A receiving team in Las Vegas opens a trailer and finds a crushed corner on the last pallet. The scene is illustrative, not a customer file. Someone takes a phone picture. Someone else writes “damaged” on the delivery receipt. By the next afternoon, someone is asking whether those notes already count as a claim. Often, they do not.

Interstate motor carrier cargo liability is governed in substantial part by 49 U.S.C. § 14706, commonly called the Carmack Amendment, together with the claim-processing practices in 49 CFR Part 370. The published framework below is general information, not legal advice on a specific loss and not a forecast that any claim will be paid. If the dollars or facts are material, involve counsel or a trained claims professional. What follows is the documentation sequence shippers can control at the dock and in the file.

What 49 U.S.C. § 14706 actually says about carrier liability

Under 49 U.S.C. § 14706, a carrier providing covered transportation must issue a receipt or bill of lading for property it receives. That carrier, and any other covered carrier that delivers the property, is liable to the person entitled to recover under the receipt or bill of lading. The liability described in the statute is for the actual loss or injury to the property caused by the receiving carrier, the delivering carrier, or another carrier over whose line or route the property is transported in the circumstances the statute names. Failure to issue a receipt or bill of lading does not wipe away that liability.

Those sentences are easy to over-read. The statute does not say every shortage will be paid at retail, and we will not invent a dollar cap. Subsection (c) allows a motor carrier to establish rates that limit liability to a value set by the shipper’s written or electronic declaration or by written agreement, if that value would be reasonable under the circumstances surrounding the transportation. If the carrier is not required to file a tariff with the Surface Transportation Board, it must, on the shipper’s request, provide a written or electronic copy of the rate, classification, rules, and practices on which the applicable rate is based, clearly stating the dates those provisions apply.

A shipper who never asks how liability is limited may later discover that the rate assumed a released value far below replacement cost. Anyone who needs a higher value should address that before the freight moves. Whether a particular limitation would be considered reasonable is a fact-specific legal question, not something a general explainer can decide for your commodity.

Notice, filing windows, and why a dock note is not the whole claim

Section 14706(e) sets minimum periods a carrier may not shorten. A carrier may not provide, by rule, contract, or otherwise, a period of less than nine months for filing a claim under the section, or a period of less than two years for bringing a civil action. The civil-action period is computed from the date the carrier gives written notice that it has disallowed any part of the claim specified in the notice. An offer of compromise is not a disallowance unless the carrier states in writing that part of the claim is disallowed and gives reasons. Communications from a carrier’s insurer do not count as a disallowance unless the insurer, in writing, disallows the claim or part of it, gives reasons, and states that the insurer is acting on behalf of the carrier.

Those are statutory floors, not suggested reminders. A contract may set a filing period of nine months or longer, but it may not lawfully go shorter than the statute allows. Do not wait until month eight to assemble documents if you already know there is a loss.

The mechanics of what counts as a claim are filled in by 49 CFR Part 370, which governs how covered motor carriers and freight forwarders process claims for loss, damage, injury, or delay to property in interstate or foreign commerce. Under section 370.3, a carrier is not to pay a claim voluntarily unless it is filed as provided there. A written communication filed with a proper carrier within the applicable time limits is sufficient if it identifies the shipment, asserts liability for the alleged loss, damage, injury, or delay, and claims a specified or determinable amount of money. The rule also expects procedures that give the carrier reasonable access to supporting documents.

Just as important is what does not, standing alone, count. Section 370.3(c) says bad-order reports, appraisal reports, notations of shortage or damage on freight bills or delivery receipts, and carrier inspection reports are not by themselves enough, even if someone wrote a dollar figure on them. A delivery-receipt notation remains valuable evidence. It is not a substitute for the written claim that names the shipment and asks for a specific amount.

Warehouse worker in a dark red polo photographing a crushed, partially unwrapped cardboard carton on a pallet for a freight claim
AI-generated illustration of documenting damaged freight for a claim. This image was created for the article and is not a photograph of Teocal Transport staff, customers, or facilities.

Build the file while the freight and the facts are still in front of you

The strongest claims files are assembled on the day of delivery, not after the product has been repaired, discarded, or put back into stock without notes. Photograph the trailer doors, the seal if one was used, the loaded position of the damaged freight, and close views of the damage before anyone restacks the pallet. Record seal numbers and compare them with the bill of lading. Note whether the trailer was live-unloaded or dropped, who broke the seal, and whether neighboring freight shifted into the damaged unit.

Keep the bill of lading, the delivery receipt with exception remarks, the packing list, and evidence of the freight charges. Part 370.7 says that when supporting documents are necessary, the claim should be supported by the bill of lading, evidence of freight charges if any, and an invoice or certified extract showing price or value, including discounts and depreciation where relevant. If an entire package or shipment is missing and the loss cannot otherwise be authenticated, section 370.7(c) tells the carrier to obtain a certified consignee statement that the property was not received from any other source. Checking other receiving locations the same day makes that later step easier.

Location history can help explain when a problem became visible. Teocal’s GPS shipment tracking page describes dispatch using GPS devices to monitor location, status, and condition between distribution points and delivery sites, with activity alerts on a secure internet platform used by dispatch. A breadcrumb showing an unplanned stop or unexpected dwell is not, by itself, proof of fault, but it can help both sides ask better questions. Ask any carrier what location history it can share and how long that history is retained. Do not treat tracking as a guarantee against theft, damage, or delay.

Confirm the legal entity you are claiming against. The name on the bill of lading should match a real motor carrier identity. FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot is the public way to check that the USDOT or MC number belongs to the company named in your file. A claim sent to the wrong office, or to an intermediary that was not the carrier, wastes part of a clock you cannot shorten.

What carriers must do after a proper claim arrives

Once a proper written claim is received, section 370.5 requires the carrier to acknowledge it in writing within 30 days unless the carrier has already paid or declined it in writing within those 30 days. The acknowledgment should say what additional documents or information are needed. The carrier must create a separate file, assign a claim file number, and record the date of receipt on the claim and in the acknowledgment.

Section 370.9 then sets a disposition clock. The carrier is to pay the claim, decline it, or make a firm compromise settlement offer in writing within 120 days after receiving it. If the claim cannot be disposed of in 120 days, the carrier must then, and at the end of each succeeding 60-day period while it remains pending, tell the claimant in writing the status and the reason for the delay, and must keep a copy of that advice in the claim file.

Those timelines govern claim handling practice. They do not mean a claim will be paid, paid in full, or paid at replacement cost. A written decline still matters, because written disallowance starts the minimum two-year civil-action clock under section 14706(e). Keep every acknowledgment, document request, offer, and denial. If an email from an insurance adjuster arrives, read it against the statutory rule about when insurer communications count as a disallowance.

Claims staff reviewing printed photos in a binder at a warehouse office table, one person in a dark red polo pointing at an image
AI-generated illustration of reviewing claim photos in a warehouse office. This image was created for the article and is not a photograph of Teocal Transport staff, customers, or facilities.

Released value, full actual loss, and the conversation to have before pickup

The cheapest rate is sometimes a released-value rate. That can be rational when the freight is low value, easily replaced, or already insured under a cargo policy your risk manager understands. It can be an unhappy surprise when a shipment of specialized machine parts is tendered at a limited value nobody in finance reviewed. The statute allows limited liability through declaration or written agreement if the value would be reasonable under the circumstances. The matching habit is to ask, on paper, what liability basis applies to the quote and what it would cost to declare a higher value.

Do not assume that photographing damage later will raise a released value accepted at tender, or that a broker’s invoice description changes the carrier’s liability terms. Ask who issued the bill of lading and whose rules apply. If the answers are unclear, resolve them before the freight leaves your control.

Recovery goes more smoothly when both sides see the same facts early. Notify the carrier promptly, protect salvageable product unless instructed otherwise, and avoid disposing of damaged goods before the carrier has had a reasonable chance to inspect. Part 370.11 addresses how carriers process salvage when property is not delivered or is rejected; shippers should not create a second argument by discarding evidence that later cannot be examined.

Use the same documentation discipline with the carrier you already call

Teocal Transport, based in Hayward, California, publishes Western truckload and less-than-truckload service, roller-bed and air freight options, trailer and container storage, and GPS tracking used by its dispatch team. The page on why shippers choose Teocal emphasizes communication when problems arise. Communication is necessary, yet it cannot replace a written claim that identifies the shipment and states an amount.

If you have an exception on a current load, contact Teocal’s 24/7 dispatch center with the pickup and delivery details, seal information, and photos you already have, then follow with the formal written claim described above. If you are reviewing liability terms before a future tender, ask how the quote treats cargo liability and what documents will be needed if an exception occurs. No conversation can guarantee a recovery, timeline, or settlement. A complete file still gives both sides a clearer path than a dock note that never became one.

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