Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) has introduced legislation to make it a federal crime to stage an accident with a commercial motor vehicle. The bill, S. 5058, provides that a person operating a motor vehicle who intentionally causes a collision with a commercial motor vehicle shall be fined under federal law, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.

If the staged collision results in serious bodily injury or death to another person, the offender would be subject to a fine or imprisoned for not less than 20 years, or both.

A similar bill, H.R. 2662, was introduced in the House of Representatives last year, but it has not moved out of committee. Under the House bill, attorneys, physicians or others who assist in or arrange staged collisions would also be subject to prosecution.

According to recent report from the Insurance Information Institute, there were an estimated 5 million motor vehicle tort civil cases in state courts from 2014 to 2023. These cases had an excess value (beyond the amount that would have been expected to be recovered under historic trends) of $41.8 billion. In addition, motor vehicle tort civil cases in federal courts from the same time period had an excess value of almost one billion.

Staged crashes endanger truck drivers and other highway users and expose carriers to fraudulent claims, legal costs and higher insurance premiums.

Sen. Moody cited a Louisiana fraud investigation in which Attorney Danny Patrick Keating pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2021. Keating admitted paying Damien Labeaud to stage 31 tractor-trailer crashes. Keating represented 77 plaintiffs connected with those collisions.

Keating settled 17 of the 31 fraudulent cases, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors linked those settlements to approximately $1.5 million in payments. Keating kept about $358,000 in legal fees. Court filings accused plaintiffs of providing false testimony and claiming fabricated injuries.