Who is Liable if a Massive Steel Coil Snaps Its Chains and Crushes a Passenger Car?
Of all the freight hauled on American highways, nothing is more terrifying or unforgiving than a rolled steel coil. These massive cylinders of solid steel, commonly transported on flatbed trailers, can weigh between 30,000 and 50,000 pounds *each*. They are so dense that they concentrate immense weight onto a tiny footprint of the trailer. In the trucking industry, these are grimly referred to as "suicide loads" for a reason. If a truck driver has to slam on the brakes to avoid stopped traffic, the incredible forward momentum of the coil can snap substandard securing chains like twigs. When this happens, the multi-ton coil rolls forward, crushing the truck's own cab, or worse, rolls off the side or back of the flatbed, instantly annihilating any passenger cars in its path.
When a steel coil breaks loose and causes catastrophic injuries or fatalities, the trucking company will often try to blame the manufacturer who loaded the coil, or claim the chains had a "hidden metallurgical defect." However, federal law is exceptionally strict regarding heavy cargo securement. Determining who is liable if a massive steel coil snaps its chains and crushes a passenger car involves an intense investigation into Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) Part 393, which dictates exactly how many chains must be used and how they must be angled.
FMCSR 393.120 has hyper-specific rules for metal coils. The law requires that the aggregate Working Load Limit of all the tiedowns (chains) must equal at least 50% of the coil's total weight. Furthermore, a coil loaded "eye-to-the-side" (the most dangerous orientation) must have specific chains routing *through* the eye to prevent it from rolling forward, backward, or side-to-side. A broken chain almost always means the driver failed to do the math.
Establishing Gross Negligence in Securement
A plaintiff's attorney will deploy accident reconstructionists and cargo securement experts to scrutinize every link of the broken chain and the driver's actions:
Steel chains rubbing against the sharp, raw edges of a steel coil will slice through the chain links due to road vibration. The law requires drivers to use "edge protectors" wherever the chain contacts the metal. If the attorney proves the driver was too lazy to place these protectors and the chain severed at the friction point, the driver is strictly liable.
As a flatbed truck bounces down the highway, cargo settles and chains go dangerously slack. FMCSR 392.9 requires the driver to pull over within the first 50 miles of their trip, and periodically thereafter, to re-tighten their chain binders. If the truck's ELD (electronic log) shows the driver drove 300 miles non-stop before the coil rolled off, the motor carrier is liable for failure to inspect.
If the steel mill loaded the coil onto a rotting wooden pallet, or improperly positioned it on the trailer so that it couldn't be safely chained by the driver, the plaintiff's attorney can also sue the multi-billion dollar manufacturing corporation for negligent loading.
Preserving the Broken Binders
The most crucial pieces of evidence are the broken chains and the "binders" (the ratcheting tools used to tighten them). The trucking company will try to "lose" these broken parts during the cleanup. Fast legal action is vital.