In the stressful times we live in, avoiding even one trip to the grocery store can save the entire week. Letting a delivery service, like Instacart, do the walking up and down those aisles for you can be a terrific convenience. But when you do have to return to the road yourself, you might quickly realize just how many personal shoppers are on the road with you.
Instacart workers can bring bags of groceries right to your front door, but that’s just part of their trip. The journey from the time you place an order, the travel to the store, and the travel to your house are all added traffic and added risks on the roads for other motorists.
Help for Victims in Kentucky Delivery Driver Accidents
You can obey every traffic law and still find yourself in a scary encounter with someone on the job, distracted by his or her next order. This inattention can quickly lead to an accident that leaves you with a serious injury.
At Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC Injury Lawyers we specialize in providing immediate assistance to victims involved in a crash with a delivery driver. We help accident victims in Louisville, Lexington, and across Kentucky. Our attorneys can quickly determine just who can be held responsible for your pain and suffering. The delivery driver and sometimes the company he or she works for can be held liable in these tragic incidents. Whatever the situation, we will make sure you receive compensation to make a full recovery, medically and financially.
Proving an Instacart Driver was Responsible for an Accident
One potential problem after an accident is that drivers don’t always alert their personal insurance companies when they take a job with Instacart. It may not matter, because often their own insurance may not cover them or their vehicle while they are on the clock.
With this in mind, they may try to hide the fact that they were working when they hit someone. If their insurance company doesn’t know they work for Instacart, the policy would likely cover the accident like any other claim. This isn’t always good for the victim, because it completely hides Instacart’s involvement in the accident.
That means it may be up to the victim to prove drivers were delivering for Instacart when their distracted driving caused a crash. After a collision, make a note of any signage or logos you might see in the car windows. Look for any grocery bags in the car. Snap images of any identification you see. The evidence may act as proof that the driver is an Instacart employee.
Here are a few other details to gather after an accident with a delivery driver:
- Call 911. See to your health and safety first.
- Give the police a full account of what happened. Mention the fact that the at-fault person was driving for Instacart at the time of the crash.
- Take photos of the scene. Document the damage to vehicles. Take photos of street signs.
- Get general insurance information from the Lyft driver and document any work identification they have.
- Talk to any witnesses and get their contact information. If they’d rather write down a statement about what they saw, make sure they sign and date it.
- Afterward, see a physician. Remember, not all injuries are apparent right away. New aches and pains may appear days after the collision. Get all injuries documented.
Instacart Insurance Coverage in a Collision
Instacart makes a lot of money off of our orders and they owe it to us to make sure they use safe drivers who drive safe vehicles. Unfortunately, in the event of an accident, Instacart does it’s best to focus blame on their drivers. The company’s goal is to avoid liability in any collision involving their personal shoppers.
Instacart drivers are required to carry their own insurance and that’s usually all the coverage employees will have. Instacart provides some coverage for their drivers who get hurt, but generally don’t cover anyone else injured by their workers’ negligence.
The problem, as mentioned above, is that normal auto insurance policies won’t always cover Instacart drivers while they are on the clock.
If a delivery driver’s insurance won’t provide help in paying your hospital bills and covering your missed time at work, you may have to go another route. You might have to file a claim with your own insurance policy under your uninsured/under-insured coverage.
It might also be possible to force Instacart to take some responsibility for their driver. An attorney working on your side can investigate their Instacart’s work practices and insist Instacart compensate you for your injuries. An Instacart employee caused your accident and the company should also take responsibility for any damages they cause.
Contact a Kentucky Delivery Driver Accident
Accident victims often wonder if they need an attorney, and the answer is almost always yes. The lawyers and insurance agents working for Instacart are good at their job which is to pay you as little as possible or nothing at all. 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 what is yours under the law.
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.