Catastrophic Losses Not Catastrophic Litigation: A Process To Guide Motor Carriers Through The First Critical Hours After A Wreck

By Eric L. Probst

Phone call. Collision. Truck and mini-van on its way to a Little League game. Significant injuries, police at the scene. Obviously there is a family out there that is in both physical and emotional pain. However, we can forget that our client and its driver are dealing with many of the same fears and emotions. All too often our minds leap forward into advanced “anticipation of litigation” mode and miss the fundamentals of establishing a foundation of both compassion and consulting that can result in an early resolution of a potential catastrophic claim. The last thing the real client (the transportation company owner, the guy that pays the premiums) wants to hear is that “a lawyer is on the phone” and the word litigation is being discussed. What the client needs to know at the outset is an answer to straightforward and not too complex question: what really happened. This question is answered by the rapid response team (“RRT”).