Tag Archive for: training documentation

NUCLEAR VERDICTS: THREE STEPS FOR HOW YOUR FIRM CAN AVOID THEM

Nuclear verdicts quadrupled last year, leaving hundreds of carriers out of business and thousands of drivers out of jobs.

And while there is a great appetite out there for the “deep pockets” of the trucking industry, with a few tweaks to your training and documentation system, you can insulate yourself from them.

How can I protect my company from nuclear verdicts?

Nuclear verdicts can put a trucking carrier out of business, and any gap in training or documentation is an opportunity for a plaintiff’s attorney to make the case against your company. Protect your company by establishing a culture of safety and documentation.

A Look Inside an Attorneys’ Nuclear Verdict Playbook

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have a sophisticated bag of tricks, in which they comb through data to discover vulnerabilities in carriers’ processes and procedures. They use these data analytics to make decisions on whether to go to court or settle or when to drop a case altogether.

Attorneys look at a variety of data, including CSA scores, logs, and reporting inefficiencies, then drill down on those issues to prove their cases and win millions of dollars for their plaintiff. Attorneys have data analysts ready to get the next nuclear verdict, so trucking companies need to be armed and ready, protecting their vulnerabilities and ensuring that all processes and procedures are above par.

The “Dirty Five”

Attorneys have a well-known attack strategy for nuclear verdicts, using the “Dirty Five” against drivers. These are five categories that are known winners for nuclear verdicts:

  •  Driver Fatigue
  •  Distracted Driving
  •  Driving Under the Influence
  •  Poor equipment maintenance
  •  Inexperienced or poorly-trained driver

Your Nuclear Verdict Playbook

If attorneys have a playbook for getting nuclear verdicts, you should have one for avoiding them. Gone are the days when a robust safety program was a “nice to have.” Welcome to the days of “establish your program, or you’re out of business.” 

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions has published a new whitepaper, which details our strategy on a data-driven approach to avoiding nuclear verdicts. Read the whitepaper and learn about how a culture of safety and accurate, detailed documentation can save your company from nuclear verdicts, extravagant insurance premiums, and bankruptcy.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions’ Checklist to Avoid Nuclear Verdicts

If you’re not quite ready to commit, we are offering a checklist to get you started on nuclear verdict prevention. Follow the steps below to protect your company and your drivers.

  1.   Avoid accidents in the first place by creating a culture of safety that utilizes short, frequent, consistent online safety awareness training partnered with real-time documentation.
  2.   When accidents do happen, mitigate liability and the likelihood that the case goes to trial by making sure that 1) the driver is prepared to begin your company’s defense at the site of the accident, and 2) your office is prepared to quickly produce consistent documentation and a safety portfolio that discourages litigation
  3.   If the accident goes to trial, make sure that driver training, company policies, licensing, and medical records are thoroughly documented, reducing the threat of nuclear verdicts

Key Takeaways:

  •  Nuclear verdicts are on the rise, and trucking companies must be hyper-vigilant to reduce risk exposure.
  •  Create a culture of safety using Infinit-I Workforce Solutions’ training toolkit and documentation system.
  •  Plaintiffs’ attorneys have a data-driven approach to snagging nuclear verdicts. You need a data-driven playbook on how to avoid them.
TECHNOLOGY MYTHS: TAKE THE FEAR OUT

Commercial Carrier JournalThis week the Commercial Carrier Journal again featured the Infinit-I Workforce System in their publication. In the article, Aaron Huff wrote, “Whether fleets decide to use old school or high-tech training methods, experts say it is critical to document every aspect of the training process.”

This is a point Vertical Alliance Group works hard to educate trucking companies about.  At our bi-monthly Infinit-I Engage Evaluation Program, former safety director Dean Huth preaches, “If it’s not in writing, if it’s not signed, if it’s not dated, if you can’t find it, it simply didn’t happen.”

Dean often refers to a story that has now become known as the $64 Million Mistake.

The Infinit-I Workforce System was designed to allow trucking companies an easy way to create, manage, distribute, and track training. In addition to providing a comprehensive content library that features new training videos added on a monthly basis, the Infinit-I Workforce system also allows companies to develop their own custom content to use on the system.

Additionally, the system provides a unique driver resource area where all documents your driver needs access to can be placed for easy access from anywhere they are in the world. In his article, Aaron Huff also talks about the benefits of utilizing an online learning management tool like the Infinit-I Workforce System. “One way to streamline driver training is with software designed to manage and monitor the progress of drivers through every stage in a formal training program,” Huff writes.

If you would like to learn more about online training, you can schedule a demo.  One of our account executives will reach out to you and help you explore online training in detail.  Additionally, you can claim a free ticket to our Infinit-I Engage Evaluation Program and learn more about that event.

NATMI Accredited Event
Boot Camp Program Now an Approved NATMI Safety Event 1

Vertical Alliance Group recently announced their Infinit-I Boot Camp Program has been approved by the North American Transportation Management Institute (NATMI) and earns certified safety directors two recertification points. Learn more about the accreditation.

The two day event provides attendees with a unique opportunity to explore the benefits of implementing online training within their company. As a hands-on event, attendees are given the opportunity to learn “Best Practices” related to a successful online training program utilizing, the Infinit-I Workforce System, while enjoying a unique Texas setting and great southern hospitality.

Additionally, event goers spend time learning how to create customized safety training content in quick and affordable ways. During this portion of the event, each attendee has the opportunity to create their own customized safety training video that can be utilized in all of their future safety training efforts.

The event features a keynote address by a former safety director, Dean Huth, who shares firsthand the challenges of relying on a traditional paper method of tracking driver training and how costly it can be when it fails companies who wind up in an audit or a courtroom. His talk centers around educating safety directors on how to mitigate large and costly judgements associated with punitive damages. “You will go to court if you do this a long time. It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when.

When it comes to your training: If it’s not in writing, not signed, not dated, or you can’t find it, it simply didn’t happen,” Huth explained during a recent keynote address at the event.

To learn more about attending an Infinit-I Engage Evaluation Program, or to learn more about the NATMI certification, call 866-775-4669, ext. 103.