Highways and state routes crisscross through Montgomery. Amazon delivers packages every day through these routes, with trucks, vans, and other delivery vehicles fulfilling customer demands in the area. However, these delivery companies and their drivers often put profits and job demands over safety, potentially leading to accidents.
If you were hit by an Amazon delivery driver, you could be entitled to compensation from the driver directly as well as compensation from the delivery company they work for. In some cases, this is Amazon itself, but many drivers work for third-party fulfillment companies. In any case, our injury can help you get the compensation you need.
For a free review of your case, call (844) 876-4357 to speak with Howe Law’s Amazon delivery vehicle accident lawyers.
Who Pays for Amazon Delivery Accidents in Montgomery, AL
The law in Alabama follows a fault system for car accidents. This means that whichever driver caused the case is the one who pays damages – usually through their auto insurance. However, when commercial drivers are involved, there could be employers and clients involved in the case as well, since the drivers were serving those employers and their goals when the crash occurred.
Amazon
Amazon itself hires some truck drivers and delivery drivers directly, but this is not always the most common way that packages are delivered. Many trucks and vans with Amazon logos on them are not actually owned and operated by Amazon, but by third-party companies contracted to fulfill Amazon’s deliveries and shipments.
Drivers hired under the “Amazon Delivery Service Partners” (DSP) program are often employed by other companies besides Amazon and merely use the Amazon branding, but that does not make them employees of Amazon. Similarly, “Amazon Flex” drivers are considered independent contractors and are treated as self-employed. If either of these types of drivers are the kind that hit you, then you usually cannot sue Amazon.
If, however, the driver does happen to be a direct employee of Amazon, then you could be entitled to sue Amazon for any negligence their driver committed while doing their job.
Other Delivery Companies
When Amazon contracts with other delivery companies, you can often sue those companies for their drivers’ mistakes on the road. As mentioned, employers can be sued for their employees’ negligence if it was committed in the course of their job duties.
Many Amazon packages are delivered by national delivery companies like UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service, and you can hold these drivers and their employers responsible for accidents they might have caused while delivering packages for Amazon.
Drivers
If the driver works as an independent contractor or under some other self-employment scheme, then the lawsuit typically stops with them as the sole party you can sue. However, these drivers do operate businesses, and they often have insurance and commercial driver’s insurance that covers the injuries they cause on the road.
Whether the driver was a trucker shipping many packages in an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer or a driver running local deliveries in a van, they should be directly liable for any crashes they cause. This means that you can file a claim against them directly as you would with any other at-fault driver who caused a crash.
Often, strict deadlines and long hours are demanded of these drivers, and many are pushed to break speed limits and other traffic laws in order to fulfill their contracts with Amazon. While we might not be able to hold Amazon responsible for the effects of these contracts and the deadlines they impose, we can still fight to get you compensation from the driver directly in most cases.
Other Drivers
Sometimes accidents involving Amazon delivery trucks and vans are actually caused by another driver. For example, if an Amazon semi truck gets cut off by another driver, that could cause a multi-car pileup. In these cases, our attorneys might investigate the case and find that the other driver is solely responsible. Sometimes, another driver is responsible alongside the Amazon delivery driver, and our attorneys can file claims against both drivers to have them each pay you their fair share of the damages they caused you.
Damages in an Amazon Delivery Vehicle Accident Case in Montgomery, AL
To get the full damages you deserve, you should work with an attorney. Our lawyers can help protect you against low settlement offers from insurance companies by calculating damages ourselves and negotiating any low-dollar offers. Simply by knowing what your case should be worth, you can avoid walking into any settlements that might cut off additional damages and leave huge swaths of damages unpaid.
Medical Expenses
One of the most important areas of damages in your case will be medical expenses. If you faced severe injuries, then you could be left with very expensive medical bills that the Amazon driver and their employer should pay for. These damages can include the full value of your expenses, including the cost of hospital visits and other follow-up care. Even mental health counseling and physical therapy should be covered.
Some drivers have medical pay insurance and other first-party insurance benefits attached to their policy that can help supplement their medical bills right away after the crash. Our lawyers can look at your policy and see if these benefits would be helpful in your case, if you have them.
Lost Earnings
Lost wages and other earnings can be cut off if you faced injuries in an Amazon delivery vehicle accident. We can work to calculate these damages and any future lost earning capacity you might face and include these damages in your lawsuit as well. Proving these damages often means hiring financial experts to show how many more years of work will be impacted going forward.
Pain and Suffering
Any injuries come with pain and suffering, but knowing how much these damages are worth is often quite difficult. Our attorneys can look into how your injuries affected your life and have your family and doctors help testify about these damages. Your own testimony is also an important piece of evidence in proving these damages to a court or insurance company.
Call Our Amazon Delivery Truck Accident Lawyers in Montgomery, AL for Help
Dial (844) 876-4357 for a free case review with Howe Law’s Amazon delivery vehicle accident lawyers today.
