Hit by a Delivery Driver?

Columbus, OH Car Accident Attorney Explains Your Options

Video Transcript:

Michelle Martin: 

It's not the same as private citizens who are in regular motor vehicle accidents where you have your standard bodily injury, UIM and things like that. The commercial policies are substantially different.

Tom Mustin: 

What should you know if you're hit by someone who's driving a commercial vehicle? We're gonna talk to Attorney Michelle Martin about that on today's Ask The Lawyer. Michelle, thank you for joining us.

Michelle Martin: 

Hi. Thank you, Tom.

Tom Mustin: 

Always great to talk to you. And these days, there seems to be a lot more delivery driver jobs as a lot more people are getting food and groceries and pretty much every consumer good delivered directly to their home. Have you seen cases involving delivery drivers causing accidents?

Michelle Martin: 

All the time. And you're correct, they are increasing. You have DoorDash, you have Uber Eats, things like that. And so those accidents, because they are not only new, but they are a common occurrence at this time, we see a lot of them. And they are pretty complicated because you have a lot of different parties involved.

Tom Mustin: 

And Michelle, if someone caused an accident while working as a delivery driver, does that mean their employer is not responsible anymore?

Michelle Martin: 

The opposite. If someone causes an accident while they're working, their employer is typically going to be responsible for that. There are some things that may change; who would be liable and who would be the responsible party. And that would depend on what type of employer they are, what type of job they're doing, were they actively doing their job at the time, the type of injury that occurs, as well as the type of victim that you have.

Tom Mustin: 

So Michelle, what insurance comes into play if you're hit by one of these delivery drivers, and do these drivers carry enough insurance? And what can you do to protect yourself? I hit you with three questions there.

Michelle Martin: 

You absolutely did. And the type of insurance that would come into play really just depends on who the... What's being delivered, what company is it, what type of truck it is, how the accident occurred. There are just so many things that can come into play when you're trying to determine what line of insurance is going to be available when you have a personal injury and you're dealing with such... You're dealing with commercial companies such as delivery. A delivery company is not the same as private citizens who are in regular motor vehicle accidents, where you have your standard bodily injury, UIM, and things like that. The commercial policies are substantially different, and you have to think about whether or not the employee is acting within the scope of their employment at the time that the accident occurs and what that may look like.

Tom Mustin: 

So, say you're hit by a delivery driver, Michelle, is this something that you can kinda handle the insurance claim by yourself, or do you need an attorney? And if so, why?

Michelle Martin: 

Well, I would definitely get an attorney. They have attorneys, the trucking companies, the delivering companies, these are large, major corporations. Not only do they have one attorney, they have teams of attorneys, and those teams are designed to protect the company and to make sure that any claims, whether they be frivolous or valid, that they can weed them out as quickly as possible so that they can save their employer, their client, the most money as possible. And so you wanna get an attorney, you wanna get an attorney on your case early on, because you want to know what type of insurance is available, what type of driver was actually delivering the items, what was being delivered. You want people to get in there and get... You want an attorney to get in there and really do a deep, thorough investigation, because you want to make sure that all the evidence that would be available to you when the accident occurred is still available to you. 'Cause most of the time, that information's going to be in the possession of the trucking company or the delivering company, because they're gonna have the vehicle, they're gonna have all the evidence. So you wanna get an attorney who's gonna be able to start sending out those collation letters, gathering that evidence, putting it in storage, having it examined. So yes, you wanna get an attorney, and you wanna get one fast.

Tom Mustin: 

And it sounds like it'd be overwhelming if you were trying to do it yourself.

Michelle Martin: 

Oh, it definitely would be overwhelming. You, as the injured party, you have your own injuries that you have to attend to, you also have your regular life that you're living, and then this is not, again, I repeat, a standard two-car accident when you're dealing with these large corporations and delivering companies. And if you have a company that is, like I said earlier, a DoorDash or a Uber Eats, it's substantially different in terms of the way you can even process those claims than you have a, what, an Amazon, an Amazon delivery company or those types of things, cargo. It's just so... It can vary, and it can get very complex, and you already have a lot that you're managing at that time. So it's best for you to get someone who's knowledgeable about the various insurance policies that are available for the different injuries that you have. 'Cause again, there's also injuries... There's also insurance policies that are available to you while you're still treating and before your case settles.

Tom Mustin: 

Well Michelle, it's always a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you very much for joining us.

Michelle Martin: 

Thank you. I enjoyed being here.

Tom Mustin: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Michelle Martin. If you wanna ask Michelle a question about your situation, call the number you see on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask the Lawyers.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.