Amazon trucks frequently use roads and highways that run through Butler County to deliver goods to customers in Hamilton, as well as in larger nearby cities like Dayton and Cincinnati. Customers across Ohio rely on Amazon for a wide range of products, from same-day food delivery services to quick shipping of home goods, books, and various other products. As a result, Amazon trucks have become mainstays on the roads. According to data reported in LandingCube, Amazon sells more than 12 million products to customers, not including those shipped by third-party sellers. In a single day, Amazon ships out approximately 1.6 million packages, which averages to approximately 66 thousand packages every hour. With so many Amazon trucks on the roads, serious and deadly Amazon truck accidents happen.
Delivery drivers for Amazon often have busy schedules and are required to ensure that packages reach their destinations as fast as possible. Under these kinds of time constraints, in addition to other accident risk factors that affect many kinds of motorists, Amazon truck drivers can engage in negligent behaviors. If an Amazon driver causes a crash, it is critical to seek compensation. You may have multiple options for filing a claim and recovery compensation for your losses.
Amazon truck accidents can have a wide range of causes. Often, these collisions happen because of an Amazon truck driver’s negligence. Commercial delivery drivers, including Amazon truck drivers, engage in dangerous road behaviors. In addition, other parties may also be responsible for collisions. Sometimes those parties are involved in the crash itself. Yet at the same time, liability can exist even if a party was not in a vehicle at the time of the collision. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the following are common causes of crashes:
The cause of the Amazon truck accident will impact liability. In other words, determining what or who caused a truck crash will be essential for filing a claim.
There are many steps you should take after a collision involving an Amazon delivery truck. Consider the following:
Who is typically responsible for an Amazon truck accident in Butler County or elsewhere in Ohio? You should know that Amazon identifies its truck drivers as independent contractors as opposed to employees. Why is this important? Amazon is not liable for an independent contractor’s negligence. However, if an Amazon truck driver were an employee, then Amazon would be liable for the driver’s negligence. The legal theory of “respondeat superior” says that employers can be liable for employee negligence. Yet it is important to know that Amazon could become liable for delivery truck driver negligence in the future. There are certain ways in which Amazon truck drivers act like employees. For example, the trucks they drive are often branded with Amazon advertising and naming. In addition, Amazon truck drivers often wear Amazon delivery uniforms or identification.
There is a possibility that, through lawsuits, Amazon could become responsible for delivery driver crashes. If Amazon were to be liable, it could be required to provide a high amount of liability insurance for these types of collisions. However, you should not anticipate that Amazon will be considered liable at present for a delivery truck crash.
If Amazon is not currently liable for crashes caused by delivery truck drivers, who is liable? The following are examples of parties who often bear some liability for collisions:
You may have multiple options for seeking compensation following an Amazon truck crash:
Often, people who are injured in crashes involving an Amazon truck driver will first file an insurance claim. Sometimes insurance claims can provide a fair and reasonable payout. However, many insurance claims are insufficient to cover a person’s losses. In these situations, you may need to file a lawsuit. While the Amazon truck driver may be at fault, other parties may also be responsible for damages.
Types of Compensation Following an Amazon Truck Accident
Ohio law allows people injured in Amazon truck crashes to seek compensatory damages. Those types of damages are intended to compensate for losses incurred. There are two kinds of compensatory damages in Ohio:
Examples of compensatory damages in an Amazon truck crash lawsuit include compensation for:
If an Amazon truck driver caused an accident by engaging in intentional road rage behaviors or other actions that were egregiously reckless, it may be possible to seek punitive damages. Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are not intended to compensate. Instead, punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant.
What will happen if the Amazon truck driver says you are also partially at fault? Under Ohio’s contributory fault rule, you can still recover damages as long as you are not 51% or more at fault. In those circumstances, you will recover, but your award will be reduced by your portion of fault.
Amazon truck accident lawsuits are one type of personal injury lawsuit. According to Ohio’s personal injury statute of limitations, these accidents typically have a two-year statute of limitations. A statute of limitations limits the amount of time a person has to file any type of civil lawsuit. In an Amazon truck crash, the clock on the statute of limitations begins ticking on the date of the injury. For a delivery truck case that caused fatal injuries, a wrongful death lawsuit will also have a two-year clock. However, the clock will begin ticking on the date of death as opposed to the date of injury.
Were you injured in an Amazon truck accident caused by a negligent Amazon driver? You may have multiple options for seeking financial compensation. Even though Amazon may not yet be liable for accidents resulting from the negligence of Amazon delivery drivers, other options exist. Indeed, you may be able to seek compensation through an insurance claim. In addition, you could be eligible to file a lawsuit. The Amazon truck driver could be named in a lawsuit, and other parties may also be named. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you could name multiple defendants in a lawsuit. You should have an experienced Butler County Amazon truck crash lawyer assess your case to determine liability.
Our firm can help you to identify causation and liability in your crash. Then we can help you to seek compensation. An experienced attorney at our firm can handle insurance negotiations for you. We can also represent you vigorously in an Amazon truck crash lawsuit. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us to find out about your options. Contact the law firm of Kruger & Hodges today to get started on your case.
