Managing Motor Fleet Safety Programs: Training for the Safety Director Unit 6: Accident Analysis and Litigation NATMI © 2018
Unit 6 Objectives Identify accident trends based on an analysis of accident data Identify root causes of accident trends Recommend appropriate solutions to resolve root causes of accident trends Determine if the carrier is likely to be found liable in a lawsuit following an accident NATMI © 2018
The Direct Costs of Accidents - 1 Lost revenue Vehicle repairs Towing costs Cargo claims Driver medical and worker’s compensation claims NATMI © 2018
The Direct Costs of Accidents - 2 Liability payments Equipment rentals Lost revenues due to disruption in operations Drug and alcohol screening Driver delay, pay claims, deadhead NATMI © 2018
The Indirect Costs of Accidents - 1 Safety department expenses Excessive depreciation Legal fines or penalties Decreased employee effectiveness Dissatisfied customers Unfavorable public image NATMI © 2018
The Indirect Costs of Accidents - 2 Higher insurance premiums Government reporting costs Costs of borrowing money to replace or repair equipment Accident investigation expenses Employee replacement costs Litigation expenses NATMI © 2018
Understanding Accident Trends Trends are events that happen regularly or often. NATMI © 2018
Analyzing Data Trends Step 1 - Code the information for each incident Step 2 - Tally the codes for each factor Step 3 - Graph each factor Step 4 - Look for trends NATMI © 2018
Age Codes 1 — 21 - 23 2 — 24 - 25 3 — 26 - 30 4 — 31 - 35 5 — 36 - 40 6 — 41 - 45 7 — 46 - 50 8 — 51 - 55 9 — 56 - 60 10 — + 60 Codes Ages NATMI © 2018
Sources of Root Causes Hiring practices Training issues Customer service issues Accountability Teamwork NATMI © 2018
Questions to Ask to Identify Root Cause(s) of Accidents What circumstances allowed the driver to have the accident? What did we, the employer, do to allow this accident to occur? NATMI © 2018
Determining Liability Agency Negligent entrustment Negligent hiring NATMI © 2018
Rebutting Agency Driver acted outside scope of employment at time of collision. NATMI © 2018
Rebutting Negligent Entrustment No employees knew of driver’s incompetence OR Previous offenses were unrelated to cause of the accident NATMI © 2018
Rebutting Negligent Hiring Safety department fulfilled responsibility to contact prior employers and obtained MVR NATMI © 2018
Litigation Process Pleading Dismissals and judgments before trial Complaint Summons Answer Counterclaim Dismissals and judgments before trial Discovery Pretrial hearing Trial/Verdict/Appeal NATMI © 2018
Questions? NATMI © 2018