Load Abandonment - Hospital

So I was under a load, and I’m new to trucking - when I had to go to the ER.

When I got back to work, they put “load abandonment” i believe not only on my personal file at work but on my DAC.

I’m trying to switch companies, is this going to be a huge issue or no?

If it is on there, do I have any ground to fight it or get it removed because of my circumstances?

Thanks for your response.

Did you inform your employer as soon as possible? How long have you been trucking?

If you indeed do have load abandonment on your DAC it will limit your options for moving on to another company. Whenever you abandon your equipment it costs the company alot of money retrieving it, on top of the costs for missing an appointment and making the customer unhappy. Have you tried reaching out to HR and explain what happened and provide them the documentation? Use this link to get your DAC from Hire right . Keep in mind although it may not currently be up to date your employer can stillbadd that info. Your best bet is go through the proper channels to get this cleared up. I think the biggest thing will come down to how soon you informed your employer. For example needing surgery on a broken foot but not informing your employer for 2 days is far different than having a heart attack and being rushed into immediate surgery and waiting 2 days to call them.

Also, depending on what the medical problem was you may be legally required to get a new DOT physical.

Did you inform your employer as soon as possible? How long have you been trucking?

If you indeed do have load abandonment on your DAC it will limit your options for moving on to another company. Whenever you abandon your equipment it costs the company alot of money retrieving it, on top of the costs for missing an appointment and making the customer unhappy. Have you tried reaching out to HR and explain what happened and provide them the documentation? Use this link to get your DAC from Hire right . Keep in mind although it may not currently be up to date your employer can stillbadd that info. Your best bet is go through the proper channels to get this cleared up. I think the biggest thing will come down to how soon you informed your employer. For example needing surgery on a broken foot but not informing your employer for 2 days is far different than having a heart attack and being rushed into immediate surgery and waiting 2 days to call them.

Also, depending on what the medical problem was you may be legally required to get a new DOT physical.

As Rob said - communication is THE KEY. As is DOCUMENTING ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

If you were hauled off the side of the road (or truckstop) in an ambulance - you might get some leeway for the circumstance. But if 9-11 was your first call - the second one should be to your DISPATCHER. A timely call to dispatch could have (potentially) gotten the load relayed.

DAC (like a credit report) can be disputed, and a note will go on the report noting that particular entry is under dispute. Similar to credit reports - DAC will contact the employer that made the entry and allow them to respond to the dispute. If the FAIL TO RESPOND it gets removed (or at least that's the way it's supposed to work).

But again - it comes down to the CIRCUMSTANCES of your trip to the ER - and how soon you COMMUNICATED YOUR INABILITY TO COMPLETE THE RUN to your company.

Difficult to give more detailed advice, without, well - more details.

Also (as Rob noted) - if the ER trip was for something that could disqualify you medically - you are going to need to re-qualify. Though any new hire is going to send you to their DOT Doc anyways.

Interested to hear more about the circumstances of the incident though.

Rick

It was before the office was open and I sent an email to my DM - then went to the hospital.

I know he got it because when I was finally discharged then we’re making moves on my load off of what I communicated in the email.

I have documentation of everything.

Also I am within my first six months of driving. I will get with safety and see if this was reported to my DAC.

To compound the problem further my phone died while I was in the ER and nobody had a charger, I was not allowed to move, and there was no phone located by my bed. It was a nightmare scenario - I’m not mad at the company but I think the first step is to go through the proper channels. Also it wasn’t listed as “load abandonment” it was listed as “equipment abuse” and in the comments he put that I abandoned the load.

I’m not sure why, and what was I suppose to do... drive? I thought I was on the verge of a heart attack

Anyway... just trying to do this right. I was upset how they listed it because it made it seem like I was reckless and it was intentional which my documentation proves that it was anything but that. 🤷‍♂️💯🙂

Did you inform your employer as soon as possible? How long have you been trucking?

If you indeed do have load abandonment on your DAC it will limit your options for moving on to another company. Whenever you abandon your equipment it costs the company alot of money retrieving it, on top of the costs for missing an appointment and making the customer unhappy. Have you tried reaching out to HR and explain what happened and provide them the documentation? Use this link to get your DAC from Hire right . Keep in mind although it may not currently be up to date your employer can stillbadd that info. Your best bet is go through the proper channels to get this cleared up. I think the biggest thing will come down to how soon you informed your employer. For example needing surgery on a broken foot but not informing your employer for 2 days is far different than having a heart attack and being rushed into immediate surgery and waiting 2 days to call them.

Also, depending on what the medical problem was you may be legally required to get a new DOT physical.

Im glad to hear it wasnt a heart attack Definitely talk to safety, terminal manager or human resources whatever it takes to that the misunderstanding cleared up. Keep it professional with your emotion out of it for better results.

Why are you trying to leave this company with such little experience? We always recommend you stick with your first company for atleast one year because far more opportunities open up if you decide to leave. You're still considered high risk due to lack of experience. Switching now will likely result in you being sent out with a trainer at your new company. What happens when you switch over and make a boneheaded mistake like many rookies do? At this point you've only been with the new company 2 weeks and already bumped another trailer hitting a tight spot at the truck stop. The company is forced to make a decision to keep you or not. We've seen this very thing happen multiple times here. They end up needing to find their 3rd company before they've completed their first year, and have termination and an accident listed on their DAC. It may result in you being turned down your dream job. I really say try to stick with that first company for a year before moving on. If you don't mind me asking what company is this with? We have many members from several different companies that may know who to contact to get this resolved.

As a new driver there, how was your work history with the company prior to the ER visit?

Sometimes that makes all the difference.