Steven A. Bagen | November 20, 2023 | Truck Accidents
More and more consumers throughout the country rely on Amazon — especially during the Christmas holiday season — for their shopping and delivery needs. In general, many Amazon truck drivers experience a significant amount of stress when delivering packages to numerous consumers on a very tight schedule.
As a result, these delivery drivers may make serious mistakes while on the road, causing serious accidents. Additionally, Amazon drivers who deliver packages in residential neighborhoods must frequently look out for small children, bicyclists, and other nearby pedestrians.
If they are not watching what they are doing, they may easily cause an accident that leads to permanent injuries or fatalities.
Both Amazon drivers as well as Amazon itself may be responsible for injuries and other losses that result from an accident. If you suffered injuries in an accident that a negligent Amazon driver caused, speak with a truck accident attorney in your area as quickly as possible.
Your attorney can promptly investigate your accident, speak with witnesses, and review police reports. Your attorney can then discuss your eligibility to file a personal injury claim for monetary compensation and damages.
If you are eligible to move forward with a claim or lawsuit, your lawyer can handle every step of the process for you. Specifically, your attorney may gather relevant documentation, submit a settlement demand package to the insurance company on your behalf, and handle all written and oral communications with insurance company adjusters.
Your lawyer may also negotiate with the adjuster for a favorable settlement offer. If the insurance company does not compensate you fairly for your injuries, they may file a lawsuit on your behalf in court and litigate your case toward a resolution there.
Your lawyer can offer you strong guidance and encouragement every step of the way. They can also answer all legal questions and help with difficult decisions in your case, including determining whether to accept a pending settlement offer from the insurance company or to litigate the case to a resolution in the court system.
Injuries in Delivery Truck Accidents
When a delivery truck strikes another vehicle or a pedestrian, the resulting injuries can be extremely serious and sometimes deadly. The specific injuries that a delivery truck accident victim suffers will depend largely on the type of accident, the force of the collision, and other accident circumstances.
A vehicle collision may cause their body to strike the door, window, headrest, or steering wheel, resulting in serious injuries.
Some of the most common injuries that an accident victim may suffer in a delivery truck collision include internal bleeding, internal organ damage, bruises and lacerations, soft tissue neck and back injuries, bone fractures, rib fractures, spinal cord damage, complete and incomplete paralysis injuries, facial contusions, mouth and teeth Injuries, traumatic hidden brain injuries, and permanent cognitive impairments.
If you suffered any of these injuries in a recent delivery truck accident, you should be sure to follow through with your medical treatment regimen.
For example, depending on your healthcare provider’s recommendations, you might need to consult a medical professional, such as an orthopedic doctor, neurologist, or physical therapist. You may also need to undergo surgery or other medical procedures, especially if you suffered a bone fracture in the accident.
By completing your medical treatment regimen, you are more likely to achieve a full recovery from your injuries. Additionally, you show the insurance company that your injuries are serious, that you took your medical treatment seriously, and that you deserve to receive fair and full compensation for all your medical complications.
However, if you fail to treat continuously for your injuries, and if there are significant gaps in your medical treatment, the insurance company may become skeptical about your injuries and refuse to compensate you fairly.
While you seek the medical attention that you need for your accident-related losses, a delivery truck accident attorney can begin advocating for your legal interests. Specifically, your lawyer can gather medical documentation in your case, police reports, and other potential evidence and assemble those documents into a settlement demand package for you.
How Do Delivery Truck Accidents Happen?
Delivery truck accidents typically occur when a driver operates their vehicle carelessly or recklessly. Careless driving can take many forms, but in most instances, it involves one or more traffic law violations.
Traffic laws keep other drivers safe. However, when Amazon drivers deviate from these rules, they may cause serious accidents.
Some of the most common violations that cause collisions include:
- Failing to yield the right-of-way at the proper time, such as at a stop sign or red light
- Failing to use a turn signal when executing a turn or switching lanes on a multilane highway
- Excessive speeding
- Tailgating other vehicles or failing to leave enough stopping distance.
In addition to violating traffic laws, Amazon drivers may cause an accident when they drive recklessly or carelessly. For example, drivers on a tight schedule may exhibit road rage by cutting off other vehicles in traffic, weaving in and out of busy traffic, or making lane changes without using their turn signals.
Additionally, Amazon drivers may drive aggressively in residential neighborhoods, failing to look out for small children and others on or near the road. As a result, they may bring about serious accidents that lead to debilitating injuries.
Next, some Amazon delivery truck accidents happen when drivers do not watch the road in front of them attentively. Instead, they might fiddle with a GPS navigation device, combing their hair, texting on a tablet or cellular phone, or engaging in many other distracting activities.
When drivers take their eyes off the road, they may fail to see a pedestrian or another vehicle in the vicinity, negligently bringing about a crash. Additionally, drivers must constantly watch their side view mirrors when driving in heavy traffic and backing out of parking spaces. When they fail to do so, they may strike another vehicle or a pedestrian located behind their delivery truck.
Finally, some Amazon delivery truck accidents happen when drivers abuse drugs. Impaired drivers are more likely to experience both physical and mental symptoms that affect their ability to drive safely and carefully.
For example, they may experience physical symptoms, like blurred vision and dizziness, that may prevent them from noticing other vehicles and pedestrians. Similarly, they may experience confusion, disorientation, lack of coordination, and delayed muscular reflexes. Consequently, they cannot judge the distance between their vehicle and another or stop it to avoid a collision.
If you suffered injuries in a delivery truck accident that resulted from an Amazon driver’s negligence, you may have legal options that you can consider. To determine all your options, consult an experienced delivery truck accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Your lawyer can deliver all your options and begin pursuing the monetary compensation you need by filing a personal injury claim with the appropriate insurance company on your behalf.
Types of Delivery Truck Accidents
When delivery truck drivers are careless, they may cause accidents that lead to serious injuries and damages.
Some of the most common types of delivery truck accidents that negligent drivers cause include:
- Tailgate accidents, where the front of a delivery truck hits the back of another vehicle, usually because the delivery driver is failing to watch the road attentively, speeding, or tailgating
- Broadside or T-bone accidents, where the front of a delivery truck strikes the side of a motor vehicle proceeding forward on an intersecting road, usually because a delivery driver fails to yield the right-of-way
- Sideswipe accidents, where the side of a delivery truck brushes up against the side of another vehicle traveling in the same direction but in an adjacent lane of travel
- Head-on collisions, where a delivery truck driver negligently causes their vehicle to cross a centerline or where the driver passes another vehicle in a no-passing zone, colliding with the front of an oncoming vehicle
- Pedestrian accidents, where a delivery truck driver negligently causes a collision with a pedestrian, usually because they are not watching the road attentively.
If you suffered injuries in one of these types of delivery truck accidents, you are not alone. However, to preserve your right to recover the monetary compensation you need, consult an experienced personal injury attorney in your area right away. Your lawyer can investigate your accident circumstances, file a claim on your behalf, and aggressively negotiate with insurance company representatives for the favorable settlement compensation you need.
Who Is Responsible for a Delivery Truck Accident?
When a delivery truck driver carelessly operates their vehicle, you can hold them directly responsible for any accident. Furthermore, if the delivery driver works for Amazon, Amazon may shoulder some or all of the responsibility for an accident. This is because you can hold Amazon vicariously liable for the negligent actions that its drivers commit while operating a vehicle within the scope of their employment.
A delivery truck accident attorney in your area can identify all potentially responsible parties for your accident. Your lawyer may then file a claim or lawsuit with the appropriate insurance company on your behalf and begin pursuing the settlement recovery you deserve for your injuries.
Successfully Proving Fault in a Delivery Truck Accident
To successfully obtain monetary compensation for injuries you suffered in an Amazon delivery truck accident, you must satisfy several legal elements of proof. Amazon delivery drivers owe other drivers and pedestrians a high legal duty of care. Specifically, they must drive in a prudent, safe, and careful manner and obey all traffic regulations and laws.
As a delivery truck accident victim, you must establish that the driver negligently violated their legal duty of care and that, as a result, both the accident and your injuries occurred.
To establish the legal elements of your case, your attorney can retain an accident reconstructionist, medical doctor, or other professionals who can testify in your case.
For example, an accident reconstructionist can thoroughly investigate the accident circumstances and draft a report about their findings and conclusions. Similarly, a medical doctor, such as a treating healthcare provider, may physically examine you, causally relate your injuries to the accident, and/or establish that your injuries are permanent.
These experts can also testify as witnesses during a discovery deposition or at a civil jury trial in your case.
Monetary Damages in a Delivery Truck Accident Case
Upon suffering injuries in an Amazon delivery truck accident, you may be eligible to pursue and recover various monetary damages. Recoverable economic damages may include compensation for your past and future related medical expenses, lost earnings, and loss of earning capacity.
Additionally, you may pursue compensation for intangible losses, such as mental distress, inconvenience, pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, loss of spousal consortium, loss of use of a body part, cognitive impairments, permanent disfigurement, or long-term care costs.
Your attorney will do everything they can to maximize your overall damage award in any personal injury claim or lawsuit that you file.
Call an Experienced Delivery Truck Accident Lawyer Right Away
If you sustained injuries in an Amazon delivery truck accident, you must get the medical treatment needed and retain an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent you as quickly as possible.
Victims of delivery truck accidents must file a lawsuit within two years of their accident. Otherwise, they may inadvertently jeopardize their right to receive the necessary monetary damages.
Your lawyer can start to work on your case right away and begin pursuing favorable settlement compensation on your behalf. Suppose the insurance company does not make you a reasonable settlement offer. In that case, your lawyer can file a lawsuit in court on your behalf and litigate your case to an efficient conclusion.