Whose Employee Is Loading the Trailer

This single question decides a large share of dock disputes, and most warehouses have never answered it in writing.\n\nIf your employee loads the trailer, you performed the loading. Claims about improper loading, shifted freight, overweight axles, and damage to the freight during loading point at you. If the driver loads, the carrier performed it. If both participate, you have a factual dispute waiting to happen.\n\nThe same question applies to securement. Load bars, straps, airbags, and blocking are securement decisions, and responsibility for securement is both a regulatory matter for the motor carrier and a liability question between you and the carrier.\n\nAddress this in the warehouse services agreement and in your standard operating procedures, and align the two. Then put it on the paperwork. A bill of lading or dock receipt noting who loaded, whether the driver counted, whether the trailer was sealed and the seal number, and the trailer\'s condition at departure converts a future argument into a document.

• Define in writing whether your staff or the driver loads and secures
• Address securement responsibility explicitly, including load bars and blocking
• Record seal numbers and trailer condition at departure
• Note whether the driver counted the freight or accepted a shipper load and count
• Align the services agreement, your procedures, and the paperwork

Freight Damage and the Four Policies Involved

When freight is damaged at the dock, four different coverages can be implicated, and knowing which is which saves time.\n\nWarehouse legal liability covers your liability for loss or damage to customers\' goods in your care while stored in your warehouse. It is a liability coverage, so it responds when you are legally responsible, usually requiring negligence, and it is limited by your warehouse receipt or services agreement terms.\n\nMotor truck cargo coverage is the carrier\'s coverage for freight in transit. It applies once the carrier has custody.\n\nYour general liability policy will generally not pay for damage to customer goods in your care, because of the care, custody, or control exclusion. That exclusion is exactly why warehouse legal liability exists.

• Warehouse legal liability covers your liability for customer goods in storage
• Motor truck cargo covers freight once the carrier has custody
• General liability excludes damage to property in your care, custody, or control
• Some customers require all risk coverage on their goods, which is broader than liability coverage
• Condition notations on the bill of lading determine where custody sat at the time of damage

Review Your Warehouse Program

The dock is where warehouse legal liability, general liability, auto, and your customer contracts all meet, and it is usually the least reviewed part of the program. We work with warehouses, 3PLs, fulfillment operations, and last mile carriers and will read your agreements and policies together. Schedule a conversation at calendly.com/grandbayfinancial.\n\nThis article is for general information and is not a substitute for policy language or professional advice.