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Lawsuit abuse tops Kansas truckers’ legislative agenda
Accident fraud, third-party litigation funding also discussed during annual Call on Washington.
Participants in Kansas Motor Carriers Association's Call on Washington visited the Rayburn House Office Building. (American Trucking Associations)
Key Takeaways:
- Kansas trucking executives identified lawsuit abuse as their leading legislative concern during meetings with lawmakers.
- Industry leaders promoted legislation focused on litigation funding transparency, insurance fraud and forum shopping.
- Trucking company executives said large verdicts can threaten the continued operation of family-owned carriers.
Kansas trucking executives used their annual Call on Washington to press lawmakers on what they described as their most urgent concern: lawsuit abuse and the growing financial threat posed by large verdicts, third-party litigation funding and fraudulent claims.
“The biggest thing that we hear is lawsuit abuse,” Travis Grauerholz, Kansas Motor Carriers Association vice president of government affairs, told Transport Topics about the top legislative priority for carriers across his state. “It doesn’t matter the size of the company or how many trucks [and] employees they have; lawsuit abuse is what keeps them up at night,” he said.
The meetings, hosted by American Trucking Associations, brought industry representatives face-to-face with members of the Kansas congressional delegation and their staffs. Eight KMCA members traveled to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23 to meet with the offices of Kansas Reps. Derek Schmidt (R), Sharice Davids (D), Tracey Mann (R) and Ron Estes (R), as well as Sens. Roger Marshall (R) and Jerry Moran (R).
Congress faces a shortened legislative calendar ahead of the midterm elections, and House members already have returned to their districts to campaign. Even so, Kansas trucking leaders said several measures aimed at litigation issues still could advance before year-end.
Among them is the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act, introduced by Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), which would make it a federal crime to intentionally stage a crash involving a commercial truck or bus.
@USRepMikeFlood highlighted a growing threat to our legal system: third-party litigation financing. By enabling outside investors, including foreign entities, to bankroll lawsuits for profit, TPLF is driving nuclear verdicts and inflating costs that put good motor carriers out… pic.twitter.com/uIW1U8hTY4
— American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) September 23, 2026
The group also highlighted the Uniform Vehicle Safety Standards Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) in the House and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) in the Senate, which would require damages to be determined based on federal safety standards instead of varying state standards.
Lawsuit concerns
Kansas trucking executives also raised concerns about “forum shopping,” in which plaintiffs file lawsuits in jurisdictions viewed as more likely to award large damage amounts. To address the issue, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) introduced the Forum Accountability and Integrity in Roadway (FAIR) Trucking Act. The legislation would give federal district courts jurisdiction over civil highway accident lawsuits against motor carriers when the amount in dispute exceeds $5 million, an effort supporters say could help curb so-called nuclear verdicts of $10 million or more.
For carriers, the issue is more than a public policy debate.
Jamie Bradley, president of Doug Bradley Trucking Inc., stressed that the threat of a single catastrophic verdict weighs heavily on family-owned trucking companies.
“A $10 million lawsuit — which isn’t even considered [that] big of a lawsuit anymore — but tomorrow a $10 million lawsuit means that we’re closing the doors,” Bradley said. “We’re seen as a big target. We’re seen as deep pockets, and I’m sorry, we’re a family company. We’re not deep pockets.”
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Bradley continued, “That’s the scary and frustrating thing about it. Fifty years in business and three generations later we could have an accident tomorrow that could end it all. It has nothing to do with how hard we’re working or the efforts we’re taking to be safe, because we’re light years ahead of where we’ve been in the past. The wrong accident in the wrong jurisdiction with the wrong circumstances means it could be gone.”
Amid these concerns, Bradley and Grauerholz said meetings with congressional staff were productive.
“Our delegation is always willing to sit down and listen and be a supporter of the industry. We have great individuals up here that try to do the best that they can to make sure that this industry is well off moving forward,” Grauerholz said. “It’s always bipartisan. We have Republicans and Democrats in Kansas, and they’re always willing to sit down and listen. They’re always willing to help out and reach out and have that lending hand to see what they can do to help us in our industry.”
