A cargo claim isn't an event — it's a process that begins the moment the driver picks up the freight and ends 60 to 180 days later with either a settlement check or a denial letter. What happens between those two points is largely determined by the documentation generated along the way, and the documentation is generated by the driver at the dock, the carrier in dispatch, and the claimant in their warehouse. Carriers who handle their first claim badly often handle every subsequent claim badly because they didn't see the pattern. The pattern is mostly about paper, and it's mostly about who created it and when.

Carrier liability for cargo damage is governed by the Carmack Amendment (49 U.S.C. 14706). The framework, in plain terms: a motor carrier is liable for actual loss or damage to property it transports interstate, regardless of fault, unless the loss falls into one of the recognized exceptions.

The exceptions where carriers aren't liable:

  • Act of God (genuine natural events outside human control)
  • Act of the public enemy (war, government action against the shipper)
  • Act of the shipper (loading errors, packaging failures, mis-declared commodity)
  • Inherent vice or nature of the goods (the freight was destined to deteriorate)
  • Act of the public authority (government interception)

In practice, "act of the shipper" — particularly packaging failures and loading defects — is the most commonly cited defense. The other four are uncommon.

The claimant — typically the shipper, consignee, or whoever has financial interest in the cargo — has to prove three things to establish a prima facie case: that the goods were delivered to the carrier in good condition, that they arrived damaged or short, and the amount of damages. Once that's established, the burden shifts to the carrier to prove an exception applies.

This is why the BOL matters so much. The signed BOL at pickup is the document establishing the goods were in good condition when received. If the driver notes damage at pickup, it changes the legal posture significantly.

Step 1: At pickup

The driver's documentation work at pickup determines what defenses the carrier has later:

  • Visible condition. Does the freight look intact when it's loaded? Are pallets wrapped, boxes uncrushed, drums sealed?
  • Piece count. Does what's loaded match the BOL piece count?
  • Notation of exceptions. If anything is visibly damaged, wrong, or short before loading, the driver notes it on the BOL with the shipper's acknowledgment.

A driver who signs a "clean BOL" — no notations — has accepted the freight as described and in good condition. If damage shows up at delivery, the carrier can't argue "it was damaged when we picked it up" because the BOL says otherwise.

Drivers who sign clean BOLs without inspecting wrapped pallets are common, and it's the most expensive single habit in claims. Two minutes of looking at the freight before signing protects months of claim defense later.

Step 2: In transit

Most claims have an obvious in-transit event:

  • The truck experienced a sudden braking or evasive maneuver and the load shifted.
  • Securement failed and items slid or fell.
  • Temperature deviation on a reefer load.
  • Water intrusion from a roof leak.
  • Theft.

A few claims have no in-transit event the driver knows about — the freight was probably damaged before pickup but the damage wasn't visible until unloading.

What helps the carrier later: any contemporaneous record of in-transit events — service incident reports, reefer download logs showing temperature stayed in spec, photos of secured cargo at fuel stops, etc.

Step 3: At delivery — the OS&D notation

OS&D stands for Over, Short, and Damaged. When freight arrives at the consignee, the receiver counts and inspects it. If something is wrong — pieces missing, items damaged, pallets short — they note it on the delivery receipt or BOL.

The driver should not leave the dock until the OS&D notation is on the BOL. A clean delivery receipt — driver signed, consignee signed, no exceptions — is documentary evidence that the freight arrived in good condition. If a claim is filed later based on damage discovered after the driver left, the carrier has a much stronger position.

What an OS&D notation should include:

  • Specific items affected (SKU, item description, location on the pallet)
  • Nature of the damage (crushed, water-stained, missing, etc.)
  • Quantity affected
  • Signed by both driver and receiver

The driver should photograph the damaged freight at the dock. Photos with timestamp and location data are very strong documentation.

Step 4: The claim filing

The shipper, consignee, or insurance company files a written claim with the carrier. Federal regulation under 49 CFR Part 370 governs the timing and content:

  • The claim must be filed within 9 months of delivery (or, if delivery never happened, within 9 months of when delivery should have occurred).
  • The claim must identify the shipment, state the type of loss/damage, claim a specific dollar amount, and request a specific remedy.
  • The claim is sent to the motor carrier (and often copied to the broker, who acts as the intermediary).

For brokered freight, the broker typically routes the claim to the carrier, holds rate payment if the rate con allows, and acts as a clearinghouse for documentation.

Step 5: Carrier acknowledgment and investigation

Federal regulations require the carrier to:

  • Acknowledge receipt of the claim in writing within 30 days.
  • Either pay, decline, or make a settlement offer within 120 days of receipt, OR provide a status update at 60 days and then at 60-day intervals until resolution.

Most carriers route the claim to their cargo insurer. The insurer assigns a claims adjuster, who:

  • Reviews the BOL, delivery receipt, claim documents, and any photos
  • May request the driver's accident/incident report if applicable
  • May arrange salvage inspection of the damaged goods
  • May negotiate with the claimant on the amount

The driver may be asked for a statement about what they observed during the haul. Memory ages quickly; a driver writing down what they remember within a day or two of the event is far more credible than a statement reconstructed weeks later.

Step 6: Salvage

For damaged (not lost) freight, salvage often comes into play. The damaged goods have some residual value. The salvage process:

  • The carrier (or insurer) takes ownership or salvage rights to the damaged freight after paying out
  • The freight is sold to a salvage buyer
  • The salvage proceeds offset the claim payout

For high-value freight (electronics, branded goods), the shipper sometimes prohibits salvage to protect their brand — they want the damaged goods destroyed rather than resold. The terms of the freight contract or claim settlement specify what happens to the salvage.

Step 7: Settlement or denial

The claim resolves one of three ways:

Paid in full. The carrier (or insurer) pays the claimed amount, usually less depreciation, less salvage, and less any policy deductible.

Negotiated settlement. The carrier and claimant agree to a lesser amount, often where there's some dispute about packaging, valuation, or causation.

Denied. The carrier (or insurer) determines the claim falls into a Carmack exception or that the documentation doesn't support the claim. The denial letter explains the basis.

A denied claimant can escalate — typically to the broker, then to small claims court, then to federal court for larger amounts. The Carmack Amendment provides the federal cause of action and allows reasonable attorney's fees in some cases.

What the driver controls

In the entire chain, the driver controls a surprisingly large share of the outcome:

  • Inspecting freight at pickup and noting exceptions
  • Securing the load properly
  • Documenting in-transit events
  • Insisting on OS&D notations at delivery
  • Taking photos of damage when it's present
  • Writing contemporaneous notes about anything unusual

The carrier office handles the claim mechanics, but the documentation that wins or loses the claim is generated at the dock by the driver.

Honest caveat: cargo insurance won't cover every claim

A claim that exceeds your cargo policy limit ($100K typical for new authority carriers) leaves you exposed to the excess. A claim arising from a deliberate act (theft by employee, fraud) may be denied by the insurer. A claim arising from operating outside the policy terms (unauthorized commodity, unauthorized geographic area, certain temperature deviations on reefer policies that exclude breakdown coverage) may be denied. New carriers reading their cargo policy and understanding what's excluded — not just what's covered — is the work that prevents an unpleasant surprise during a claim. The policy exclusions are not standardized; they vary by insurer, by commodity class, and by endorsement. A carrier hauling produce who didn't read their reefer breakdown coverage carefully, and whose unit failed on a load of strawberries, can find themselves with a significant claim and partial coverage. The policy review is more important than the rate review.

Cargo claims are a regular reality of freight operations. Some carriers have one in their first year; some go three years without one. Either way, the muscle memory of clean documentation — at pickup, in transit, at delivery — is what determines whether the eventual claim resolves quickly or becomes a months-long fight over what really happened.

Let dispatch carry the claim file with you

When a claim hits, the carrier ends up coordinating broker, insurer, driver, and consignee at the same time the truck still needs to be moving. A dispatch partner pulls the load file, manages broker communication, and keeps the timing clean while you stay focused on the road. Talk to dispatch about claim handling as part of the service.

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