Holding Amazon Liable For Accidents Caused By Delivery Drivers

Although everywhere you look there are delivery drivers, there’s one company whose delivery schedule, and delivery fleet, is seemingly more present than any other: Amazon. And with so many packages being delivered and so many drivers, it’s no wonder that Amazon drivers can and do cause accidents that injure other people.

Not in an Amazon Truck

You might already be aware that, if you’re hit by a giant truck with the word “Amazon” on the side, that it’s an Amazon delivery. But just because you don’t see an actual Amazon truck, doesn’t mean that Amazon is not involved.

That’s because more and more, Amazon is contracting out its deliveries to both private, smaller companies, and even to individual drivers, much like Uber or Door Dash drivers, that take miscellaneous deliveries at times convenient for them.

All of that means that in any accident, one question to ask is whether the driver was actually working at the time of the accident (for any company, not just Amazon). If so, Amazon needs to be considered as a possible co-Defendant in your injury case.

Is Amazon Liable?

Amazon will often claim that they are not liable for these “independent contractors,” and that they didn’t want anybody to cause any accident, so they cannot be held liable for an accident victim’s injuries.

But that’s not quite how the law works.

The law largely looks at control–how much control did Amazon have over the drivers that were doing their work for them? In most cases, it’s a lot of control.

Amazon usually will require drivers to log their time and hours, and follow Amazon’s procedures for dropping packages off. The driver may be using Amazon’s software to track time and deliveries, and may even be wearing Amazon vests or other clothing. Amazon may set some of these drivers schedules, or at least, tell them when a delivery is needed.

Even under the assumption there was minimal control,  that still wouldn’t absolve Amazon of liability.

So long as any other person or company is doing work for Amazon, the company would nonetheless have a legal obligation to do background checks on the people and companies working for it. Amazon would still have a legal duty to ensure that people who drive and deliver on its behalf, have good, safe driving records, and are suited to drive vehicles on public roadways.

Insurance Issues

With multiple companies involved in an Amazon delivery accident, it means that there are multiple insurance companies. Private, individual drivers for Amazon are required to carry separate minimum insurance when they are doing work for their vehicle. Smaller delivery companies also have their own insurance.

The bad with multiple companies is that they often will point the finger at, and blame, each other–but the converse to that is that there are now different sources of insurance to help a victim get compensation.

Contact our Rhode Island personal injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 for help if you were injured by an Amazon delivery driver.