If you or a loved one has been the victim of an accident caused by a rideshare or delivery driver in Louisville or anywhere in Kentucky contact us right away for a free consultation. Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC supports victims and their families in their recovery after an accident. We can help ensure your pain and suffering won’t go ignored by large, faceless companies.
Accident cases involving drivers on-the-clock for companies like Uber, Amazon, Instacart, or GrubHub can seem complex because it can be hard to figure out who should be held liable for a collision. Is it the at-fault driver or the company they work for? The answer could be both. Let a local attorney work for you and determine just who should be paying you compensation for your hardships after an accident that wasn’t your fault.
Louisville Delivery Driver Hazards
Kentucky has no shortage of great places to see and fantastic food to eat. And in this day and age, there’s no shortage of delivery drivers in Louisville ready to bring you anywhere or bring anything directly to you. Doorstep drop off can guarantee delivery of hot food, cold groceries, and even a couch or TV.
With all these deliveries and pick-ups 24/7, you can imagine all the extra traffic on local streets. When you’re on the road, it may be hard to tell who’s working from behind the wheel. One tip-off may be seeing a distracted driver veering through the lanes. We don’t need more careless drivers on the road, but that’s exactly what happens when delivery drivers are distracted by their jobs.
Rideshare Driver Distraction Dangers
Drivers for rideshare companies like Lyft or a fast-food delivery service like Postmates work from behind the wheel. Their office is on the road with a cellphone usually a key part of their workdays. They may have more distractions than anyone else on the highway.
These are just a few of the extra distractions and temptations delivery drivers battles daily:
- Drug or Alcohol use. Delivery and taxi services have a zero-tolerance for alcohol and drug use but there arrests each year. Professional drivers must meet stricter guidelines under the law. .08% blood alcohol content (BAC) is the percentage that normal drivers must stay under. But most delivery drivers must stay under.04% BAC to legally operate a motor vehicle.
- Speeding – Ensuring a passenger isn’t late or groceries don’t melt or a package is delivered on time. Risking the safety of everyone on the road to get a better rating from a customer or a performance bonus.
- Cruising in Limbo – Drivers often travel around aimlessly when they don’t have a customer or an order at the moment. This phase is called “deadheading” by some in the industry. Companies often encourage drivers to patrol certain parts of a city to hopefully be closer to their next incoming orders.
- Working for multiple rideshares – To have the best chance at collecting customers and making more money some drivers are working for Postmates and UberEats simultaneously or Lyft and Uber at the same time. There are even apps that help employees switch back and forth between Uber and Lyft information quickly. Juggling all these responsibilities is a definite distraction.
- Driver emotional and physical state – Employees for a rideshare may be in an unbalanced mental state that can make travel with them unsafe. Drivers can also be exhausted and not be getting enough sleep to pay attention while behind the wheel.
- Distracting Riders – Customers may have special instructions or passengers may need information forcing the driver to look away from the lane in front of them.
Proving a Delivery Company is Liable in an Accident
As you can imagine, giant, nationwide companies are good at avoiding responsibility when their drivers cause accidents. You may wind up in the hospital because of a mistake by a careless driver on-the-job. That doesn’t mean companies like Uber or Instacart will be rushing to help you pay expensive hospital bills or help you make up for missed time at your job.
These rideshare and delivery corporations have teams of lawyers and insurance agents at their disposal to protect them from litigation. Yet, there are ways an attorney, working on your case, can help force a company to accept blame and cover your expenses.
Attorneys with Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC can investigate these companies and call into question many of their policies. To help build a strong case, we can examine hiring records. Did the company make sure they were hiring safe drivers? Did they offer enough training for those drivers? All of these factors and more can help increase your chances of receiving compensation in a claim for damages.
Protecting Victims of Delivery Driver Accidents in Louisville
There seem to be new transportation services looking to earn your business in our city every day. New ways to order a ride on your phone. New ways to get something brought to your front door.
It’s very convenient, but for Louisville drivers, each new order means another driver pulling out on the highway, possibly very distracted by their next order. Already packed interstates and exits at rush hour are now even riskier.
These companies are making money off of all those requests, and they should also be held responsible when their business model endangers other motorists on the road.
The different rideshare and delivery affiliations can be seen in the lanes next to you. Here’s more information on some of the biggest companies we can take on for you in the event their employees cause an accident:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do delivery drivers carry auto accident insurance?
Most rideshare drivers are required to carry their own auto accident insurance policy. Companies hope the driver’s policy will be enough to cover any accidents, but if insurance companies find out their policyholder was driving for a delivery company they often deny the claim.
In these cases, some companies will kick in coverage for victims. Uber and Lyft each carry up to one million dollars in liability coverage. This coverage only applies to certain phases of the employee’s shift. It is usually very difficult to get these companies to agree to offer compensation unless you have an attorney working for you making sure they can’t dismiss your claim. Some food delivery services don’t provide any coverage for their drivers in accidents. If you are hurt in an accident with their drivers, the only option to get coverage may be to file a lawsuit against the parent company.
How can I prove a driver was on-the-clock at the time of an accident?
As mentioned above, a rideshare driver’s personal car insurance policy may not cover him or her in an accident if the insurance company finds out the policyholder was on the job. In these cases, a driver may try to conceal the fact that they were working at the time they caused you to crash. This can hurt your chances of getting enough compensation for your entire recovery if the driver’s policy doesn’t cover a sufficient amount of your damages.
If it’s not revealed that a delivery company was involved, you won’t have the option of including the company in a lawsuit. For this reason, it’s important to confirm at the accident scene if the driver was working at the time.
His or her car may not be marked. If you’re able, try to get pictures of any signage on the car or inside and any badges or identification indicating who the at-fault driver works for. Any pictures of grocery bags or food bags may help. Later, an inquiry aimed at the suspected company can be made to see if the person was, in fact, on-the-clock for them.
What kinds of damages can I sue for after a car accident?
If your civil lawsuit is successfully settled or you get a victory in court you can expect compensation for all of your hospital bills now and any medical costs expected in the future. You can receive money for the paychecks you’ve missed by not being able to go into work. You can also get consideration for the pain and emotional anguish you’ve been through. Even travel expenses back and forth from medical appointments can be reimbursed.
Contact a Kentucky Personal Injury Attorney Today
Accident victims often wonder if they need an attorney, and the answer is almost always yes. You’ll be up against insurance companies and lawyers for the at-fault driver and possibly for the giant delivery company they work for. You need someone just as experienced to help you level the field. Talk to someone you can trust to be on your side and get you the compensation you’ll need to heal and return to a normal life.
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 make a full recovery. To discuss your case, call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC today, at (800) 937-8443, or click here to contact them online.
