Delivery Truck Accident Lawyers

Instead of braving the crowds at stores and shopping centers, more and more Hoosiers are relying on deliveries to meet their daily needs. Companies like Amazon, UPS, and FedEx promise ease and convenience, though the increased demand for their services has led to a spike in delivery truck accidents that endangers the public at large and the delivery drivers themselves.

One study found that almost one in five drivers making deliveries for Amazon suffered injuries in 2021, a 40 percent rise in the injury rate. That same year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the deaths of delivery drivers with sales responsibilities had reached a five-year high, with 72.3 percent of those deaths occurring in transportation-related incidents. Until the appetite for in-home delivery goes down, delivery truck accidents will remain a significant problem, resulting in serious injuries that could be beyond the means of most Indiana families.

While compensation may be available if you have been hurt in an Indiana delivery truck accident, success is never guaranteed, which is why many reach out to the delivery truck accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who have been fighting for the innocent victims of negligence since 1998.

You can schedule a free consultation with an Indiana delivery truck accident lawyer by calling or texting us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form.

Top Causes of Delivery Truck Accidents

A delivery truck accident could occur for various reasons, though delivery drivers face certain professional hazards that could make an accident more probable. Top causes of delivery truck accidents include:

· Braking abruptly – Delivery drivers have to stop and start in the street in order to locate addresses and make deliveries, and a collision could occur when a driver brakes abruptly.

· Failing to engage the parking brake – Far too often, drivers run out of their trucks to deliver packages without engaging their parking brakes, which could set a driverless delivery truck in motion.

· Backing up in traffic – Large delivery trucks and vans have substantial rear blind spots. A driver who backs up to a delivery site runs the risk of colliding with an unseen vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian.

· Blocking sightlines – Just as delivery trucks have pronounced blind spots, they could also block the sightlines of other drivers, making them more likely to crash when they pass a delivery truck or merge into its lane.

· Making sharp turns – A delivery truck driver who mistakenly passes an intended destination may make an overly sharp turn rather than go around the block, potentially hitting something, or someone, in the process.

· Unsecured/protruding loads – If a delivery truck is overloaded or the load is not secured properly, items could fall or fly out of the truck, becoming obstacles in the road or striking motorists or pedestrians. Moreover, loads that protrude from delivery trucks could injure others traveling next to or behind them. Even when a load does not leave a truck’s confines, it could shift while the truck is in motion, which may cause the driver to lose control.

· Excessive phone use – An estimated 82 percent of delivery drivers operate smartphones on the job, even though phone use can be a dangerous source of driver distraction, linked to 12 percent of all auto accidents.

· Fatigue – The typical American motorist drives about 61.3 minutes per day. This may represent less than an eighth of the time that a delivery driver spends behind the wheel per shift. This grueling schedule could make drivers more prone to fatigue, which contributes to about 100,000 accidents, 50,000 injuries, and 800 deaths nationwide per year.

· Irregular maintenance – Similarly, delivery trucks could incur more wear and tear than most passenger vehicles, making them vulnerable to major malfunctions if they are not regularly maintained.

· Insufficient training – Delivery drivers need to undergo extensive training to ensure that they can safely perform their jobs. A driver whose training is insufficient may be unable to avoid an accident.

Our Indiana delivery truck accident attorneys will analyze the facts leading up to your injury and determine the best course of action if you are considering a case.

Who Is at Fault for an Indiana Delivery Truck Accident?

Numerous parties could be at fault for an Indiana delivery truck accident. In addition to the delivery truck’s driver and its owner, blame could be ascribed to an outside company making use of the truck for commercial reasons, as may be the case with large retailers like Amazon, who routinely outsource their delivery operations to independent contractors. Unfortunately, such a company could exploit the nature of this relationship to deny responsibility for a contractor’s mistakes, creating a complex situation that may require the assistance of a knowledgeable Indiana delivery truck accident lawyer to untangle.

Generally, however, Indiana trucking companies have a legal duty to make sure that their drivers are trained, their trucks are functioning, and their loads are secured before allowing them on the road, which could make them culpable when a delivery truck accident is caused by an incompetent driver, a dangerous truck, or an unfastened load.

Others who could be held accountable for a delivery truck accident might include a cargo agency if an improperly packed load inflicts injury, a mechanical servicer if a truck breaks down, or a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer if a defective component causes a crash. In some instances, varying degrees of legal liability could be ascribed to multiple individuals and entities simultaneously, for which they might have varying degrees of economic liability.

In light of how many defendants there could be, it is crucial to pursue all of them within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. If you do not file suit or resolve your claim before the Statute expires, you could be barred from full financial recovery – the sort of oversight that will not happen on Hensley Legal Group’s watch.

How a Delivery Truck Accident Attorney Can Make a Difference

A delivery truck accident can be a cataclysmic event, overwhelming you with mounting medical bills and unforeseen costs, possibly while your injuries keep you from going to work. Very quickly, you could have trouble simply making ends meet, much less covering the newfound demands on your wallet.

You need attorneys with the compassion to support you through your struggles and the skill to overcome them. You need the delivery truck accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who have been standing up for the everyday people of Indiana for more than 25 years.

If you decide to hire Hensley, we will launch a comprehensive investigation into the causes of your delivery truck accident and everyone responsible for it, acting swiftly to secure the materials to build your case, including:

· Police reports

· Citations and dispositions

· Crash scene photos

· Dash cam, streetlight, and surveillance footage

· Witness statements

· Black box data

· Phone records

· Vehicular inspection logs

· Driving histories

· Accident reconstruction and forensic analysis

If evidence of wrongdoing exists, our Indiana delivery truck accident lawyers will work tirelessly to find it.

Maximize the Value of Your Delivery Truck Accident Case

Once we put together an airtight case, we will attempt to negotiate a settlement that compensates you for the totality of your losses, including:

· Medical expenses

· Lost wages

· Pain and suffering

· Psychological and emotional anguish

· Diminished quality of living

· Permanent impairment

· Loss of consortium

· Punitive and wrongful death damages (if applicable)

And unlike some of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, venture inside a courtroom, we are not afraid to go to trial if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your claim.

No two cases are exactly alike, but we will always strive to maximize the value of yours.

You Won’t Pay Unless We Win

If you are concerned about spending more money when you can least afford it, you may be pleased to learn that our firm works on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t have to pay us anything unless our Indiana delivery truck accident attorneys win your case.

You have enough to worry right now about trying to recover from your injuries. Let Hensley worry about recovering the resources you need to do so.

Our Indiana Delivery Truck Accident Lawyers Are Ready to Help

Hensley Legal Group is committed to getting justice for the wrongfully injured. If you have been hurt by somebody else’s recklessness, our Indiana delivery truck accident lawyers are ready to help.

Call or text us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a no-cost case review with a dedicated Indiana delivery truck accident attorney today.