The roles of risk and safety professionals in the transportation industry have never been more critical as driver risk continues to rise and the threat of nuclear verdicts in trucking grows year after year. Transportation incidents were the leading cause of death in 2023, resulting in 37% of all work-related fatalities. Without proactive safety measures in place, organizations risk legal, financial and reputational damage—while also endangering their drivers and the communities they serve.
Below, we shed light on the rise in risk and nuclear verdicts for trucking companies, as well as proven strategies motor carriers can implement to combat them.
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An Increase in Crashes Involving Large Trucks
Large trucks are characterized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as both commercial and non-commercial trucks with a gross vehicle weight greater than 10,000 pounds.
In 2020, there were a reported 4,444 truck-involved fatal crashes and 101,000 incidents involving injuries. The number of fatal crashes involving large trucks that year amounted to 13.49 crashes per million people in the US—a 27% increase from 10.60 in 2010.
In 2021, fatalities in crashes involving large trucks rose 13%. This was the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.
This, paired with ongoing concerns surrounding overall driver risk across the nation, is inevitably increasing a company driver’s chances of being involved in a crash and an expensive claim.
The Rise in Nuclear Verdicts for Trucking
A nuclear verdict occurs when a jury awards an exceptionally high settlement in a lawsuit, typically exceeding $10 million and often in cases of truck-involved crashes.
The size of verdicts has increased over time by a relatively large amount, regardless of the factors of the crash. Cases with awards over $1 million have increased dramatically over the last 14+ years. From 2010 to 2018 specifically, the average verdict for truck crashes increased 1000%, from $2.3 million to a shocking $22.3 million.
What are the factors that are influencing these larger verdicts? The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) interviewed a number of subject matter experts for its 2020 study, “Understanding the Impact of Nuclear Verdicts on the Trucking Industry.” The study breaks the influencing factors down into six categories:
- Prevention
- Crash-related details
- Post-crash/pre-litigation stage
- Litigation strategies
- Unfavorable practices
- Additional factors
The factor we want to focus on in more detail in this blog is 'prevention.'
Proactive Safety Measures Reduce Risks and Costs
Ignoring driver risk effects more than driver safety—it’s a major financial and legal liability. More than half of all personal injury lawsuits stem from auto crashes, and most of these cases favor the plaintiff. Insurance premiums for commercial auto policies have also surged by 25% in just the past year. This dramatic increase makes it clear that simply absorbing costs is no longer a sustainable strategy. Instead, organizations must shift their focus toward proactive risk management and prevention to control expenses and mitigate exposure.
Rather than reacting to costly incidents, the most successful organizations take a proactive approach to fleet risk management. The best way to prevent nuclear verdicts is to prevent crashes from happening in the first place.
Key Prevention Strategies
Driver Monitoring & Ongoing Driving Data Insights: Instead of the risky reliance on annual motor vehicle record (MVR) reviews to identify risk, implementing continuous driver activity monitoring provides ongoing visibility into driver violations and behaviors behind the wheel 365 days a year. This ensures that unqualified drivers aren’t on the road and gives companies a chance to remediate the situation before it even escalates to a disqualification.
Frequent & Targeted Driver Safety Training: Research shows that drivers forget up to 90% of what they learn within a single week, making regular training essential. Rather than relying solely on new-hire and other infrequent training cadences, ongoing e-learning and personalized coaching reinforce safe driving behaviors and ensure important safety requirements are retained.
Establishing & Enforcing a Driver Safety Policy: A well-documented and consistently enforced driver safety policy demonstrates an organization’s commitment to reducing risk. Safety policies should go beyond FMCSA minimum standards to hold more weight in court.
Recognizing & Rewarding Safe Drivers: Recognizing and rewarding safe drivers is key to building a strong safety culture. When organizations celebrate safe driving milestones—not just correct risky behavior—it reinforces good habits, keeps drivers motivated and shows that safety is truly a priority. This kind of positive reinforcement can lead to fewer crashes, lower costs and a more engaged team.
A Key Player: Earlier Driver Risk Interventions
It’s a common misconception that once a driver is hired and trained, they will remain consistently safe on the road. Even experienced drivers develop risky habits over time. Without regular interventions and ongoing coaching, drivers are likely to engage in distracted driving, speeding or other dangerous behaviors that increase risk.
Intervening with at-risk drivers before a crash occurs is one of the most effective ways to reduce liability. Safety managers should:
- Utilize driver behavior analytics to identify high-risk individuals.
- Provide one-on-one coaching and targeted, online micro-learning tailored to specific behaviors.
- Document interventions to demonstrate compliance with safety best practices.
Companies that fail to intervene when red flags appear open themselves to massive liability. A plaintiff’s attorney will argue that if a company knew about risk indicators and did nothing, they were negligent.
4 Proactive Steps to Combat Costly Litigation
Want to learn more about how leading organizations are reducing driver risk and combatting costly claims? Watch our webinar, "The Cost of Ignoring Driver Risk: 4 Intervention Steps You Can’t Afford to Skip," where our driver risk and litigation experts break down proactive strategies that can better protect your company, drivers and bottom line.