A steel coil breaks loose from a flatbed on I-95 and rolls across two lanes. Lumber shifts in a curve on the Turnpike and the trailer leans into the next lane. A box truck loaded beyond its rating cannot stop in time at a Doral intersection. These crashes feel sudden, but they trace back to decisions about how much weight went on, where it was placed, and how many straps held it.
Responsibility in these cases is often spread across companies that never touched the steering wheel. A shipper's crew may have loaded and sealed the trailer, a broker may have arranged the haul, and the driver had a duty to check the load on the road. Our work is to find out who made each decision.
1. Document the cargo and the debris before the road is cleared
Police and road crews reopen lanes quickly, and the physical evidence goes with them. If you or someone with you can do so safely, photograph the load where it came to rest: the straps, chains and binders; any broken hooks or torn webbing; the blocking and bracing; and the anchor points on the trailer. Count the tiedowns you can see. Photograph any debris that struck your vehicle next to something that shows its size. Get witness contact information and save any dashcam footage.
2. Measure the securement against the federal standard
The federal cargo securement rules are in Subpart I of 49 C.F.R. Part 393, titled "Protection Against Shifting and Falling Cargo." They apply to "trucks, truck tractors, semitrailers, full trailers, and pole trailers." Cargo must be secured "to prevent the cargo from leaking, spilling, blowing or falling from the motor vehicle," and it must be secured against shifting that adversely affects the vehicle's stability or maneuverability (49 C.F.R. § 393.100).
The rules are specific and measurable. The securement system must withstand set forces in hard braking, acceleration and turns (§ 393.102). The combined working load limit of the tiedowns "must be at least one-half times the weight of the article or group of articles" (§ 393.106(d)). Section 393.110 sets a minimum number of tiedowns based on an article's length and weight, and Sections 393.116 through 393.136 add rules for specific cargo such as logs, lumber, metal coils, concrete pipe and heavy machinery. A reconstruction professional can measure the photographs and the recovered hardware against these numbers.
“Protection Against Shifting and Falling Cargo.”
§ 393.100
“must be at least one-half times the weight of the article or group of articles”
§ 393.102
3. Find out who loaded the truck and who checked it
The driver is not the only person with duties. Under 49 C.F.R. § 392.9, a driver may not operate a truck, and a motor carrier may not require or permit it, unless the cargo is "properly distributed and adequately secured." The driver must "inspect the cargo and the devices used to secure the cargo within the first 50 miles after beginning a trip," then recheck after a change of duty status, 3 hours of driving, or 150 miles, whichever comes first.
These inspection duties do not apply to a driver of a sealed trailer ordered not to open it, or to a load that cannot practicably be inspected. Then the question shifts to whoever loaded and sealed the trailer. The bill of lading, seal numbers, load plan and warehouse records tell us who that was. A notation such as "shipper load and count" can point directly at the shipper.
“properly distributed and adequately secured.”
§ 392.9
4. Prove the weight
An overloaded truck needs more distance to stop and stresses its brakes and tires. To prove weight, we look at scale tickets from the shipper or quarry, receipts from commercial truck scales, weigh station records, the bill of lading, the truck's rated capacity and any overweight permit. The truck's engine control module can show speed and braking in the seconds before impact, connecting the extra weight to the failure to stop.
5. Send a preservation letter to every company in the chain
Some key records are kept only for short periods. Driver inspection reports are kept for three months (49 C.F.R. § 396.11), hours-of-service records for six months (§ 395.8(k)(1)), and maintenance records for one year (§ 396.3(c)). Our preservation letter goes to the motor carrier, the shipper, any warehouse or loader, the broker and the trailer owner. It demands the failed straps, chains and binders, the trailer, the bill of lading and load plan, scale tickets, broker load confirmations, engine and camera data, driver logs, inspection reports and post-accident test results.
Who may be responsible
Depending on the facts, responsibility can rest with the driver; the motor carrier that operated the truck and is bound by Section 392.9; the shipper or a third-party loader that loaded, braced or sealed the trailer; the owner of a trailer or truck leased to the carrier; and, in some situations, a freight broker that arranged the transportation. Federal rules define a broker as a person who, "for compensation, arranges, or offers to arrange, the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier" (49 C.F.R. § 371.2). Whether a broker is responsible depends on what it actually did and on legal questions we evaluate case by case.
“for compensation, arranges, or offers to arrange, the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier”
§ 371.2
The Florida rules that matter
Florida's own load law. Section 316.520(1), Florida Statutes, provides that a vehicle may not be driven on a highway unless it is "so constructed or loaded as to prevent any of its load from dropping, shifting, leaking, blowing, or otherwise escaping therefrom." Loads of "dirt, sand, lime rock, gravel, silica, or other similar aggregate" must be covered or secured (§ 316.520(2)).
Smaller and in-state trucks are covered too. Florida applies the federal safety rules to intrastate trucking (§ 316.302(1)(b)). Even trucks under 26,001 pounds that are exempt from many of those rules must still follow Part 393, which includes the cargo securement rules (§ 316.302(2)(f)).
Deadlines. For most negligence claims, Florida's limitations period is two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)). A wrongful death action also has a two-year limit (§ 95.11(5)(e)). If a government vehicle or roadway is involved, separate written notice rules apply under § 768.28(6).
Fault. Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault (§ 768.81(2)), and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault you recover nothing (§ 768.81(6)). Each defendant pays according to its own share of fault (§ 768.81(3)), and a defendant that blames an absent shipper or loader must plead and identify that nonparty (§ 768.81(3)(a)1.).
Insurance. A for-hire interstate carrier hauling nonhazardous property in a truck rated 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage (49 C.F.R. § 387.9).
“so constructed or loaded as to prevent any of its load from dropping, shifting, leaking, blowing, or otherwise escaping therefrom.”
§ 316.520(2)
Your checklist
- Photograph the load, the tiedowns, the debris and your vehicle, or tell us so we can get agency photographs.
- Write down the truck's company name, USDOT number and trailer number.
- Collect witness names and save any dashcam footage.
- Get medical care right away and keep every record.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any trucking or cargo insurer.
- Call us early so the preservation letter reaches the carrier, shipper and loader before short retention periods run.
How we handle these cases
We start with the load itself. We secure the failed hardware, have a reconstruction professional measure the securement against Part 393, and trace the paperwork from the shipper's dock through the broker to the carrier. We handle truck crash cases throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Meetings by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.