Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers

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You can rarely go anywhere in New York City without seeing countless commercial trucks, company cars, vans, and other vehicles rushing to deliver food or packages to customers. Dozens of other vehicles are busy taking their various utility or repair services to new and old clients as well.

Sadly, while mass transit and other traffic remain limited due to the pandemic – speeding delivery and other drivers remain a major threat to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers. We must all constantly watch out for the threatening presence of these moving vehicles. In some cases, even the small percentage of bicycle delivery riders – who ignore traffic signals and other rules of the road – can even pose a threat to pedestrians.

Our New York commercial vehicle accident lawyer remains ready to help those who are seriously injured by bad drivers after an auto accident or commercial trucking accident. What follows is a look at some of the key safety issues involved that can justify suing bad drivers for negligently harming people. Although wealthy companies like Amazon are behind many of these drivers – every effort is made to shield themselves from liability. However, our experienced commercial accident lawyers can help recover medical bills, future medical costs, lost wages, and compensation for past and future pain and suffering. We handle commercial accidents throughout NYC including Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and surrounding areas.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.

What is a commercial vehicle accident?

A commercial vehicle accident is one type of motor vehicle accident. A commercial vehicle is any type of car, van, truck, or another motor vehicle that is engaged in business when the crash occurs. Some courts refer to this as being in the course and scope of employment. Whether it is a pizza restaurant delivering a pie, a refrigerated box truck delivering groceries, or an Amazon truck dropping off orders, a collision that happens while working qualifies.

Why are commercial vehicle crashes so serious?

The physics of most commercial vehicle crash highlights the size, speed, weight of these massive vehicles. A Commercial truck accident often results in devastating and catastrophic injuries. Very often a company car has to be a large truck which results in a more serious personal injury to those involved. A Truck accident injury has often been a catastrophic injury. An experienced personal injury attorney can help recover just compensation for your truck, bus, or car accident with a company vehicle.

What are the most common causes of commercial vehicle accidents?

Commercial vehicle drivers are under pressure from their employers and other negligent parties to get the job done. These demands often prevent vehicle operators from driving in a reasonable and careful manner leading commercial drivers to get involved in serious accidents.

• Unrealistic, speedy deliveries required by Amazon, Apple, and other companies put unreasonable pressure on the employee truck driver
• Failure to limit each driver’s time on the road on most days increases the likelihood of a truck crash
• Lack of proper hiring practices – including background checks
• Inadequate training
• Poor oversight or supervision – if any – of each employee’s ongoing work habits.
• Annual background checks on driving records are still not required
• There is usually a failure to regularly require drivers to submit to alcohol and drug tests
• Criminal background checks may not always be run on each new driver
• Poor maintenance on delivery vehicles – or none ever required

While this list is not intended to be exhaustive, it does provide insights into why so many delivery drivers cause so many commercial vehicle collisions such as a semi-truck accident. To see if your case qualifies for successful recovery, it is always best to consult with an experienced injury law firm to fully understand all of your legal options and rights.

How much can I recover after a commercial vehicle crash?

A commercial or truck accident claim is usually valued higher than a typical car accident. Some insurance carriers even have a commercial lines department. Many commercial policies have high minimums such as a $1,000,000 (“one million”) base policy. Of course, like any personal injury case, the ultimate value depends on liability and damages. An experienced truck accident attorney is invaluable in obtaining fair compensation.

Commercial vehicle accidents include all of these vehicles:

The most common type of commercial vehicles in the NYC area include:

• box truck
• straight truck such as package delivery trucks
• cargo van; vans like access a ride transport vans; and private company vans
• buses including public transport, school buses, and commercial buses
• flatbed truck
• commercial motor vehicles
• limousines, Private buses or shuttles; passenger vehicle
• garbage truck and street sweeper trucks
• Big rigs
• 18 wheeler, tractor-trailers; semi-truck
• company cars, vans, bikes, scooters, and electric vehicles
• yellow taxis; TLC vehicles including black cars; Uber and Lyft vehicles and other rideshare cars
• utility and maintenance vehicles like Con Ed trucks
• construction vehicles such as concrete trucks
• tow trucks
• Service vans

Many commercial vehicle crashes involve a trucking accident or a serious motor vehicle accident. A commercial truck driver should use reasonable care when operating a vehicle. While very large tractor-trailers frequent highways and do not enter some parts of NYC, smaller box trucks are very prevalent.

Types of companies that use delivery – or service repair – drivers on almost a daily basis

In addition to the dominant presence of Amazon, nearly every type of store that sells goods or provides services to customers now sends drivers or employees out in a wide variety of the types of vehicles referenced above. In some cases – particularly in large cities where certain neighborhood streets may be closed due to the pandemic – many foods and grocery items may also be delivered using bicycle delivery drivers.

Even plumbing and utility companies, furniture stores, pet stores, and painters are all eagers to send their employee drivers to your home to complete purchase or service transactions. While most of these drivers are covered by their immediate employers’ vehicle insurance policies, employers like Amazon often create added difficulty for those its drivers may injure in accidents. This is because Amazon signs contracts with its independent contractor drivers, holding them fully liable for all consequences of any accidents they may have while delivering Amazon’s goods.

However, our law firm knows how to help injured clients find the third-party leasing company or insurance company that must be named in the lawsuit we plan to file in your name. After you first come into our offices, we will need to complete an initial investigation to obtain copies of all liability insurance policies that cover the driver who hit and injured you.

The No-Fault Law in New York:

What types of damages can I obtain after a commercial vehicle accident?

Many commercial vehicle crashes involve a truck accident or a company car crash. A lawsuit seeks to prove fault against the responsible party. Personal injury lawyers also deal with the types of damages available to an accident victim: pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, medical bills, property damage, and lost wages.

After a fatal crash, wrongful death claims have additional categories of damages such as loss of parental guidance and pecuniary loss. After a commercial crash, a truck accident victim can recover two forms or categories of damages: economic and non-economic damages.

An experienced accident attorney will offer best-in-class legal representation and prepare the case to obtain the maximum possible damages.

What goes into a commercial vehicle accident investigation?

Using the example of a truck wreck involving a negligent truck driver, an experienced commercial vehicle accident attorney would conduct a thorough investigation. This includes:

– witness interviews

– obtaining surveillance video

– hiring accident reconstruction experts such as engineers and safety experts who go to the accident scene

– researching the trucking company and other liable parties

If the accident claim involves a tractor-trailer accident, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCSA) provides a plethora of regulations and resources. FMCSA defines a large truck to include a large commercial truck of 10,000 pounds and a tractor-trailer of more than 80,000 pounds.

If the commercial vehicle accident claim involves a truck accident lawsuit, reliance and review of the FMCSA are absolutely essential to building the strongest possible truck accident case.

Using statutes, regulations, and truck accident law from past NY cases as precedent, a personal injury lawyer with extensive experience can help obtain justice for injury victims and their families.

What types of legal arguments are often used to hold guilty drivers liable for their injuries?

• General negligence. We will argue that a duty of care was owed to you as a pedestrian or occupant of another vehicle when you were hit and injured. We will then state that the defendant driver violated that duty – directly causing harm to you.
• Negligence per se. This approach involves stating that the defendant driver violated a specific New York Department of Transportation regulation. We will need to obtain a police report that supports your allegations to pursue this approach.
• Negligent hiring. This legal argument can help us try to add defendants like Amazon, a trucking company (or any other seller) who employed the delivery driver who injured you or a loved one. This approach also lets us directly reach some employers when we can show that by a preponderance of the evidence, the employer is vicariously liable for not properly hiring, training or supervising the driver who injured or killed someone while trying to complete a delivery.
• Negligent maintenance of a vehicle. This argument will normally just point to the driver who caused the accident – depending on the employer/company involved. However, if the employer is regularly charged with keeping all delivery vehicles in proper, working order, then we might rather easily add that company as a third-party defendant in the lawsuit.
• Product liability claim. If the accident might have been caused by a defective part in the delivery vehicle that malfunctioned, causing the accident, then our law firm may add the name of the manufacturer of the defective part to the lawsuit filed on your behalf.

While there may be other possible claims or arguments that may apply to your case, the ones just named above tend to be the most common ones. A consultation with an experienced truck accident lawyer will help find all of the legal theories.

The widespread damage that many Amazon and other delivery drivers keep causing

Published media reports indicate that Amazon’s sales did not dip during the pandemic lockdown – they have soared to new heights. This almost certainly means – based on other reports during recent years, that serious injuries and deaths have likely jumped during the pandemic. Here is a brief review of some of the deaths during the past few years caused by Amazon delivery drivers.

• Infant Gabrielle Kennedy in Maine
• A Temple University student (22 years old) was killed by a contractor who hit his motorcycle
• An 89-year-old woman in New Jersey
• Another 89-year-old woman – this one in Pennsylvania

Those are just a few of the fatally injured whose stories were uncovered by ProPublica and others trying hard to investigate all the “hidden” deaths related to careless delivery drivers. Although it is not certain, some believe far more of these types of stories exist. And many other possible accidents may have never been reported. Sadly, some victims’ families may give up when their loved ones have been killed by those driving unmarked trucks and vans. After all, that makes it hard for the average person to know who to try and sue – without seeking an injury law firm’s help.

When our firm is hired, we will conduct thorough initial research to find out who the delivery driver was working for – and look for any legitimate grounds to impute driver negligence to those who did the hiring. We will also check to see if the company failed to properly oversee the employee’s ongoing driving habits.

If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to a dangerous delivery driver, please contact our New York City commercial vehicle accident law firm right away. We will then carefully investigate all the facts of your case – and then fight hard to win the maximum compensation available under New York Law. Our injury law firm is dedicated to helping every client obtain the highest possible sum to cover all lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other losses. The F&A personal injury law specialists handle motor vehicle, auto accident, and truck accident lawsuit matters.

The representation of individuals who were seriously or catastrophically injured as a result of negligence is one of the most rewarding fields of law that we have the privilege to practice. Our attorneys and support staff love what we do. With decades of experience, we work hard and dedicate ourselves to achieving the best possible financial compensation for our clients.

If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to a dangerous delivery driver, you need to contact our New York City commercial vehicle accident law firm right away. We will then carefully investigate all the facts of your case and then fight hard to win the maximum compensation available under New York Law. Our firm is dedicated to helping every client obtain the highest possible sum to cover all lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other losses.

Contact our team at (212) 222-1111 for your free case evaluation.