it is under your insurance deductible is pretty unprofessional behaviour. The carrier should put their big boy pants on and deal with it!

 

[missy_519]

@youngtea I think you should have left them on your DNU list From your 2016 post.

I don't trust these guys. I've had a few members on here that also have private messaged me to say they feel the same way. I have had two major services issue with this company that make no sense at all. Lots of lies and excuses, but other times they were fine. They are now on my DNU.

 

[Jim L]

Kooner transport has been rejecting a small claim damage on 1 skid. Consignee has the BOL signed indicating the damages with photos. Their insurance denies the claim because it's below their deductible.

Anyone know what to do next? These guys are frustrating to deal with and lack professionalism.

As far as I know, the formal freight claim should make the claim to both the carrier and the insurance company. This is done so that if it goes to SCC for further action the insurance company will be involved, and they do not want this. It is then up to both the carrier and the insurance company to formally clear the claim or deny the claim. Every insurance company I have dealt with would either tell me to clear it up because it is below the deductible or at a certain date, they will take care of it and expect me to pay the insurance company back.

The issue is going to be tough to prove that the carrier is in the wrong here. Basically, unless you can prove the unit was in an accident, or they cross docked the freight, or it was obvious damage not caused by transportation, then you may be out of luck here. You and your customer have to decide how hard to push this.

 

[loaders]

The only entity who has to prove anything, at least at the start of the claims process, is the carrier. Unlike most other legal matters, he is not “ innocent until proven guilty “. In fact, it is up to the carrier to prove their innocence that they did not contribute in anyway to causing the damaged frieight . If they can make a reasonable argument, then the fun begins and the shipper will have to present their case as to why the carrier should be held responsible. At this stage it is always best to have the insurance companies fight it out.

 

[Ins-Broker]

I assume the carrier is stating that the damage occurred during unloading?

 

[AgentSmith]

How much is the claim?

 

[Freight Broker]

Offset for monies owed on transport or go small claims. But a few calls and some emails beforehand might be in order if the relationship is worth preserving.

 

[loaders]

Offset for monies owed on transport or go small claims. But a few calls and some emails beforehand might be in order if the relationship is worth preserving.

Yes, if they want to ignore what appears to be a properly presented, legitimate freight claim, perhaps you should ignore their freight bill, or deduct the claim amount. That should get their head out of the sand!

 

[Pelham]

@youngtea I think you should have left them on your DNU list From your 2016 post.

I don't trust these guys. I've had a few members on here that also have private messaged me to say they feel the same way. I have had two major services issue with this company that make no sense at all. Lots of lies and excuses, but other times they were fine. They are now on my DNU.

They also have an unsatisfactory rating on their CVOR if I’m not mistaken

 

[TRKINSURE]

@youngtea, PM me. I have some ideas to help to get them to step up.

 

[Michael Ludwig]

Kooner transport has been rejecting a small claim damage on 1 skid. Consignee has the BOL signed indicating the damages with photos. Their insurance denies the claim because it's below their deductible.

Anyone know what to do next? These guys are frustrating to deal with and lack professionalism.

Just for clarification, you're a carrier, right?
And, you brokered the load or skid to Kooner, correct?

 

[Mikky]

How does this work with a load-shifts?

We had a scenario where 2 different drivers at two different days trucks and trailers hauled the same shipper's freight and at the delivery both had shifted cases.

We had to cover the re-work fee, but technically speaking how can we prove that it was shipper's fault, incorrect loading, if the driver was not allowed at the dock?

 

[Michael Ludwig]

Let me rephrase what you said so it's a little easier to understand ...
Two different drivers, on two different days, hauled the same shipper's freight, and at their deliveries both loads had shifted cases. The drivers were not allowed on the dock to witness or supervise loading.

Your question is how can you prove the shipper incorrectly loaded the freight?

The answer can be quite simple and apparent, if all the information you have provided is all there is to the story, and given the information presented, the shipper is the common denominator as they were the only entity that had unfettered access to all of the freight.

However, additional information would be helpful. Was the commodity dry or reefer? If it was reefer, was it fresh or frozen? Were the drivers allowed on the dock(s) to witness unloading? Who was the receiver? If it was C&S (Cheat & Steal) in the U.S., then the issue is almost 100% a C&S issue, and never was a shipper problem. Did you examine your drivers' ELDs for hard braking or hard cornering events? Did your drivers get pictures of the shifted freight, or did your team just blindly accept what the receiver was telling them? Were you threatened with a damage claim?

If you are going to accuse the shipper, and demand compensation, which is what I take from your reference to having to pay for the rework, you need to eliminate, with evidence and proof, that no other factor could have influenced the shifted freight. That can be a tough row to hoe.

The minute anyone suggests that some sort of claim is pending, and a rework fee is a claim, everything stops. You have to start documenting as if you were headed to criminal court.

 

[loaders]

Michael is correct. In the case of freight claims, the onus is always on the carrier to prove their innocence, or to put it more correctly, absence of liability. They must eliminate any possible wrong doing on their part, before looking to place blame on the shipper or receiver. I think it is safe to say that with a few exceptions, shifted freight is usually the result of hard braking, sharp turns or some other poor operation of the vehicle. Any shipper who continually experienced freight shifting on all of their shipments due to a defect in the product or the loading procedure would have addressed the problem by now.