What to Do If an Amazon Truck Hits Your Car

An Amazon delivery truck weighs over 9,000 pounds empty and up to 24,000 pounds fully loaded. By contrast, the average automobile weighs about 4,000 pounds. Unlike boxing matches, car accidents are not restricted by weight class. A collision with an Amazon truck, even if your car is stationary, can cause considerable damage to both your car and your health.

Call the police and exchange contact details with the driver

Your first order of business is to call the police to the scene of your car accident, even if the accident occurred in your driveway. In fact, Georgia law requires you to call the police in case of injury, death, or property damage of at least $500. A car accident that even scratches your paint will probably cost more than $500. You also need to exchange contact and insurance details with the driver. Cooperate with the police, and ask how you can get a copy of the police report.

Photograph the scene of the accident

If your medical condition allows, photograph anything and everything that might serve as useful evidence: skid marks, property damage, injuries, license plates, the position of the cars on the road, even the sky if the weather could have been a factor. It is better to have too many photos than too few. However, if you suffer a catastrophic injury, do not worry about taking photos, it’s too risky.

Seek medical treatment

Don’t wait to seek medical treatment if your body suffered any impact, even if you don’t think you are injured. Delaying medical treatment gives the insurance adjuster reason to claim that your car accident injuries didn’t occur until after the accident. Seeking immediate or near-immediate medical treatment provides a credible record of your injuries for professionals who have no motivation to falsify their records.

Examine FMCSA regulations

One of the best ways to prove negligence is to appeal to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations. These regulations apply to Amazon trucks (if they are over 10,001 lbs) just as they apply to 18-wheelers. If you can prove a regulatory violation, you can transfer the burden of proof to the Amazon driver to prove that they weren’t negligent.

Some areas that FMCSA regulations cover

FMCSA regulations cover almost every aspect of driving a truck, including:

• Driver qualifications.
• Hours of service.
• Drug and alcohol testing.
• Truck maintenance and inspection.
• Electronic logging devices.

Your lawyer should be familiar with these regulations and how they might affect your claim.

Send a demand letter to the appropriate insurance company

You will file a third-party claim because you are not a party to the liability insurance policy between the insurance company and the Amazon driver. You’ll need to send a letter to the appropriate insurance company that justifies your claim and demands compensation. The company will want supporting documentation as well. For best results, have your lawyer write the letter and sign it.

Sue or settle?

Try not to think of it as either/or. One of the best strategies for dealing with a stingy insurance company is to attempt settlement, sue once you reach an impasse, and then offer to withdraw your lawsuit in exchange for a generous settlement.

Try to negotiate a settlement

Your lawyer can do all of the negotiation for you.

File a lawsuit

Filing a lawsuit doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to trial. The primary benefits of filing a lawsuit even if you don’t want to go to trial are:

• You can show the defendant and their insurance company that you mean business
• You can beat Georgia’s statute of limitations deadline—two years after the accident in most cases
• You can gain access to the pretrial discovery process

You can withdraw your lawsuit at any time, even during trial. Judges like this because it reduces their busy dockets.

Engage in pretrial discovery

Pretrial discovery is a powerful court-supervised evidence-gathering process. Its purpose is to allow both sides to gather evidence that is in the possession of the other party. This procedure tends to favor the plaintiff in personal injury cases because it is the plaintiff who often needs evidence that is in the possession of the defendant. Pretrial discovery offers the following legal weapons to both sides:

• Depositions: Under-oath, out-of-court testimony by witnesses who will appear at trial. You can subpoena the defendant’s witnesses and question them.
• Interrogatories: Written questions that the recipient typically has 30-45 days to answer under oath.
• Demands for production: Requests for documents and physical evidence.
• Requests for admissions: Each side asks the other to confess to uncontroversial facts they don’t want to bother proving at trial. This process typically simplifies litigation for both sides and it is often cooperative.

If either party refuses to cooperate, the other party can seek assistance from the court, and the court might sanction the uncooperative party. Here are some examples of evidence a party might seek through pretrial discovery:

• The Amazon truck’s event data recorder, which records data such as speed, braking time etc. that might help prove fault in an accident. It works like a plane’s “black box.”
• Cell phone records that can prove distracted driving.
• A medical examination of the plaintiff’s injuries.
• Access to the opposing party’s car for inspection purposes.
• Access to a waiver of liability signed by the plaintiff.

It is also possible to demand evidence from a third party such as a bank.

Mediation

Once you file a lawsuit, it is highly likely that the judge will encourage you to mediate your dispute. In fact, the court might exert quite a bit of pressure on both parties to mediate. A mediator is a trained third party whose goal is to help you reach a voluntary solution. They cannot impose a solution -– they rely on the consensus of the parties.

Draft a settlement agreement

If you can reach an agreement in principle, you can begin drafting a settlement agreement. Although the two side’s lawyers might bicker over the exact wording, it is unlikely that you will get stuck at this late stage. Once both parties sign the agreement, it becomes a binding legal contract that you can enforce in court.

How much does Amazon’s insurance cover?

When an Amazon Flex driver employed by Amazon causes a collision while performing their delivery duties, Amazon offers $1 million in auto liability coverage per accident. Other Amazon drivers may have different coverage amounts. You may also be able to sue Amazon directly under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

Contact a Georgia truck accident lawyer at your earliest convenience

Insurance companies can be difficult to deal with, especially if you have a substantial claim. There are many “gray zone” tactics that an insurance adjuster might try to pull on you that they wouldn’t dare attempt if you had a seasoned truck accident lawyer handling negotiations for you. Contact the Atlanta and Savannah personal injury law firm of Harris Lowry Manton and let us handle your claim for you.