Why does Your Truck Liability Insurance Cost So Much - Because You could be a Part of The Problem – it could Your Own Fault

An Illinois state appellate court has upheld a multi-million-dollar negligent hiring verdict involving an extremely dangerous truck driver. The Cook County jury awarded the plaintiffs more than $19 million in compensatory damages, and $35 million in punitive damages owing to “willful and wanton” conduct by the driver’s employer.



The lawsuit stems from a 2011 accident caused by truck driver David Lee Johnson on an Indiana highway. Court documents show Johnson was driving well above the speed limit with a suspended license and didn’t notice a driver going the wrong way. While other drivers managed to swerve out of the way of the wrong way driver who later died, Johnson slammed into a Jeep in front of him. That Jeep then smashed into the fuel tank of another big rig. 

James Denton, the driver of the Jeep and plaintiff in the lawsuit, survived but has had nine surgeries trying to recover from the crash. He’s been unable to work since the accident.

It turns out speeding and driving with a suspended license were just the latest incidents involving Johnson’s bad behavior behind the wheel. The suit alleges the trucking company should never have hired and retained Johnson for as long as it did. Here’s some examples from Johnson’s extensive driving rap sheet:

• Never completed a truck driving course, but somehow held a Commercial Driver’s License
• Employed by seven different companies in 10 years; his application listed six
• Fired from four of those seven companies; his application listed one termination
• Involved in four accidents, three moving violations, and had license suspended twice during tenure with employer named in the lawsuit
• Convicted of four felonies for attempting to smash another driver’s headlights during a road rage incident
• Crashed into a car after refusing to let it merge onto a highway ramp

The trucking company’s safety coordinator testified Johnson’s felony convictions automatically disqualified him from being hired. His application should’ve been rejected at that point. Instead, because the company needed drivers, the company’s safety director labeled Johnson as a “marginal candidate” and hired him anyway.

The trucking company never ran Johnson’s motor vehicle report and didn’t screen his driving record after he was hired. Now what is wrong with this picture. Simply put, a mechanic without his tools is no mechanic. A truck driver is as good as his resume and his resume is his driving record. In my day, I wouldn’t even talk to a driver looking for a job unless he brought me a copy of his driving records no more than 30 days old.

An MVR will check for several pieces of information that show on a driver's license as well as other violations, crimes, and other driving-related information. MVRs are an important piece of the background screening process for many industries. If you are working in a Department of Transportation (DOT) regulated industry, you are required to request a new copy of each driver’s MVR every 12 months.

This lawsuit is a prime example of how failing to conduct proper background checks and act on negative information cost an employer dearly.

NTA understands the policies and regulations of DOT-regulated employment verifications. Let us help you keep your best drivers on the road!

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