What to Do if You’re in an Amazon Truck Delivery Accident

In recent years, Amazon has built out its logistics service to perform deliveries for the web retailer. Amazon has purchased fleets of delivery trucks and vans and hired numerous delivery staff to provide the company’s own packages. Needless to say, with increasing numbers of Amazon delivery vehicles on the road has come an increasing number of automobile accidents involving these vehicles. You should become familiar with how to file a claim with Amazon if you have suffered injuries or damages as a result of an accident with an Amazon delivery vehicle.

In the event of an Amazon delivery vehicle accident, what to do

After you’ve had an accident with an Amazon delivery truck or van, you should be sure you take the following steps to get started to accumulate and preserve evidence which may be highly relevant to your claim for compensation:

Gather names, contact information, vehicle/license information, and insurance information from each driver mixed up in accident
Take photographs or video of the accident scene, like the traffic controls, any marks while travelling, injury to the vehicles, and any obvious injuries you might have sustained
Take brief statements from any eyewitnesses to the accident or accumulate their contact information so as to get in touch with them later if needed
Notify local police of the accident or file an accident report with the state
Seek emergency medical treatment, or get examined by a health care provider to diagnose any injuries you could have suffered in the crash

Report the accident to Amazon

by following these steps:

The delivery service of Amazon is insured against accidents that might happen to their vehicles and drivers. Among the coverages offered by Amazon are the following:

Liability insurance coverage up to $1,000,000

Up to $50,000 in comprehensive/collision coverage (with a $1,000 deductible)
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage up to one million dollars.
When an Amazon vehicle is involved in an accident, you should report the incident to Amazon’s service team as soon as possible. You’ll want to feature a thorough description of the accident, such as time, location, parties involved, and the damages and/or injuries that resulted from the crash. When you have photographs or videos from the accident scene or dashcam footage, or a police accident survey, it could be helpful to give a copy of the people along with your report.

A driver for Amazon’s delivery partner service, Amazon Flex, can contact the business through the Amazon Flex delivery partner mobile application.

What Compensation Might You Be Entitled To?

Following an accident, you may well be eligible for seek compensation for expenses and losses that you will find incurred, including for:

Medical expenses
Rehabilitation and expenses
Home and personal care services
Lost wages or income
Lost earning capacity
Pain and suffering
Loss of quality of life
Property damage
An experienced personal injury legal professional can review your case to help you realize what compensation you could be allowed to from Amazon.

Who is in charge of an Amazon truck accident?

You would the simple and clear answer would be: the driver who is at fault. But our Dayton truck accident attorneys at Cowan & Hilgeman have discovered that this is a more complicated question. The parties who may potentially be found at-fault are:

The delivery driver

Did you know that, even if the at-fault driver’s truck is covered in Amazon or FedEx logos, they might not exactly actually work for this company? Some companies hire independent contractors to take care of their deliveries, but nonetheless require them to wear their logos and meet their delivery timelines.

Why do they do this? They want to avoid liability in the event of an accident. There’s no recourse for independent contractors when they cause a crash, regardless of Amazon or FedEx’s extensive plans. As a result, you’ll need to seek compensation from the contractor’s own insurance or explore other options (like your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage). By hiring a delivery truck lawyer, you can identify the person responsible for your injuries and demand the compensation you deserve.

If the driver is an independent contractor rather than a staff of the company, you can file a claim against the individual driver. The driver’s insurance provider might give you a settlement or you could take your case to court to fight for the compensation that you take into account fair.

The delivery company

There is a theory of responsibility that makes a company in charge of the actions of its employees. If an employed driver commits a negligent or illicit act within the scope of work, the injured party can file a claim against the business itself. State laws determine the “scope of employment” within an accident.

A third person

Sometimes, a third party is responsible for an Amazon truck accident, such as a driver or a vehicle manufacturer. A third party, as well as the driver or company of the delivery truck, could be sued in cases like this.

Despite clear-cut cases of driver negligence, accidents involving delivery trucks are complicated. Navigating this challenging time, all while aiming to heal from the physical, emotional and financial problems caused by an Amazon truck accident, shouldn’t be done without expert help and guidance. Going up against a massive company like Amazon, or one of the third-party delivery companies, is no easy task. As a business, they care more about their important thing than doing what is right by those victimized in accidents using their drivers. They’ll offer lowball settlements, or they may try to deny the claim altogether and position the blame on you.