Freight gets damaged. Pallets go missing. A shipment arrives short three cartons and nobody at the receiving dock notices until the customer complains. At that point you have a claim — and whether you recover anything depends almost entirely on what happened in the first few minutes at the delivery dock, long before anyone thought about paperwork.
This is a practical guide to filing a freight claim on domestic truck freight: what to document, how liability works, what the deadlines are, and why most denied claims were lost at delivery rather than in the claims department.
The claim is won or lost on the delivery receipt
Start here, because everything else is secondary.
When a driver delivers, someone at your dock signs a delivery receipt. If that receipt is signed clean — no exceptions noted — you have created a written record that the freight arrived in good order. Overcoming that record later is difficult and sometimes impossible.
The rule for receiving staff is short enough to put on a laminated card:
- Count the pieces before signing. Note any shortage on the receipt, by piece count.
- Inspect for visible damage before signing. Note it specifically — “carton 4 crushed, top left,” not “damaged.”
- Photograph before unloading. Freight in the trailer, pallet condition, any obvious shifting or fallen stacks.
- Never sign clean if anything looks wrong. Drivers will sometimes press for a clean signature to keep moving. A noted exception costs the driver nothing and protects you entirely.
Concealed damage
Damage discovered after the driver has left is called concealed damage, and it is the hardest claim to win because the carrier can reasonably ask how they know it happened in transit. It is not hopeless, but it requires speed and evidence: report it to the carrier immediately upon discovery, photograph the packaging as well as the product, and retain everything — carton, dunnage, pallet — until the claim resolves. Do not discard the packaging. The packaging is the evidence.
How carrier liability actually works
For interstate motor freight in the US, carrier liability for loss and damage is governed by a long-standing federal framework. The practical effect is that carriers are liable for loss, damage, and delay, subject to defined exceptions and to limits set in the tariff or contract.
The three things that determine what you can actually recover:
1. Declared value and released rates
Carrier liability is frequently limited to an amount per pound rather than the actual value of the goods. If your product is light and valuable — electronics, pharmaceuticals, precision parts — the per-pound limit may cover a fraction of your loss. Check the applicable limit before shipping, and declare a higher value or buy cargo insurance if the gap is material.
2. Standard exceptions
Carriers are generally not liable when the loss results from an act of God, an act of the shipper, an act of a public authority, an act of a public enemy, or the inherent nature of the goods. The one that matters most in practice is act of the shipper — which includes inadequate packaging. If the freight was not packaged to withstand normal transit, the claim will be denied on that basis.
3. Documentation
Recovery requires proving the freight was tendered in good order, arrived damaged or short, and the amount of the loss. Missing any of the three sinks the claim.
Deadlines
Claim deadlines are contractual and vary. Standard bill of lading terms and carrier tariffs commonly specify a window for filing the claim after delivery and a separate, longer window for filing suit after a claim is declined. These periods differ between carriers and between contract and tariff terms, and missing them is generally fatal regardless of the merits.
Practical rule: file within days, not weeks. Do not wait for a complete damage assessment to file. File on time with what you have and supplement the file afterward. A timely claim with incomplete documentation can be completed. A complete claim filed after the deadline cannot be revived.
Check the actual deadlines in your bill of lading terms and the carrier’s tariff, and if the amount is significant, confirm with counsel.
What goes in the claim file
- Claim form or claim letter identifying the shipment, the carrier’s pro number, and the amount claimed
- Original bill of lading
- Delivery receipt with exceptions noted
- Commercial invoice showing the value of the goods
- Photographs — freight in trailer, packaging, damage, and pallet condition
- Inspection report if the carrier inspected
- Repair estimate or documentation of salvage value if the goods are partially recoverable
- Proof of the actual loss amount
Calculating the amount
Claim the actual loss, which for most freight means the invoice value of the damaged or missing goods, less any salvage value. Freight charges on the damaged portion may be recoverable depending on terms.
Do not inflate. An inflated claim invites scrutiny of the entire file and costs credibility on every future claim with that carrier. Claims adjusters see the same claimants repeatedly, and a reputation for accurate claims is worth more than any single recovery.
Equally, do not under-claim by forgetting components of the loss — freight charges, disposal costs, and rework are legitimately part of it where the terms allow.
When it gets denied
Common denial reasons and what to do:
- Clean delivery receipt. Hard to overcome. Your path is contemporaneous evidence — timestamped photos taken at unloading, immediate notification.
- Insufficient packaging. Counter with evidence that the packaging met accepted standards for the commodity and has performed on prior shipments.
- Filed late. Usually final. Prevention is the only remedy.
- Insufficient documentation. The most fixable. Supply what is missing and resubmit.
- Liability limit applied. Not a denial so much as a reduction. If it is a recurring problem, the fix is upstream: declare value or insure.
Prevention beats recovery
Every recovered claim is a partial recovery of a loss you already took, plus the administrative cost of pursuing it. The high-leverage work is upstream:
- Train receiving staff on the exception-noting rule and audit compliance.
- Photograph outbound loads so you can prove good order at tender.
- Review packaging for any commodity that has produced more than one claim.
- Track claims by carrier and by lane — a concentration tells you something the individual claims do not.
- Carry cargo insurance where liability limits do not cover product value.
Related reading
- What Is Freight Class? NMFC Classes Explained
- Five Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Freight Carrier
- Freight Broker vs. Dispatcher
The Freight Guru podcast covers the operational side of freight most people learn the hard way. Subscribe here.
Nothing here is legal advice. For significant claims, consult transportation counsel. Go Freight can help with the operational side of claims prevention.
