Regulatory Compliance
Transportation remains an industry heavily regulated by federal, state, and local governments. In trucking, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require carriers to establish and maintain safety compliance systems for drivers and vehicles. Hazardous materials transportation requirements and transportation security issues have moved front and center in this era of higher security.
Benesch's lawyers have experience with the regulations that directly affect how our clients runs their businesses. We can proactively assist our clients in developing a compliance program, as well as respond to compliance issues if they should occur. We help our clients navigate the maze of transportation and other governmental regulations through our thorough understanding of the underlying objectives of the regulatory structure.
We also have preeminent expertise in issues related to “carrier selection,” by which shippers, carriers, and/or brokers are brought into catastrophic injury lawsuits in efforts to locate a deep pocket. (We have won several of these cases and also served as expert witnesses in several of these cases in which our clients have prevailed).
We routinely conduct proactive mock USDOT safety audits and compliance reviews using the same methods as the FMCSA to determine the current state of a client’s compliance program. Our lawyers also defend and prepare motor carriers who have been selected for an actual audit or compliance review and develop corrective action plans to file for a safety rating upgrade for motor carriers with downgraded safety ratings. Likewise, we regularly assist our clients in improving their CSA scores, including DataQ appeals. In short, we develop all policies and documentation necessary for an effective safety compliance program.
