When you’re driving an 80,000-pound rig across the United States, you always assume a certain amount of risk. Weather or crazy four-wheelers can make your day a bad one. But what about your freight?
Obviously, some freight carries more risk than others. HAZMAT is designated as hazardous for a reason. You can even get injured tarping your load on a flatbed.
But you should never take a load that is obviously unsafe.
Legally, you can refuse to drive unsafe loads.Yes, this will mean alerting your trucking company (although most dispatchers should understand). And unfortunately, it will mean you lose some miles, and the time it took to get to the shipper.
But no one is going to blame you for choosing to live another day rather than dying due to your load.
Unfortunately, this is what happened to Robin Colvin, a North Carolina trucker.
The $6 Million Settlement
In 2014, Colvin accepted a load coming from the Lydon Steel Company’s plant in Winston-Salem. The destination was a Greensboro construction site.
The run began as normal. Lyndon employees loaded up and chained down oddly-shaped pieces of steel onto his flatbed truck.
Then, Colvin made his run.
When he arrived at the construction site, he unchained a chain. Nothing happened. Then he undid the second one. A nylon strap,worn and damaged possibly due to the trip, ripped apart.
Before Colvin could get away, two steel beams fell down onto his head. As a result, he suffered traumatic brain injuries and started bleeding out.
Colvin was rushed to the hospital. It took a period of months for him to be able to even raise a finger. But despite any tiny signs of improvement, Colvin died 6 months later.
A court ruled in favor of Colvin and awarded a$6 million settlement. This amount will actually be closer to $7.7 million due to a North Carolina law requiring interest to start being accrued on day one of a lawsuit.
But no amount of money will bring Colvin back.
Refuse Unsafe Loads
There was a chance the Colvin family would not win the settlement.
According to the Colvin family’s lawyer,either the tie-down chains were done incorrectly or the load itself shifted during transport due to improper loading.
But Joseph Caruthers, a Lydon Steel representative, argued that Colvin had a right to refuse the load and did not. Because of this right of refusal, Lydon Steel argued that Colvin was liable.
Ultimately, Colvin did win the case, but this line of argumentation proves why you should refuse any unsafe load. If you don’t refuse, a company will argue that it is your fault if something goes wrong.
So make a thorough inspection every time.
Right to Refuse a Load
Truckers refusing a load are protected under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, or STAA. If a trucker notices something is abnormal, unsafe, or illegal, they can safely report and refuse to complete the run.
Take it from J. R. Hildebrand.
Williams Trucking, Inc. asked Hildebrand to haul 80,360 lbs of meat from Colorado to Wyoming.
Legal limit is 80,000 pounds. But Hildebrand didn’t discover the extra meat until the first weigh station.
When he did notice, Hildebrand refused to continue on and break the law. As a result, Hildebrand was fired from Williams Trucking for a lack of communication. So Hildebrand took the case to court.
During the trial, Judge Rosenow determined that even if the trucker had called into dispatch about the extra 360 lbs, he would have been told to drive on. Due to this, the judge ruled Hildebrand was fired for using his legal right to refuse a load.
Then the overweight rule was brought up. In case you are not familiar, this allows a slight excess of 80,000 lbs to be shipped with fines and fees tacked on. Which is what Williams Trucking was hoping to take advantage of.
Nevertheless, the right to refuse a load won in the end.
Williams Trucking was ordered to reinstate Hildebrand. And give back pay. In addition to $6,000 for compensatory damages and $10,000 for punitive damages.
Your right to refuse a load is non-negotiable.So always inspect loads and refuse unsafe freight. It might just save your life.