House bill targets staged truck crashes

WASHINGTON – Fraudsters who stage truck accidents with the goal of suing trucking companies for millions of dollars will face stiff penalties if Congress approves new legislation.

The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act, introduced in the U.S. House on Tuesday by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., and Brandon Gill, R-Texas, would make intentionally staging a crash with a motor vehicle a federal crime.

According to the legislation, a person operating a motor vehicle who intentionally causes a collision with a commercial motor vehicle – or arranges for another person to cause a collision – will be fined, imprisoned for up to 20 years or both. If the collision results in serious injury or death, the prison sentence changes to at least 20 years.

“Increasingly, con artists in passenger vehicles are intentionally colliding with commercial motor vehicles to file frivolous lawsuits, seeking damages that often exceed seven figures,” the lawmakers stated in a press release announcing the bill.

“These accidents endanger highway travelers, drive up the costs of insurance, and put small owner-operators out of business. The [legislation] establishes clear, enforceable criminal penalties for those who stage these collisions, as well as the attorneys, physicians, and other co-conspirators who knowingly participate in this fraud.”

One of the biggest fake-crash cases involving a semitruck, which prosecutors have dubbed Operation Sideswipe, has been ongoing in Louisiana since 2019. It involved scores of staged crashes and resulted in 63 indictments.

“When con artists seeking a big payday intentionally collide with commercial motor vehicles, their reckless disregard for safety puts innocent truck drivers and the motoring public at risk,” said Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations senior vice president of legislative affairs, in a statement.

“These unscrupulous individuals perpetuate their selfish actions by filing frivolous lawsuits against honest trucking companies, raising costs for consumer goods and contributing to soaring insurance premiums.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also sees the need for legislation targeting staged crashes.

“To add insult to injury, criminals abuse the legal system for profit through false accusations and lawsuits, which contribute to skyrocketing insurance premiums for small trucking businesses,” said Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of OOIDA, in a statement.

The legislation, Pugh said, will “protect law-abiding truckers from sophisticated criminal fraud schemes that exploit the hardworking men and women behind the wheel.”