What to Do Immediately When Freight Arrives Damaged

When freight arrives damaged, protect people first, then protect the evidence. Pause unloading if the load is unstable or leaking, photograph the shipment as it was presented, count the handling units, and describe visible damage or shortage on the delivery receipt before signing. Keep the freight and all packaging, notify the carrier through its current claims channel, and confirm who is authorized to file the formal claim. A delivery notation helps document condition, but it is not the claim itself.

This guide focuses on commercial freight delivered by a motor carrier in the United States. The bill of lading, contract, carrier tariff, type of service, and applicable law can change the process. Follow the carrier’s current instructions for the shipment and obtain legal advice when a deadline, ownership dispute, or material loss is at stake.

First, make the receiving area safe

Do not begin an inspection that puts anyone under a leaning pallet, near a leaking unknown substance, or in the path of moving equipment. Stop handling the freight, keep people clear, and follow the facility’s safety and hazardous-material procedures. If the driver is still present, explain that unloading or inspection is paused for safety.

Safety actions and claim actions are separate. Once the area is controlled, preserve the condition in which the freight arrived. Avoid rearranging cartons merely to make the shipment look orderly. The original placement, wrap, straps, pallet, punctures, stains, and shifted load can all help explain what happened.

Inspect before signing when it is safe to do so

Compare the shipment with the bill of lading, packing list, and delivery paperwork. Count pallets, cartons, crates, drums, or other handling units. Look at every accessible side and check for details such as:

• Crushed, torn, wet, punctured, or opened packaging
• Broken bands, loose stretch wrap, displaced corner protection, or a damaged pallet
• A shifted, leaning, or partially collapsed load
• Missing handling units or a mismatch between the paperwork and the freight presented
• Product exposure, leakage, or visible damage inside opened packaging when inspection is permitted

If damage or shortage is visible, write a specific exception on the delivery receipt before signing. Describe what you can actually observe, including the affected quantity and location. A notation such as “two cartons crushed on the lower right corner” preserves more useful evidence than a vague phrase such as “damaged.” Do not sign a clean receipt when you have observed an exception, and do not rely only on a separate conversation with the driver.

Federal claim-processing rules make an important distinction: a damage notation, inspection report, or bad-order report does not by itself satisfy the minimum requirements for a cargo claim. The notation records delivery condition; the formal written claim comes later.

Photograph the shipment before changing it

Take clear, well-lit photographs before removing wrap, separating cartons, or moving the freight away from the delivery position when practical. Capture:

1. The entire shipment and its position at delivery
2. All sides of the pallet, crate, or other handling unit
3. Close views of each damaged area
4. The packaging, wrap, straps, pallet, and internal protection
5. The product damage, if it can be viewed safely
6. Shipping labels and the PRO or tracking reference needed to identify the shipment

Keep the original image files. A short written log should record the delivery date and time, who was present, the handling-unit count, what was observed, what was written on the receipt, and when the carrier was contacted. Describe facts rather than guessing at the cause.

Decide whether to accept or refuse with the carrier

There is no safe universal rule that every damaged shipment should be accepted or that every damaged shipment should be refused. The right response can depend on safety, the severity of the damage, whether only part of the shipment is affected, the consignee’s authority, the shipper’s instructions, and the carrier’s tariff or contract.

Before refusing freight, contact the shipper, purchaser, broker, or carrier contact responsible for the shipment when possible. Ask the carrier to document the condition and give written handling instructions. If the freight is accepted, make sure the delivery exception is recorded before signing. If it is refused, document the reason, the condition, the count, and where the carrier will take it. Do not abandon damaged goods or arrange disposal without authorization.

Preserve the freight, packaging, and records

Keep the damaged product, pallet, cartons, crates, blocking, bracing, wrap, straps, and labels together and protected from further damage. Do not discard packaging, repair the product, sell salvage, or destroy the goods until the carrier has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect or has given written instructions.

Current carrier guidance reinforces this point. Old Dominion says packaging for noted or concealed damage should be retained until the claim is concluded. FedEx tells claimants to keep original packaging for inspection and not discard it until the claim is resolved. Estes also instructs customers to retain cartons, packaging materials, and other evidence related to a damaged shipment.

Build one claim file containing the signed delivery receipt, bill of lading, packing list, photographs, correspondence, PRO number, proof of value, and any repair estimate or inspection report. Keep unedited copies of the originals.

Notify the carrier promptly, especially for concealed damage

If the damage was visible at delivery, notify the carrier through its current claims channel as soon as practical after recording the exception. If damage is discovered only after unpacking, report it immediately and request the carrier’s concealed-damage instructions and an inspection when required.

Do not assume that one carrier’s concealed-damage notice period applies to another carrier. For example, Estes currently requires notice to its local terminal within five days of receipt for damage that was not noted on the delivery receipt. Old Dominion currently states that concealed damage must be reported within five business days after delivery. Those are carrier-specific instructions, not a universal deadline for every shipment.

Carrier claim portals also ask for different supporting documents. FedEx’s current claim guidance identifies a tracking or PRO number and supporting material such as damage photos, serial numbers, or receipts, and says it will advise whether an inspection is needed. Confirm the actual procedure, tariff, and contract that govern the shipment instead of relying on a general checklist alone.

File a written claim that meets the minimum requirements

For covered interstate motor-carrier claims, 49 CFR part 370 says a sufficient written claim must do three things:

• Identify the shipment with enough facts for the carrier to find it
• Assert that the carrier is liable for the alleged loss or damage
• Request payment of a specified or determinable amount

Photos, a delivery receipt, and an inspection report can support the claim, but none of them standing alone is necessarily a formal claim. Submit the written claim to a proper carrier through the channel specified in the governing documents, retain proof of submission, and keep the carrier’s claim number.

Supporting records may include the bill of lading, evidence of freight charges, a vendor or commercial invoice, proof of value, a repair estimate, and photographs of both the packaging and product. Provide accurate records; do not inflate the amount or state a cause that the evidence does not establish.

Control the deadlines without guessing

The federal Carmack statute, 49 U.S.C. 14706, applies to specified transportation subject to federal jurisdiction. It prevents a carrier from setting a period shorter than nine months to file a covered claim and shorter than two years to bring a civil action. The two-year period is measured from the carrier’s written notice disallowing all or part of the claim, not automatically from the delivery date.

Those federal minimum protections do not replace the need to read the bill of lading, contract, tariff, and carrier instructions. They also should not be treated as a universal calendar for parcel, air, ocean, household-goods, purely intrastate, or international movements. Concealed-damage notice requirements may be much shorter than the period for filing a formal claim.

For a proper claim governed by 49 CFR part 370, the carrier generally must acknowledge it in writing within 30 days unless it has already paid or declined it in writing. The carrier must pay, decline, or make a firm written compromise offer within 120 days, or send a written status explanation at 120 days and every succeeding 60 days while the claim remains pending. These carrier-processing periods do not extend the claimant’s own filing deadline.

Create a deadline record with the delivery date, date damage was discovered, notice date, formal claim submission date, proof of receipt, claim number, and every carrier response. Escalate promptly if the governing deadline is unclear or approaching.

A practical immediate-response checklist

• Stop and make the area safe.
• Keep the shipment in its delivered condition when practical.
• Count the handling units and compare them with the paperwork.
• Photograph the overall load, every side, the packaging, and each damaged area.
• Write a specific damage or shortage exception on the delivery receipt before signing.
• Contact the responsible shipper, purchaser, broker, or carrier before deciding whether to refuse.
• Preserve the product, packaging, pallet, labels, and original records.
• Notify the carrier through its current channel and ask about inspection requirements.
• Confirm who has the right to file the claim.
• Submit a written claim that identifies the shipment, asserts liability, and requests a specified or determinable amount.
• Track every applicable deadline from the governing documents.

Prepare the next shipment with fewer unknowns

The receiving response is easier when the booking record is accurate. Before the next shipment, document the packaged dimensions and weight, handling-unit count, commodity description, freight class when applicable, declared value or liability selection, accessorial needs, and packaging method. Keep the bill of lading and product-value records where the receiving team can retrieve them.

Shipocity is backed by a team with more than 40 years of combined logistics experience. Through established industry relationships, the platform helps businesses compare competitive freight rates for their specific shipment.

When the next load is ready, start a freight quote with the shipment details your team has verified.

Sources

• 49 U.S.C. 14706 - Liability of carriers under receipts and bills of lading | U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel
• 49 CFR Part 370 - Loss and damage claim processing | Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
• Claims Information | Estes Express Lines
• Cargo Claims FAQs | Old Dominion Freight Line
• How do I file a claim? | FedEx