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A bill making its way through the Texas Legislature could make it more difficult for victims to reap multimillion-dollar jury verdicts against truckers in lawsuits that result in serious injury or death following a crash.

American Trucking Associations, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud have announced a plan to combine their resources to pursue legislation to tackle two of trucking’s biggest problems — towing fraud and staged accidents.

Over Valentine’s Day dinner last year, Randy Clifton and his wife, Karyn, decided the fate of the trucking company that had been Randy’s pride and joy for a decade. Unfortunately, they had to close down.

A so-called spotter who participated in at least two staged accidents against trucks in the New Orleans area has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for his part in the wire fraud conspiracy.

A civil action against FTS International Services remains one of dozens of so-called “nuclear” verdicts against motor carriers, defined as awards in excess of $10 million, that in recent years have been on a steep rise.

Reduced highway traffic during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has lowered the risk of crashes, but this silver lining of the pandemic has provided only a temporary reprieve for trucking companies that have seen escalating insurance costs in recent years.

High Definition Vehicle Insurance, launched in 2018, focuses on small and midsize trucking fleets.

The insurance underwriting industry continues to face financial uncertainty, characterized by historic underwriting losses for the transportation sector and rising insurance rates for motor carriers, insurance executives said during a virtual educational session at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition.