Amazon.com is the most successful online shopping business in the short history of the Internet Age. A large part of that success is due to its guarantees of prompt delivery of products that have been ordered through its websites. However, in order to meet its self-imposed delivery deadlines, Amazon.com and its subsidiary delivery companies have developed a reputation within the commercial trucking and package delivery industries as a company that puts more emphasis on deadlines than safety.
In today’s post the commercial truck accident lawyer at The Doan Law Firm explains how Amazon.com has structured its package delivery operations in a way that allows it to attempt to avoid liability in accidents involving its delivery trucks. He will then explain how an experienced truck accident lawyer can assist accident victims in securing a fair settlement of their Amazon delivery truck accident claims.
***
As we noted in a previous post, in the early morning hours of April10th two women were killed when a semi pulling an Amazon Prime trailer was unable to stop before crashing into a previous accident on the North Expressway at the Rankin Road Overpass. Another driver, who had stopped in the emergency parking lane to offer assistance in the original accident, was forced to jump from the Rankin Road overpass in order to avoid being struck by the semi. Although he survived, he suffered leg injuries so extensive that both his lower legs had to amputated in order to save his life.
Other Amazon Prime truck accidents this year include:
- At about 11:00 p.m. on June 26th a 1-year-old boy was killed in an accident when the car in which he was a passenger was struck from behind by a semi that was pulling an Amazon Prime trailer. The accident while both vehicles were traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike near the town of Cranbury.
- On June 18th, a Florida man was killed in Volusia County FL after pulling into the emergency parking lane on I-95. According to witnesses, the victim’s car was struck from the rear by a semi towing an Amazon Prime trailer.
- On May 16th, a semi towing an Amazon Prime trailer struck the rear of another Amazon Prime trailer whose driver had pulled off onto the emergency parking area on I-94 near Roosevelt IL. Both drivers received minor injuries.
Amazon.com Will Try to Avoid Liability in Truck Accidents
Most people are surprised to learn that even though its trucks are a common sight on our streets and highways, Amazon.com does not own those vehicles! Instead, Amazon.com has formed two subsidiary companies in order to save money and to shield itself from liability in case of accidents.
- Amazon Prime
When you see a semi pulling a trailer bearing the Amazon “Swoosh” logo, did you know that Amazon probably doesn’t own that truck? Instead, Amazon has leased some 10,000 trailers and then relies on independent truck owner-operators or trucking companies to transport those trailers from one location to another. This arrangement allows Amazon.com to claim that since it does not own the tractor component of a semi truck and doesn’t have the truck’s driver on the Amazon payroll, it isn’t liable in case of an accident. As we will see, this scheme usually works if the accident victim doesn’t have an experienced truck accident lawyer handling an accident case.
- Amazon Logistics
To handle the delivery of packages to your front door, Amazon created Amazon Logistics. Amazon Logistics is a franchise operation where Amazon sells the exclusive right to deliver its packages to independent business owners who are paid a set “per truck” fee. Once again, the trucks are not owned by Amazon.com and the drivers are not Amazon employees. Amazon.com can thus try to deny liability in case of an accident. Although Amazon is usually successful in avoiding liability using this business scheme, an experienced truck accident lawyer is usually able to establish at least partial liability on Amazon.com’s part.
Why You Need an Amazon Truck Accident Lawyer
As we mentioned in the previous section, Amazon.com is usually able to convince an accident victim that it isn’t responsible for an accident involving one of its trucks. This is because most people do not have an understanding of the often-complicated legal issues that may come into play following a commercial truck accident. At The Doan Law Firm our truck accident lawyer may be able to find that Amazon.com could be found liable in your truck accident case if Amazon.com:
- Failed to properly supervise its warehouse or “fulfillment center” employees in the safe loading of its leased trailers;
- failed to insure that its leased equipment was properly maintained;
- imposed unrealistic delivery deadlines that caused its contracted drivers to “cut corners” attempting to meet such deadlines;
- failed to properly oversee the driver hiring and training policies of its franchise operators, or
- allowed dangerous or potentially-dangerous items to be transported without following established safety procedures.
If you or a family member were injured in an accident involving an Amazon.com over-the-road or local delivery truck, we invite you to contact the Amazon truck accident lawyer at The Doan Law Firm to arrange a free review of your truck accident case and a discussion of the legal options that may be available to you.
When you contact the truck accident lawyer at The Doan Law Firm, there is never a charge for our truck accident lawyer to review the facts in your case or for you or for our Amazon truck accident to discuss the legal options that may be available to you. Should you decide that a lawsuit is in your best interest, and that you would like for us to represent you in court, we are willing to assume full responsibility for all aspects of preparing your case for trial in exchange for a percentage of the final settlement we are prepared to win for you.