Broker duty of care, undefined
New rules restructured broker obligations without settling where selection duty ends and negligent entrustment begins. Plaintiffs are already testing the seam.
FIRST IN THE CATEGORY
We audit freight paperwork before it becomes a lawsuit.
We review carrier and broker records against the gaps the new federal freight rules left behind — the ones no one is trained to catch yet. Less exposure for your operation. A stronger file for your case.
Fewer gaps. Fewer losses. The new standard for freight risk.
20+ yrs
Carrier & broker operations
1st
Practice built on the gaps
48 hrs
Conflict check turnaround
50 states
Federal-rule engagements
FMCSA-framework analysis · Retained by defense and plaintiff counsel · CDS / TIA curriculum background
What changed
The regulation moved. The liability did not follow it cleanly.
When federal freight regulation was rewritten, it resolved some questions and quietly opened others. Those open questions have no precedent, no settled standard of care, and no expert bench. That is where exposure is accumulating right now.
Carrier fitness scoring drift
Safety-rating methodology changed faster than internal qualification policies. Most carrier files still document against a standard that no longer exists.
Contractual allocation vs. preemption
Indemnity and insurance schedules written before the rule change frequently allocate risk that federal law no longer permits to be shifted.
These are the gaps we audit for — before they become a claim.
See How We Audit →Meet the founder
Meet Clifford Knowles: The Insider's Perspective
CEO & Founder and Logistics Expert
Clifford Knowles is a transportation compliance expert witness and attorney who has spent over a decade operating at the highest levels of the freight brokerage world. His perspective was forged in legal roles at Echo Global Logistics and Schneider National, where he sat at the intersection of high-volume operations and complex risk management in logistics.
He founded Broker Liability and Risk Experts to deliver a dedicated logistics risk management plan that only an insider can offer. Whether you need a transportation safety expert witness to defend a claim or an advisor to protect your business through advanced carrier vetting consulting, his work is guided by industry standards.
Next briefing · Webinar
Documenting broker selection under an undefined standard — 45 minutes, counsel and operations.
If the gap is already in your case file, it is late. It is not too late.
Initial consultations are scheduled through an assistant and begin with a conflict check.
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