Mitigating the Risk of Social Inflation at Your Business

A devastating company vehicle crash can leave a lasting impact at your business in more ways than you may realize. Businesses may need to consider the negative repercussions stemming from “social inflation,” or, negative public sentiment and mistrust toward businesses among jury members, leading them to return larger financial judgments and penalties than in the past when businesses were the defendants.

They may also need to contend with “nuclear verdicts;” an award that is significantly higher than would be expected given the facts of the case. In litigation, jurors are sending a clear message that businesses can be held accountable for the actions of their employee drivers. 
 
Take action now to prevent an avoidable and devastating crash by: 

• Strengthening and enforcing your driving policies. A strong policy could: Prohibit company drivers from using mobile devices and other distractions (e.g., eating, drinking, or using a GPS or navigation system) behind the wheel)
  • Where appropriate, incorporate driver standards and screening for company drivers
  • Outline expectations for safe vehicle usage
  • Clarify consequences for failure to follow the company driving policy
  • Go beyond the minimum local, state, and federal laws applicable to your business
• Using in-cab technology. Having a way to monitor your drivers’ behaviors while they are on the road can be beneficial. Programs like Federated DriveSAFE Telematics can offer valuable insight into the performance of your company drivers and fleet vehicles — including phone use, speed, hard braking, harsh cornering, and hard acceleration.
• Training and retraining your employees. Introduce company policies and best practices to employees upon hire and regularly review them with your staff.