AAJ Applauds Bill to Help Victims Killed and Injured in Truck Crashes

AAJ Applauds Bill to Help Victims Killed and Injured in Truck Crashes

Legislation Would Bring Carrier Insurance Minimums Out of the 1980s

The bill would ensure greater accountability to those injured or killed in truck crashes and strengthen the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, a law meant to protect public safety by requiring insurance minimums to be updated regularly on pace with inflation. An insurance increase has never occurred.

"America was listening to cassette tapes and watching Knight Rider the last time minimums were updated - we're long-overdue to require trucking companies to carry insurance levels appropriate for 2023 and not 1980," said AAJ President Sean Domnick. "Inadequate insurance minimums leave thousands of crash victims financially stranded and without the resources to pay medical bills or restore their quality of life after a crash. In many cases, the burden of health care costs are passed down to taxpayers, with Medicare and Medicaid shouldering millions of dollars in care each year thanks to inadequately insured carriers."

In 2014, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a report to Congress that examined the adequacy of the current financial responsibility requirements for motor carriers. The conclusion was clear: today, the costs of injuries and fatalities arising from crashes far exceed the minimum insurance levels interstate operators are required to carry.

Current insurance limits do not adequately cover crashes, primarily because of increased medical costs. The Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act would require the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to tie the minimum insurance floor, currently $750,000 as set in 1980, to the rate of inflation of medical care as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every five years.