A Major Truck Accident Liability Decision From the U.S. Supreme Court
When a serious truck accident happens, most people immediately think about the truck driver and the trucking company. That makes sense. The driver was behind the wheel. The trucking company may have hired the driver, maintained the truck, scheduled the route, or pushed deadlines. But in many modern trucking cases, there can be another important company involved before the truck even gets on the road: the freight broker.
A freight broker does not usually own the truck. Instead, the broker connects a shipper that needs freight moved with a motor carrier that agrees to haul the load. In everyday terms, the broker helps choose who gets the job.
That choice can matter.
On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC. It held that federal law does not automatically block state-law negligent hiring or negligent selection claims against freight brokers after truck crashes.
For people injured in truck accidents, this is a significant decision. It may allow an injured person to pursue claims not only the truck driver and trucking company, but also the broker. Specifically, injured parties may be able to claim that a broker failed to use reasonable care when selecting the motor carrier that caused the crash.
What Happened in the Montgomery Case?
The case involved a severe truck accident in Illinois. Shawn Montgomery was seriously and permanently injured when his tractor-trailer was struck by a truck hauling a load for Caribe Transport II, LLC, a motor carrier. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., a transportation broker, had arranged the shipment.
Montgomery sued several parties, including C.H. Robinson. One of his claims was that C.H. Robinson was responsible because it negligently hired or selected the trucking company and driver for the load.
According to the Supreme Court opinion, Montgomery argued that Caribe Transport (the motor carrier) had a “conditional” safety score from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The alleged safety problems included issues involving driver qualifications, hours of service, inspection, repair and maintenance, recordable crash rate, and more. Montgomery claimed C.H. Robinson knew or should have known that choosing that carrier created an unreasonable risk of a crash.
C.H. Robinson argued that the claim was preempted by federal law, specifically the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, often called the FAAAA. The lower courts agreed. The Supreme Court did not.
What Did the Supreme Court Decide?
The Supreme Court held that a negligent hiring claim against a broker can fall within the FAAAA’s safety exception.
The FAAAA generally preempts certain state laws related to the prices, routes, and services of motor carriers and brokers. But the statute also contains an important safety exception: that the FAAAA’s preemption does not limit a state’s safety regulatory power “with respect to motor vehicles.”
The Court explained that common-law duties, including duties created through negligence law, can be part of a state’s authority to regulate trucking safety. Claims over negligent hiring impose a duty to use reasonable care when hiring or selecting a contractor for work that carries a risk of physical harm.
The key question was whether a broker negligent selection claim is “with respect to motor vehicles.” The Court said yes. Requiring a broker to use ordinary care when selecting a motor carrier concerns motor vehicles because the carrier’s trucks are the vehicles that will transport the goods.
In plain English, the Court said federal law does not give freight brokers a blanket shield from negligent selection claims when an unsafe trucking company causes harm on the highway.
What This Decision Does Not Mean
This decision does not mean a freight broker is automatically liable every time a truck crash happens.
It also does not mean the Supreme Court decided that C.H. Robinson was actually responsible for Montgomery’s injuries. The Court decided a legal preemption issue. It ruled that the claim could move forward and was not automatically barred by the FAAAA’s safety exception.
That distinction is important.
An injured person still has to prove the elements of the claim under applicable state law. Depending on the facts and the state involved, that may include proving:
- The broker owed a duty of reasonable care
- The broker failed to use reasonable care when selecting the carrier
- The selected carrier was unsafe or unfit in a legally meaningful way
- The broker knew or should have known about the risk, AND
- The broker’s negligent selection helped cause the crash and injuries.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion emphasized this point. He noted that brokers should be able to defend these cases when they acted reasonably and arranged transportation with reputable trucking companies.
He also noted that proximate cause requirements in state tort law help protect brokers from excessive liability. States typically require injured parties to establish that each defendant they name in their claim proximately contributed to their injury. Without proximate cause, a defendant cannot be held liable.
So the decision opens the door for plaintiffs. It does not guarantee recovery.
Why Freight Brokers Matter in Truck Accident Cases
A truck accident case can involve more than the person driving the truck. Depending on the facts, potentially responsible parties may include:
- The truck driver
- The motor carrier or trucking company
- A freight broker
- A shipper
- A maintenance company
- A cargo loading company
- A truck or parts manufacturer
- Other companies involved in dispatch, logistics, leasing, or ownership.
Freight brokers are important because they may have had information about the carrier before the trip began. If a broker selected a carrier despite obvious safety concerns, that decision may become a major issue in the case.
The Supreme Court recognized that brokers act as intermediaries connecting shippers with trucking companies. Shippers contract with brokers for their transport needs, and brokers select motor carriers to transport the freight.
That selection process can involve safety information. For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER Company Snapshot provides public information about a motor carrier, including identification information, cargo, inspection and out-of-service summaries, crash data, and safety rating if one exists.
FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System also uses inspection and crash data to help prioritize carriers for interventions, although some property carrier compliance and safety performance information is no longer publicly displayed under federal law.
In a serious truck accident case, a lawyer may need to investigate:
- What information was available
- What the broker actually reviewed
- What the broker ignored
- Whether the broker had its own internal history or warnings involving that carrier.
Why This Decision Matters for People Hurt in Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are different from ordinary car accident cases. They often involve federal safety regulations, driver qualification files, hours-of-service rules, inspection records, maintenance records, black box data, dashcam footage, dispatch communications, broker-carrier contracts, and multiple insurance policies.
From our decades of experience at Flick Truck Accident Law, we know that truck crash evidence is often more technical and extensive than car accident evidence. Effective truck accident case work may involve inspecting the truck, downloading data, reviewing dashcam video, driver logs, and required trucking company records.
The Montgomery decision matters because it confirms that the investigation may extend beyond the trucking company to include the freight broker’s role in putting that carrier on the road.
For an injured person, that can matter for several reasons:
1. It May Reveal Another Responsible Party
If a broker negligently selected an unsafe motor carrier, the broker may be held liable to pay for injuries, alongside other negligent parties.
That matters because truck accident injuries are often life-changing and require substantial compensation. Medical bills, surgeries, rehabilitation, lost wages, future loss of earning capacity, pain, disability, and long-term care needs can be enormous. In catastrophic injury or wrongful death cases, identifying every responsible party and every available insurance source can be very important.
A case that looks like it involves only a driver and motor carrier may actually involve a broader chain of decisions.
2. It May Help Explain Why the Crash Happened
Some truck accidents are not just the result of one bad moment behind the wheel. They may be the result of a system that allowed an unsafe driver, unsafe truck, or unsafe company to operate. A negligent broker selection claim can help focus attention on questions such as:
- Did the broker check the carrier’s safety rating?
- Did the carrier have a history of crashes?
- Did the carrier have out-of-service violations?
- Were there driver qualification problems?
- Were there hours-of-service violations?
- Were there maintenance problems?
- Did the broker use the carrier repeatedly despite safety concerns?
- Did the broker prioritize price or availability over safety?
- Did the broker have internal rules for carrier selection?
- Did the broker follow its own rules?
These questions can be important because the cause of a truck accident may go beyond the actual collision.
3. It May Affect Available Compensation
Truck accident cases often involve substantial injuries. At Flick Truck Accident Law, we take into account many factors such as injury severity, medical expenses, fault, pain and suffering, permanence, lost wages, and aggravating factors.
If a freight broker is legally responsible, that may make additional affect sources of recovery available to the injured person. It may also affect how the case is investigated, negotiated, and litigated.
This does not mean every case against a broker is valid. It means the broker’s role should not be ignored simply because the broker did not own the truck or directly employ the driver.
4. It May Change How Truck Accident Lawyers Investigate Cases
After Montgomery, lawyers handling serious truck accident cases should consider whether a freight broker was involved and whether the broker’s carrier selection process deserves investigation. That may include looking for:
- Broker-carrier agreements
- Load confirmations
- Communications between the broker, shipper, carrier, and driver
- Carrier qualification documents
- Internal broker policies
- Safety rating information
- Prior incidents involving the same carrier
- Insurance information
- FMCSA records
- Dispatch records
- Evidence showing whether the broker knew or should have known about safety problems.
This is one reason truck accident cases require focused experience. Flick Truck Accident Law focuses almost exclusively on helping truck accident victims. We have experience investigating truck crashes, working with accident reconstruction experts, gathering evidence, and using truck safety rules and technology to determine what caused the crash.
Talk to Flick Truck Accident Law About a Serious Truck Accident
The Supreme Court’s decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC is a major development for truck accident victims. It confirms that freight brokers are not automatically protected from negligent selection claims simply because federal law regulates the transportation industry.
If a broker helped put an unsafe trucking company on the road, and that decision contributed to a serious crash, the injured person may have the right to pursue accountability.
Flick Truck Accident Law focuses on truck accident cases, not general personal injury work. Our firm investigates truck crashes, reviews trucking safety issues, works with experts, and helps injured people and families understand their legal options after serious commercial vehicle collisions.
If you or a loved one was injured in a truck accident in Kansas or Missouri, contact Flick Truck Accident Law today. You can speak with a truck accident attorney about what happened, what evidence may need to be preserved, and whether the trucking company, freight broker, or other parties may be responsible.
Call Flick Truck Accident Law at (816) 221-0501 or contact our firm online to discuss your truck accident case.