This is based on an actual client testimony. However, the names and locations have been changed.

Late on a cold October day, DB Trucking got a phone call that changed their business forever. A call came in they couldn’t pass up: $30,000 for hauling a load from Orange County to Fresno. The only problem – none of the regular drivers were available. Desperate to find someone, the owner asked around. One of the yard workers “knew a guy.” The owner was willing to take a gamble on this guy, a traveling musician who happened to have a trucking license. They gave him a truck and off he went. His only responsibility: Get into the cab of the truck, drive to the destination, drop off the load and drive home.

Within sight of the dropoff point, in view of the guys in the loading yard, the musician felt the need to check the load. He stepped down from the cab and stepped up onto the trailer, climbed on top of the load and began yanking on the tiedowns. The guys in the yard knew this would end badly. They watched in horror as he slipped off the highest point of the load. He fell backward, arms flailing, and slammed his head on the asphalt.

The final tally: A fractured skull, two broken ribs, a fractured ulna, four surgeries and $150,000 worker’s comp claim. The elevated XMOD and premiums for the next three years, cost the company well over $200,000. The damage to DB trucking lasted for the next four years. They learned an extremely expensive lesson on poor hiring. It easily could have been avoided.

This is one of countless stories we hear every day. We have been able to save our clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums, and helped them make better hiring decisions. Click here to find out how we can save you on the short haul (worker’s comp premiums for this year’s renewal) and the long haul (a comprehensive worker’s comp solution to keep your premiums low for years to come).