Lawyers hunting payouts: Shock, Nuclear and Reptile Verdicts growing.

Shippers and carriers, there is a real concern growing in our industry that lawyers are referring to as Shock, Nuclear, and Reptile Verdicts

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Ryan Johnston invited me to attended a seminar on Shock Judgments put on by BFL Canada. It was a full house and the presentation (by Kevin Mulvaney of Wilson Elser Law and Robin Squires from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP) was both very informative and deeply concerning.

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The presentation focused on lawyers who are targeting asset transport companies. While this is a nationwide issue, the top four states currently affected by these shock judgements are California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois.

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You have probably heard of ‘Ambulance Chasing’ or ‘Ambulance Chasers’ before. These shock verdicts in the transportation industry are stemming from the same concept. Lawyers are advertising for clients by showcasing the $50 million - $1 billion they won against XYZ carrier/company. Recently, these lawyers have bumped up their advertising to find more potential clients who may have been involved in incidents with trucks on the road.?Obviously, these flashy verdicts with massive payouts are highly effective advertising. Here are just a few samples verdicts form BFL’s presentation:

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• Florida Jury awarded $1 billion recently – US and Canadian carrier targeted
• Texas jury awarded $3 billion – wrongful death
• California Jury $130 million spine injury
• In all of 2021, a total of $7 billion was awarded by juries against carriers

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The Reptile Theory:

The Reptile Theory is a strategy for obtaining large jury verdicts by causing the jurors to perceive the defendant’s alleged conduct is a threat to their own personal safety. They do not want to try the case on facts, or the specific dispute between plaintiff and defendant.?They use media and every resource to send a message, 'be the conscience of the community, we cannot let these companies endanger our safety for our families'.?They will present a corporation that puts profits over people.

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Let me be clear – corporation profits should not be more valuable than people. The safety of our communities and families is the most important, and there are many cases where deserving people receive payouts from corporations and carriers who were not acting as good community members. In the cases I am referring to, lawyers using reptile theory are claiming these verdicts are about safety and community, meanwhile their disregard for facts and laser focus on big payouts and compensation make the judgements inherently about money. We’re talking about greed for greed.

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There are two lawyers who published a book boasting $7.7 billion in Reptile verdicts and settlements. They published this to teach other lawyers how to obtain these large settlements. They profit from the targeted companies, and they also want to profit teaching the other ambulance chasers. The central theme is again profit, with thinly veiled allegiances to alleged victims.

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Why is this happening?

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Opportunity and greed. There are pieces of the legal system in certain states of the USA that open up the profitability and possibility of shock verdicts. This is why we have the four major states already mentioned as hotspots. As per Robin Squires, In Canada, the reptile theory techniques are not successful or commonplace and a more centralized approach to judicial matters prevents province to province variation as seen state to state in the USA.

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How can Shippers, Brokers and Carriers protect their businesses?

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The ambulance/truck chasers will focus on any deviation from the carriers standard operating procedures. Operations managers and teams need to ensure they do not deviate from their standard operating procedures (SOP). Maintenance managers need to ensure maintenance intervals on equipment are all met and documented. Assign a team that will handle any inbound calls from lawyers and media if applicable.

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Brokers, understand what you are signing. If you are taking the position of a carrier then you are agreeing to assume the liability of a motor carrier. See Landstar Landstar, a cargo theft and a guy named James net legal win for brokers - FreightWaves. In this case the courts determined Landstar acted as a broker, did not assume position as a carrier, and was therefore removed as a defendant.

For carriers - there are many things you can do to protect your business. Be proactive and get your insurance and legal experts involved to develop processes. BFL works with Wellington GOC and several other transportation partners developing a proactive plan and process to protect asset carriers.

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Without the backbone of the transportation industry, asset carriers, supply chains would be crippled. The lawyers do not care as they are driven by money and greed. Be proactive, stay diligent, do not become a victim to 1-800- WE- SCREW- Carriers.