What Happens If An Amazon Delivery Truck Damages Me Or My Car?

Amazon: Delivering Dangerous Drivers to Your Neighborhood?

You frequently see them on the road, in your neighborhood, and even at your door: Amazon delivery drivers. For many of us, this team of delivery drivers is a beacon of convenience, and for others, an absolute necessity. Data estimates for 2022 show that 58% of American households had an Amazon Prime membership, and that number has since increased. In the US alone, Amazon ships an estimated 1.6 million packages a day – though some estimates are much higher – making its delivery volume second only to the United States Postal Service. Stateside, Amazon processes more than 1,000 packages per minute. It’s mind-boggling.

To handle the astronomical demand engendered by fast, and often free, delivery, Amazon operates a multi-tiered delivery structure, with the transport of goods between fulfillment centers usually handled by Amazon semi-trucks, and the last-mile delivery to customers covered by Amazon’s fleet of vans, delivery service partner vehicles, or the personal vehicles of Amazon Flex drivers.

So, it should be of no surprise that Amazon relies on a large number of independent delivery drivers and delivery service partners (DSPs) to keep pace with demand. DSPs account for as much as 45-50% of Amazon deliveries. Amazon Logistics also relies heavily on Amazon Flex drivers, individuals who use their personal vehicles for deliveries. While it’s difficult to know the exact number of Flex drivers currently in operation, since the program’s launch in 2015, more than 2.9 million people in the US have downloaded the Amazon Flex app.

The total number of Amazon-employed drivers, Amazon DSP partner drivers and Amazon Flex drivers is hard to pinpoint due to constant fluctuations based on the season, market conditions, and Amazon promotional deals, but they number in the hundreds of thousands.

The Impact on Amazon Drivers

Obviously, the high volume of Amazon deliveries places substantial pressure on drivers, including DSPs and independent contractors. It is reported that a typical Amazon DSP driver makes about 200 stops and delivers 250-300 packages in a day. To stay on schedule, drivers are said to average one stop every 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

This high demand combined with Amazon’s tight delivery deadlines can make drivers hurried and frazzled. In addition, given the number of drivers and various employment tiers, it can be difficult for Amazon to provide adequate training to every driver in its direct or vicarious employ.

Amazon’s Flex program, for example, offers delivery jobs to licensed drivers 21 and older who have their own mid-size or larger vehicle, treating them as independent contractors. Clearly, Amazon utilizes this method, in part, to disavow itself of any responsibility for the safety standards of these drivers.

Amazon has also tried to avoid responsibility for the drivers who participate in its Delivery Service Program. DSPs are small, independent package delivery businesses, and since Amazon’s utilization of these professional services beginning back in 2018, thousands of DSP owners have joined the program. Because these DSPs are financially incentivized to use Amazon’s branding, including Amazon uniforms and vans emblazoned with the Amazon logo, it can be impossible to tell which drivers are direct employees of Amazon, and which are driving for a DSP.

Regarding the program, Amazon Logistics has attempted to push the liability for driver performance onto its DSPs. On its program page, Amazon stated:

“Safety is integral to everything that we do at Amazon. It takes a dual commitment from Amazon and DSPs to create a safe work environment and great experience for our customers. We’ve invested in advanced safety technology to help keep delivery associates safe on the road, and have developed a program and metrics to ensure safety is a top priority for everyone. As an owner, it’s up to you to create a safe, productive, and inclusive work environment while ensuring your team of delivery associates meets performance and safety standards at every stop on their routes.”

Amazon may have felt this was enough to disclaim responsibility for accidents involving DSP drivers, but a recent landmark ruling proves such is not the case.

Bradfield v. Amazon Logistics

In 2022, a driver for an Amazon DSP, Fly Fella Logistics, struck, ran over, and severely injured an eight-year-old boy, fracturing his pelvis, and horribly injuring his leg. At the time of the accident, the boy’s father had asked a neighbor to watch him. The neighbor purportedly left the child unattended long enough for him to get on an electric bike and begin riding across the street. Though the DSP driver reportedly stopped to allow other children to safely cross the street, he failed to notice the boy on the bike, striking and dragging him more than 20 feet, causing a horrendous degloving injury necessitating multiple surgeries, including skin grafts.

The child’s severe injuries prompted the case against Amazon Logistics. The Georgia jury attributed 85% of the responsibility to Amazon, 10% to Fly Fella Logistics and its delivery driver, and 5% to the neighbor who failed to appropriately monitor the eight-year-old while under her watch.

For its part, Amazon and its talented and high-powered attorneys placed all responsibility for the accident on the driver’s employer, Fly Fella Logistics. Amazon’s legal team stated that since DSPs employ and monitor their own drivers, Amazon was in no way liable for the accident, the boy’s pain and suffering, or his family’s massive expenses related to medical care, physical therapy, lost wages and so forth.

However, when you begin to look deeply into the specifics, it isn’t as cut and dried as Amazon would have you believe. The DSPs Amazon partners with are heavily under Amazon’s control. Amazon sets stringent guidelines for DSP driver training, delivery performance standards, and use of Amazon-branded applications to manage deliveries. And it wouldn’t be beyond normal reasoning to think some drivers, whether DSP employees or “independent contractors” working for Amazon Flex, feel rushed, pressured and overworked by Amazon’s demanding delivery schedule.

The jury looked at the evidence of Amazon’s control over the Fly Fella Logistics’ delivery driver and came to the conclusion that Amazon was 85% accountable for the $16.2 million award due to its inadequate driver safety training. It assessed damages at $4 million for the boy’s medical expenses and past pain and suffering, and over $12 million for his future pain and suffering. Since the time of the accident, the boy has seen improvement, which is heartening, but his physical and emotional scars will remain throughout his lifetime.

What is landmark about this determination is that despite Amazon’s massive power and team of top-notch attorneys, it is not immune to responsibility. This finding sets an important precedent in establishing Amazon’s accountability for its network of drivers and demanding delivery protocols.

How Common Are Accidents With Amazon Drivers?

Outdated data suggest that Amazon Logistics drivers, including its DSP and Flex drivers, have been involved in a number of cited accidents, with more than 60 reports of serious accidents, including 13 fatalities. Because this data is years old, it should be considered conservative. Since Amazon employs such a complex network of DSPs and independent workers who use personal vehicles for last mile delivery, it can be difficult to identify their association with Amazon, so these numbers are likely underreported, or, perhaps, veiled. It should be noted that Amazon’s injury rate has accelerated significantly since 2020, likely owing to increased delivery demands engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amazon’s challenging and often grueling delivery quotas can promote hazardous driving practices, including:

1. Speeding: Amazon’s tight delivery demands can lead to driving at high speeds, increasing the risk of severe and fatal crashes.
2. Distracted Driving: Drivers must often use their phones for work-related communications, maps, delivery notes, etc., which can significantly increase the risk of accidents.
3. Driver Fatigue: Long hours and endless demand can lead to fatigue, impaired reaction times and poor judgment. Fear of losing their jobs may keep drivers at the wheel beyond their ability to drive safely.
4. Lack of Training: Some drivers receive inadequate training on how to operate delivery vehicles and safely navigate various delivery situations.

What if You Have Been in an Accident With an Amazon Driver?

If you’ve been involved in a serious accident with an Amazon delivery driver, even a so-called independent contractor driving as part of Amazon’s Flex program, you have rights.

As Bradfield v. Amazon Logistics demonstrates, justice can be more powerful than the most powerful companies. Despite Amazon’s efforts to avoid direct liability by classifying many drivers as independent contractors, it can still be held responsible for its part in collisions involving Amazon trucks and accidents involving Amazon-partnered DSP drivers. Even if the DSP alone is found liable, they usually carry policies covering up to $1 million in damages. And, though independent contractors must carry their own auto insurance, Amazon’s Flex program includes supplementary insurance that typically exceeds drivers’ personal insurance. In addition, Amazon’s considerable control over Flex drivers’ operations, scheduling and performance metrics may create company liability using legal theories such as special employment or ostensible agency, which could indicate shared liability, meaning Amazon may be held partly responsible if its practices are determined to have contributed to the accident.

If you’ve been in an accident with an Amazon driver in California, it is of greatest importance that you find an experienced accident injury attorney ready to take on the enormous power of Amazon and its formidable legal team. You need an accident injury law firm capable of calculating not only what you’ve lost today, but also what losses and suffering you may endure in the months and years to come. That sort of computation takes specific skills and experience, and is usually absent from insurance companies’ initial offers. A check with a few zeroes in it might look like enough now, but it can quickly be depleted, leaving the rest of your ongoing expenses to come out of your pocket.

As an accident injury attorney in practice since 1982, I’ve seen powerful companies attempt to avoid responsibility for serious damages, injuries, even mortalities. Located in Sacramento, California, with a legal network that covers the entire state, my firm, AutoAccident.com, has earned just compensation for countless victims of serious injury, as well as the families of those killed by ambivalence, negligence, or recklessness. AutoAccident.com has taken on powerful companies, insurance agencies, and other entities determined to avoid responsibility. We have garnered multimillion dollar settlements that send a powerful statement about how victims’ rights can overcome the staunchest defense. Our legal team’s obligation is to the injured and bereft, the people who often feel powerless in their pain and grief.

Please know, you are not alone and never without a voice.

The AutoAccident.com legal firm has decades of expertise settling injury cases involving auto accidents, delivery van accidents, tractor trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents and more. Though we usually get those responsible to pay their fair share out of court, we possess the legal acumen, financial resources and unwavering determination to take matters into the courtroom to gain just compensation for our clients. Let our years of experience, network of caring healthcare personnel, forensic accident specialists, and complete dedication to your welfare, get to work for you from day one.

If you’ve been in a serious accident with an Amazon driver, including one in a personal vehicle you have reason to believe was operating for Amazon at the time of your accident, call us. It takes only a moment to start your case, and put you on the road to recovery – physically, emotionally and financially.

Call AutoAccident.com at 916.921.6400 or toll-free at 800.404.5400 for immediate assistance with your case.

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