Punitive Damage Claims Against Trucking Company for Negligent Hiring and Supervision Allowed To Proceed

A Pennsylvania federal court denied a Michigan trucking company’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claims for punitive damages for negligently hiring and supervising a truck driver who allegedly caused a significant collision.  The court reasoned that a reasonable jury could find that the trucking company was “reckless” for purposes of an award of punitive damages under Pennsylvania law in hiring the driver without verifying his employment application’s information or auditing his driver logs, which had been falsified on occasion based on testimony.

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