Transportation

Transportation is a major industry with a multitude of specific laws and legal structures. To effectively resolve legal matters, transportation companies should look beyond general counsel and engage a firm with specific experience in this market.

WSHB is known nationally for its expertise in trucking, railroad and transportation issues. Directly and by way of insurers, we represent motor carriers, private fleet operators, motor coach operators, common carriers by railroad, brokers, freight forwarders, shippers and terminal operators.

We successfully represent transportation clients in the following areas:

• Truck accident litigation
• Employment (drivers and other personnel)
• Workers compensation (including owner-operator/independent-contractor issues)
• Freight charge collections
• Freight and cargo claims
• Business matters including equipment lease agreements, independent contractor operating agreements, terminal lease agreements, insurance coverage issues, and employment handbooks
• Contract disputes
• Regulatory compliance, including Public Service Commission, fuel-tax accounts, vehicle registration, and FMCSA Authority
• Catastrophic accident response and containment
• Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”) claims

We also provide an after-hours emergency response team to service clients with urgent needs following a catastrophic accident. This team has handled numerous night and weekend emergencies for our clients.

• Defense verdict for motor carrier and driver in action involving the death of a railroad worker
• Defense verdict for motor carrier and driver who struck plaintiff, a city employee who was repairing a street sign
• Successfully represented motor carrier and driver who rear-ended another tractor-trailer at a high speed, allegedly causing permanent brain and back injuries to plaintiff. The plaintiff accepted the jury’s award of $321,000; the demand prior to trial had been in excess of $10 million
• Represented a motor carrier and driver who lost control of his gasoline tanker on a temporary freeway transition, resulting in the death of the truck driver and a motorist. We were successful in establishing the accident was caused, in large part, by design defects in the temporary transition road, resulting in the majority of liability and damages shifted to the governmental entity responsible for the road design

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