Advocates Argue Passage Will Exacerbate Victimization of Semi-Truck Crash Victims
Currently pending before Congress is the recently proposed “Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2021” (HR6151), which safety advocates and those championing truck crash victims and their families consider to be anything but fair to those who suffer serious or fatal injuries in a semi-truck crash in this country.
Of importance is today’s reality that the danger of a fatal truck accident on the roads of Indiana and Illinois is unacceptably high, with the fatality rate of motor vehicle accidents continuing to rise each year in what has been labelled an “epidemic out of control.” See, New Safety Report: Epidemic of Roadway Fatalities is “Out of Control” and Public Crisis Declared by DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg as Traffic Fatalities Have Largest Increase Since 1975.
What Does the Proposed HR6151 Want to Change?
As proposed, the purposes of the “Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2021” are stated as follows in Section 2 of the bill:
(1) assure fair and prompt recoveries for highway accident victims;
(2) benefit society by preserving predictability and stability in the movement of freight in interstate commerce and lowering costs to the supply chain and, ultimately, all Americans;
(3) protect the motoring public from the safety hazard of staged collisions between passenger cars and commercial motor vehicles;
(4) prevent fraudulent claims that result from staged collisions;
(5) protect law enforcement agencies and highway departments from expending resources dealing with the aftermath of staged collisions; and
(6) minimize the impact of staged collisions on the supply chain and the movement of goods in interstate commerce.
The draft legislation alleges its first focus is upon highway accident victims. However, those who advocate on behalf of commercial truck crash victims and their families are adamant that this bill is anything but fair for those who suffer in the aftermath of a serious or deadly truck accident.
Among other things, the legislation would move from state to federal courthouses all severe or fatal semi-truck claims where (1) damages exceed $5 Million and (2) there is “minimal diversity of parties.” Considering that many serious truck crashes involve the victim suffering catastrophic harm or death, it is very easy for legally compensable damage amounts to tally in the millions of dollars.
Accordingly, HB6151 seeks to move a great many semi-truck accident cases into the federal system where plaintiffs generally face longer civil litigation time frames and greater legal expense, among other things.
Opposition to This Legislation on Behalf of Semi-Truck Crash Victims
Voicing concern on behalf of these accident victims and their loved ones in a February 25, 2022 national news release, the Truck Safety Coalition has made the victim’s position clear. The proposed legislation entitled the “Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2021” is anything but “fair” from the perspective of the truck crash accident victim.
Who is the Truck Safety Coalition?
The Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) describes itself as a partnership between Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), also known as The CRASH Foundation, and Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.). The Truck Safety Coalition is “…dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, providing compassionate support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims, and educating the public, policymakers, and the media about truck safety issues.”
The TSC is blunt in warning “all members of Congress” that “…this bill only victimizes truck crash victims again.”
Key points made by the TSC on behalf of truck crash victims and their families include the following (quoting from the release):
- The so-called “Highway Accident Fairness Act of 2021” seeks to address the despicable act of fraudulently staging truck crashes with proposals that would create extreme legal burdens and impose unreasonable harm for innocent families whose loved ones are killed or seriously injured in truck crashes.
- Staged collisions are rare and already illegal.
- The additional measures proposed in the bill will only serve to add needless legal roadblocks, delays, and additional expenses to truck crash victims attempting to receive just and fair compensation.
- Truck crashes that result in death or serious injury are tragically common, occurring every 15 minutes according to estimates, whereas staged criminal collision rings are fortunately exceedingly rare.
- Nearly 5,000 people die and 159,000 are injured in truck crashes annually. These violent incidents cause extensive and expensive costs to people and property with an estimated annual taxpayer burden of $143 billion dollars.
- The carnage to people and property regularly exceeds $5 million in rightful claims with claimants from multiple states involved.
- This bill proposes a dramatic change, unique only to truck crash litigation, that would force common truck crash cases to federal court with no good reason. This would add cost, complexity, and unnecessary delay to reaching a fair and just resolution for victims.
- While falling short of outright tort reform, this measure, along with the additional victim funding disclosure measure, both unfairly advantage commercial motor carriers with deep pockets over cash-strapped truck crash victims and grieving families.
- Those experiencing the greatest unfairness in highway crashes are truck crash victims, not corporate trucking interests.
- Truck crash fatalities have increased 45% in the past 10 years. This dramatic and continued rise in truck crash deaths and injuries merits swift and decisive action.
- The time is now to increase the commercial motor carrier minimum insurance requirement. If adjusted for medical cost inflation, the current $750,000 requirement that has remained unchanged for 40 years would be over $5 million.
- Victims experiencing the unimaginable do not deserve to be left destitute by debilitating medical debt and need Congress to act on their behalf, not the special interests of the truck lobby.
The TSC then provides an alternative solution:
- Instead of providing unmerited and unnecessary liability protections to commercial motor carriers, Congress should pass H.R. 2687. A modest increase in the minimum insurance requirement was included in the House-passed infrastructure bill last June, H.R. 3864, Invest in America Act, but was dropped by the U.S. Senate.
- Increasing the minimum will improve safety through improved underwriting and will better support the needs of truck crash victims.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Support of HR 6151 “Fairness Act”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has written the House of Representatives to express support for the passage of this bill. From the Chamber’s correspondence where the Chamber “…strongly supports H.R. 6151…” comes the following (quoting from the letter):
- The trucking industry is responsible for moving 70 percent of all freight in the U.S., and virtually all other industries depend on it in some way. But despite their importance to the supply chain, fraudulent claims targeting truck drivers, which result in enormous legal verdicts, contribute to the costs and shortages facing the industry.
- This bill would address this problem by making it a federal crime to stage a vehicle collision against a commercial motor vehicle.
- In addition, under H.R. 6151, cases involving accidents with commercial motor vehicles valued at more than $5,000,000 would be considered in federal courts when there is minimal diversity of parties. As matters of national importance and interstate commerce, the federal courts are the best place for these cases.
- Finally, the bill would require the disclosure of any non-parties that are funding these lawsuits in exchange for a cut of the award or settlement. Disclosure will help even the playing field for all parties in the suit and clarify financial motivations, which is important for detecting potential bad actors.
Claims for Justice for Semi-Truck Crash Victims in Indiana and Illinois
In December 2021, the Truck Safety Coalition published its 50-page report exposing the many errors made in a trucking industry analysis of truck crash jury verdicts in this country. For details, read our discussion in Truck Safety Coalition Releases 50-Page Report Denouncing Trucking Industry’s Position on Nuclear Verdicts.
In denouncing HR6151, once again the TSC acts as the voice of truck crash victims and their families in their ongoing David versus Goliath battles for justice against a very powerful trucking industry — and its insurance carriers — after a catastrophic or deadly accident proven to have been caused by the negligence of others.
For more on damages in semi-truck crash claims, read:
- Will 1980 Legal Minimums for Truck Crash Liability Insurance Coverage Finally Be Increased by Congress?
- Nuclear Verdicts in Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes
- What are Catastrophic Injuries? Severe Bodily Harm Suffered by Accident Survivors in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois.
This proposed law does little, if anything, to help semi-truck crash victims and their loved ones. It is designed to boost the best interests of trucking companies and their insurance carriers who are fretting over increasing liability and financial exposure in the face of the shockingly dangerous roadways that commercial truck drivers are forced to travel.
The ugly truth in the trucking industry and insurance company boardrooms is that profits may well be prioritized over people with tragic results. As the TSC reiterates, fairness for the truck crash victim does not jive with maximizing revenue from a commerce perspective.
For more on liability for semi-truck crashes, read:
- Trial Tactics for Plaintiff Semi-Truck Accident Claims: a Practical Guide from Investigation to Trial
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- Tracy Morgan Crash: Liability in a Big Rig Truck Crash Has No Fast Answer.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious or fatal truck crash in Indiana or Illinois, state laws may provide legal avenues for justice with bodily injury and/or wrongful death claims to be asserted against the company that owns or operates the commercial motor vehicle involved in the accident. Please be careful out there!
