Damaged Load - Drivers Fault

Hello guys, I've wondered this off and on. Drivers are supposed to make sure load is secure on live loads, having the opportunity to take a look in the trailer before departure. I just had a live load. However the girl closed the doors and sealed the truck before I even got out. They assured me it's absolutely fine because she's good at loading...but I'm wondering how discipline works when damage is indeed the fault of the driver.

I've never had a claim of more than a box or two. If a significant portion of the load is damaged, what happens? Can someone get fired the first time for something significant? Or is it just a quick digging in the rear end by fleet manager and told to be more on top of it?

Once they close and seal the doors, whatever happens to that load is on them! Almost ALL the loads we hauled (Fed-Ex/XPO/Target/UPS, etc) were pre loaded, drop & hooks.

I'd have to say, drivers are to make sure the load is secure on live loads....for our peace of mind only. What I mean is I am only looking to make sure the pallets or coils aren't set to roll around or shift causing my trailer to flip etc. The way they load their freight is on them as long as its safe for me. Just like its on them if its short or they loaded the wrong merchandise, making sure they do their job is not my job. I had a Wayfair load once, they used load bars and straps (theirs, not mine) to secure it and suspend a second layer. When I delivered in Long Island, in front was bathroom vanities stacked on top of one another. The top one had fallen over and was severely damaged. They marked it on the invoice but also said they receive those damaged many times. They had requested they stop stacking them but they haven't. Not my fault, I never heard anything else about it. However its a different beast for flatbedders as they must secure the loads themselves but I don't know how they deal with damages.

I just had a shifted load yesterday. I was loaded with 44klbs of white claw heading to joliet IL. For some reason the shipper decided to put one pallet all the way up in the nose in the center. I could have secured it in the back but had no way to do it how it was loaded. Luckily only 5 small cases were damaged by being wet. 1 can leaked on them which was surprising when I saw the mess. All I did was send pictures to my company, helped the receiver restock it and went on my way.

Can someone get fired the first time for something significant?

Yes. A driver and regular poster here was fired 8 months ago when his load shifted and rolled his truck.

Career-ending Accident; Don't Let This Be You.

"I filled an appeal with Schneider but was told that even if all the above are true, I had a chance to inspect the load and took it so if a cargo shift was the problem that was my fault anyway."