Alliance Litigation Funding Blog

The Trucking Industry’s Forgotten Victims: Truck Drivers Need Consumer Legal Funding, Too

Without America’s truck drivers, there would be no food on our tables, clothes on our backs, or countless everyday necessities we take for granted. These hardworking men and women are the backbone of our economy, traveling thousands of miles to keep store shelves stocked, businesses operating, and American families supplied.

Yet truck drivers face mounting financial pressures, including high diesel fuel prices, rising operating expenses, demanding schedules, and increasing expectations. For many, earning a living is becoming more challenging. When an accident leaves a driver unable to work, the financial consequences can be devastating.

As critics of third-party litigation funding call for greater restrictions, one important question is often overlooked: What happens when the truck driver is the injured party and needs financial assistance while pursuing a legitimate legal claim?

The words engraved above the entrance to the United States Supreme Court, “Equal Justice Under Law,” represent a fundamental American principle. But equal justice becomes difficult to achieve when financial hardship pressures an injured individual to accept an inadequate settlement simply to survive.

A $100,000 Offer Becomes a $12 Million Settlement

Consider a California long-haul truck driver whose semi-truck was rear-ended. Although the collision appeared minor, his injuries prevented him from returning to work. With no income and mounting bills, the insurance company offered him $100,000 to settle his claim.

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Rather than accept the offer under financial pressure, the driver obtained $75,000 in non-recourse Consumer Legal Funding, distributed over 12 months to help cover his living expenses.

The funding company initially declined his request for $100,000 and later declined additional funding, recognizing that more funding was not necessarily in his best interest.

Ultimately, his case settled for more than $12 million, over 120 times the original insurance offer.

The funding did not finance the lawsuit or control its outcome. It helped an injured truck driver meet his financial obligations while his case proceeded.

Without that assistance, the driver may have faced significant pressure to accept a settlement that did not adequately reflect his injuries.

As the saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” For an injured truck driver who has lost his income, the financial pressure of waiting for a legal claim to resolve can make those words especially meaningful.

Truck Drivers Are Victims, Too

The California case is not the only example.

In Texas, a truck driver involved in a multi-truck collision lost his ability to work, jeopardizing his family’s primary source of income. Consumer Legal Funding helped him catch up on bills and support his family. According to the funding company, the driver said his family could have lost everything without that assistance.

Similarly, a Georgia truck driver was rear-ended while traveling through Indiana. After losing his job and regular income, he used Consumer Legal Funding to pay utilities and other essential household expenses while his legal claim was pending.

Other cases demonstrate how quickly a truck driver’s livelihood can disappear. One Georgia driver suffered a shattered knee when pallets fell on him during unloading. Another long-haul driver sustained serious injuries after falling into an uncovered utility hole, reportedly leaving him with permanent nerve damage and unable to return to driving.

These are working Americans trying to keep their families financially stable after serious injuries, not commercial investors seeking profits from litigation.

Consumer Legal Funding Is Not Commercial Litigation Financing

Critics frequently group Consumer Legal Funding with Commercial Litigation Financing, despite fundamental differences.

Commercial Litigation Financing generally involves substantial investments to finance lawsuits, legal expenses, or litigation portfolios, sometimes involving millions of dollars.

Consumer Legal Funding provides non-recourse funds directly to individuals with pending legal claims, typically averaging $3,000 to $5,000, for everyday household necessities such as rent, groceries, utilities, and transportation.

The funds are not used to finance litigation, pay attorneys, or influence legal strategy. Repayment is contingent upon a successful recovery. If the consumer receives nothing from the claim, the funding company receives nothing.

This distinction is particularly important when legislation is being considered that could restrict access to funding for injured consumers.

Protecting Truck Drivers Means Preserving Their Financial Options

In 1951, Judge Learned Hand expressed a principle that remains relevant today:

“If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice.”

Those words capture an important concern in the current debate. Access to justice should not depend solely on whether an injured person can afford to wait months or years for a legal claim to resolve.

Those seeking to address litigation abuses have legitimate concerns about excessive litigation costs and unjustified claims. However, efforts to address those issues should not inadvertently harm the very truck drivers they seek to protect.

Consumer Legal Funding should be subject to reasonable consumer protections, including clear disclosures, attorney acknowledgment, and a contractual maximum repayment amount that cannot be exceeded.

But restricting or eliminating this financial option does not eliminate an injured driver’s mortgage payment, utility bills, or need to feed a family. It simply removes a potential source of financial assistance when it may be needed most.

Legislation targeting Commercial Litigation Financing should therefore expressly exclude qualifying non-recourse Consumer Legal Funding used for personal, family, or household expenses, while allowing appropriate consumer-specific regulation.

Remember the Driver Behind the Wheel

The debate over litigation financing should recognize both sides of the trucking industry. Trucking companies deserve protection from abusive litigation, but injured truck drivers also deserve access to legitimate financial options while pursuing their legal claims.

The California driver who received a settlement exceeding $12 million, the Texas driver who kept his family financially afloat, and the Georgia driver who used funding to pay his utilities all demonstrate why this distinction matters.

The promise of “Equal Justice Under Law” should extend to the hardworking men and women who keep America’s economy moving. Financial hardship should not determine whether an injured truck driver can continue pursuing a legitimate claim.

Protecting the trucking industry should not mean taking financial options away from the men and women who drive its trucks.

Because sometimes the person who needs financial protection is not the trucking company.

It is the driver behind the wheel.

Consumer Legal Funding: Funding Lives, Not Litigation.