Perspective: Trucking Battles Lawsuit Abuse
This Challenge Threatens Not Only Livelihoods but the Very Backbone of Our Supply Chain
Key Takeaways:
- New chairman of American Trucking Associations says excessive litigation and nuclear verdicts are endangering the U.S. trucking industry.
- He says lawsuit abuse has inflated insurance costs, driven small carriers out of business and weakened the national supply chain despite trucking’s strong safety investments.
- ATA is pursuing state and federal tort reform to curb lawsuit abuse, increase transparency in litigation financing and protect trucking jobs and safety standards.
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Most every trucking company began the same way — with one person, one truck and an unshakable belief in a better tomorrow. From the earliest pioneers to the men and women navigating modern supply chains, trucking has always been the purest expression of the American dream.
Groendyke Transport — a 93-year-old tank truck carrier, still family-owned and proudly operated by the third generation of Groendykes — embodies that spirit. Our company was forged in the crucible of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, weathered deregulation and has navigated more economic storms than I can count. Through every challenge, our people have never lost sight of what matters most: safety, service and integrity. I am enormously proud to lead this team of dedicated, safety-award-winning professionals who deliver essential products across America every day.
Yet today, trucking faces a challenge unlike any we’ve seen before — one that threatens not only livelihoods but the very backbone of our supply chain. Operational costs have skyrocketed while freight demand remains flat or negative. The reasons are many, but one stands above the rest as both unjust and unsustainable: the epidemic of lawsuit abuse.
RELATED: Trucking Combats Soaring Nuclear Verdicts and Insurance Costs
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Let’s call it what it is — an attack on an industry built by hardworking men and women. Trial lawyers have turned trucking into jackpot justice, exploiting the courts to secure nuclear verdicts that have little to do with justice and everything to do with profit. They blatantly manipulate juries with fear and outrage, twisting our safety culture into a false narrative for their gain.
The result? A rigged system where multimillion-dollar verdicts drive up insurance premiums, bankrupt small carriers and threaten the future of family-owned businesses.
RELATED: Groendyke’s Hodgen Installed as 81st ATA Chairman
Make no mistake — our industry is not running from accountability. We’re proud of our safety record and the investments we make to continually improve it. Each year, trucking collectively invests more than $14 billion in safety technologies, driver training and operational improvements. We go above and beyond federal requirements to ensure every driver gets home safely. Safety isn’t a slogan — it’s in our DNA.
But when highway billboards advertise courtrooms as casinos, safety loses. When the promise of justice gives way to the pursuit of monetary windfalls, the human cost is devastating. Every time a trucking company is forced out of business by abusive litigation, communities lose jobs, consumers pay more and our supply chain weakens.
RELATED: Groendyke’s Greg Hodgen Aims to Be Trucking’s Superhero
As the 81st chairman of , my priority is clear: fighting back against this injustice and restoring fairness to our legal system. ATA is leading a sustained, resourced and strategic campaign to do just that.
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We’ve already seen meaningful progress. Within the past few years, 15 states have passed tort reform legislation thanks to the advocacy of ATA and its state partners. At the federal level, we’re pushing for reforms that increase transparency in third-party litigation financing, make staged accidents a federal crime and move high-value claims to federal courts where they can be judged more fairly. These aren’t partisan issues — they’re common-sense solutions that protect jobs, promote safety and preserve access to justice for all.
This fight matters because trucking isn’t just an industry — it’s a lifeline. Every day, millions of professional drivers deliver the goods that keep our economy moving and communities thriving. We don’t seek recognition or applause; we simply do the work. We get more done by 9 a.m. than most people do in an entire day — not as a boast, but as a reflection of who we are and what we stand for.
Trucking is a noble profession, and I’m proud to have spent my career in it. As I embrace this role as ATA’s chairman, I do so with deep respect for every truck driver — the ones who keep America’s promises. In the year ahead, I will work tirelessly on their behalf to ensure our voice is strong, respected and heard in every statehouse and on Capitol Hill.
Together, we will defend our industry, protect our people and drive toward a future where justice rides alongside us — not against us.
is CEO of .
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