Amazon’s blue vans seem more common on Kentucky roads than family sedans at this point. Their drivers can drop anything on your doorstep, from a mattress to a board game.
If you’ve made any car trip lately and didn’t see an Amazon truck, consider yourself lucky. The front porch service can be a lifesaver, but those millions of deliveries a day add up to a lot of miles in the lanes right beside you. It’s the cost of convenience, but that can be a high price to pay when the added traffic leads to increased risks on the road.
Contact a Louisville Attorney after a Delivery Driver Accident
A mistake by a delivery driver on the road can lead to a frightening accident. An Amazon truck is bigger and much heavier than your car. The injuries in a collision with a fully loaded Amazon vehicle can be devastating.
If you are the victim of an accident involving a delivery driver, contact Kentucky’s Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC Injury Lawyers. We want to protect your rights as you recover and make sure you aren’t stuck with the hospital bills involved. Let us represent you against this nationwide company so that their lawyers don’t take advantage of you when you’re at your weakest. We will fight to make sure you get the proper compensation to make a full recovery, physically and financially.
Amazon Accident Dangers in Kentucky
The threat of an accident with an Amazon truck is very real. The drivers are on the clock behind the wheel and under a strict deadline. That all adds up to a very distracted driver.
The Kentucky State Police respond to thousands of accidents caused by inattention each year. In 2018, the state reported that driver inattention and distraction caused over 40% of the accidents seen that year.
It’s just one of the extraordinary dangers Amazon Drivers can bring to the road each morning. Here are a few of the scariest risk factors:
- Amazon Driver Pressure — These drivers can be expected to deliver around 250 packages a day. Speeding can be a temptation when a driver is running late. Fatigue can also be a factor leading to careless driving. Drivers are tracked every time they open the door or turn off their vehicles. It can all contribute to dangerous moves on the highway or in your neighborhood.
- Driver Fatigue – We’ve all gone to work on little to no sleep. The difference for a delivery driver is that they work from behind the wheel. Any lapse in judgment can prove deadly. Drivers can just be exhausted by their schedule. Some drivers have reported that they’ve been encouraged to skip lunch and bathroom breaks.
- Amazon Driver Distraction – Drivers can be required to go just about anywhere in a single shift. Dialing up some map help for all of these addresses can take their attention from the road. Computers and phones are a big part of the Amazon driver’s day and they are all huge distractions.
- Large Blue Vehicles – An Amazon truck is not like every other car and SUV on the road. They can weigh around 3500lbs empty and can haul another 5000lbs. This weight can make a dangerous difference in collisions. Braking distances are much shorter and impacts carry much more force.
Amazon Coverage in Auto Accidents
Amazon does cover their drivers with something called Amazon Flex Insurance. Drivers must still carry their own insurance, but many insurance companies refuse to accept responsibility in an accident when the policyholder is driving for a delivery company.
While a driver is on the clock, Amazon flex insurance offers one million dollars in liability insurance and the same in uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Amazon still uses contract workers who drive local company vehicles or their own personal vehicles for delivery. These cases can be trickier, but an attorney working to protect your rights can determine every party who may be part of an accident lawsuit.
Holding Amazon Accountable in an Accident
This coverage provided to Amazon drivers who cause accidents will often stop short of covering all of your costs in recovery. It may cover the expense of hospital bills and car damage, but victims have other physical, emotional, and financial costs that Amazon may try to avoid paying.
The hardships of missing paychecks from your workplace, while you can’t make it into your job, should also be covered. You could need money to cover rehabilitation years down the road. The accident may be so severe it has taken your enjoyment of life. All of these factors should be Amazon’s responsibility.
An attorney can help investigate Amazon’s role in these types of accidents. Many of these factors can be evidence in a claim for damages:
- Amazon Hiring Practices – Were reliable background checks made when they hired this driver? Was the driver’s record checked?
- Amazon Safety Practices – Does Amazon offer training for its drivers? Does management recommend unsafe practices?
- Driver Fatigue – Was the Amazon driver working for more than one delivery company? Is the driver working too many hours in a week?
- Vehicle Safety – Maintenance records can be evidence. Was the Amazon vehicle properly inspected?
Contact a Kentucky Delivery Driver Accident Attorney
If you were a victim in an accident caused by a delivery driver, let our local attorneys represent you and protect your right to full compensation. In these cases, you may be facing a team of lawyers from Amazon who would like to dismiss your claim or pay you as little as possible. We want to make sure Amazon takes your accident and your injuries seriously and covers every need you may have in recovery.
The attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, have that knowledge and a combined 100 years’ experience in helping clients get the compensation they’ll need to fully recover. To discuss your case, call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC today, at (800) 937-8443, or click here to contact them online.
