Press Coverage June 19, 2026

One Crash, 3 Trucking Firms Found Liable in California Nuclear Verdict

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Richard Reibstein

Richard Reibstein, a partner with Troutman Pepper Locke’s Independent Contractor Misclassification + Compliance team, was quoted in the June 19, 2026 FreightWaves article, “One Crash, 3 Trucking Firms Found Liable in California Nuclear Verdict.”

  • “This is a cautionary tale for companies and independent owner operators and other contractors who transport freight,” Richard Reibstein, a partner with the law firm of Troutman Pepper Locke who specializes in independent contractor law, said of the California decision. Reibstein also writes a blog on independent contractor issues.
  • Reibstein said cases such as the Perrigo verdict drive home the point that companies must “structure, document and implement your independent contractor relationships in a manner that complies with the law. Otherwise you may lose the benefits of being insulated from liability for the negligence of an independent contractor you retained.”
  • …
  • Reibstein said he “sees this time and again” with companies that don’t properly manage their independent contractor relationships.
  • His law firm offers a service called IC Diagnostics that is structured to determine whether a company’s various independent contractor relationships are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
  • Although the Castaneda case didn’t set a legal precedent, Reibstein said it should “reverberate in the C suite of companies who should ask their folks on the ground, what are we doing to make sure this doesn’t happen to us?”

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