Nuclear Verdict Prevention: Is There Any Hope For Fleets?

FreightWaves

FreightWaves spoke with Jason Palmer, the COO of SmartDrive, a transport intelligence platform, to understand how trucking fleets should approach risk management to reduce the likelihood of paying large jury awards.

Over the past few years, there has been a surge in nuclear verdicts against the trucking industry. Nuclear verdicts are jury judgments that award penalties over $10 million. This warrants a focus by trucking fleets on risk management, as such verdicts can force companies to declare bankruptcy, adding to the distress already prevalent in the industry today. Effective risk-management strategies potentially can lead to lower insurance premiums as well.