Document Type
Comment
Subject Area
WY Law Division
Abstract
In an America which has become more dependent than ever on the transportation industry, a common law rule known as the McHaffie rule barricades the tort system from its candid operation. Americans trust the tort system with assessing and distributing fault among numerous actors in complicated factual scenarios. For the system to do this, all the facts and all the parties must be permitted to traverse through the tort system. The McHaffie rule, however, allows motor carrier principals a rather peculiar luxury: the dismissal of all direct negligence claims against them when they admit vicarious liability for their driver agents. Under the McHaffie rule, the negligent management actions of a motor carrier in their hiring, training, and supervision practices of drivers never see judicial nor juror scrutiny. The McHaffie rule allows motor carriers to prioritize the satisfaction of consumers at home over the safety of travelers on the road. This Comment examines the context and arguments for and against the McHaffie rule and concludes that courts should eliminate or, at a minimum, narrow the rule to truly duplicative claims.
DOI
10.59643/1942-9916.1509
Rights
Copyright © 2023 by the WYOMING LAW REVIEW unless otherwise noted. Except as otherwise provided, copies of any article may be made for classroom use, provided that: (1) Copies are distributed at or below cost; (2) The author and the journal are identified; (3) Proper notice of copyright is affixed to each copy, and (4) The WYOMING LAW REVIEW is notified of the use.
Recommended Citation
Hoyer, Benjamin B.
(2024)
"The Gate Keepers of Trucking Safety: Keeping Motor Carriers Accountable For Their Negligent Employment Actions,"
Wyoming Law Review: Vol. 24:
No.
2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/wlr/vol24/iss2/6