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Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act

On December 22, 2023 Rep. Jesus G Garcia (D-IL) introduced a house bill called the Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act to modify the Motor Carrier Act of 1980.  The bill has the following cosponsors list: Rep. Henry C Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN).  This bill if passed and signed into law will increase the amount of insurance that interstate carriers have to carry from $750,000 to $5,000,000.

Rep Garcia has introduced similar bills in the past in 2019 and 2021.  Both of those never got traction in the house committee.  This new bill will make it mandatory that every five years the Secretary of Transportation review along with the Bureau of Labor Statistics the amount of liability insurance minimum and adjust for inflation.

The reasoning for the increase to $5,000,000 from the text of the bill “According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of $750,000, set in 1980 (the year of Motor Carrier Act enactment), would have the same purchasing power as $5,193,665.62 in 2020, if the amount was raised to account for medical-cost inflation.”

“For too long, truck crash victims and their families have been burdened by tremendous emotional and financial consequences, facing a mountain of medical debt and shattered lives,” Garcia said. “The Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act is about justice, responsibility, and protecting our communities. It's time to ensure that trucking companies have adequate insurance to cover the true cost of their actions and prevent families from being financially destroyed by crashes they had no control over.”

Follow House Bill H.R. 6884  here: Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act

Sandy & Stephen

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