Amazon requires its drivers to deliver as many as 250 packages in an eight-hour shift, which is a pace of less than two minutes per package, according to a personal injury accident lawsuit. Amazon has been sued in a Newark, New Jersey federal court for $3 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages for an accident involving a van delivering packages for the company. The suit seeks enhanced damages based on a claim that Amazon’s corporate transportation policies put the public at risk.
In the crash between plaintiff Mark Harrison and the Amazon delivery van, it is alleged negligence, carelessness, recklessness, gross recklessness, and gross negligence of Amazon and co-defendant Amazon Logistics in the operation and control of their vehicles was a proximate cause of the accident. Harrison was driving when he encountered an Amazon van, parked with its passenger-side wheels on the sidewalk. As Harrison drove around the Amazon van, its driver allegedly executed a sharp left turn to exit its parking spot, colliding with Harrison’s car. Harrison suffered severe neck and back injuries and has received intensive physical therapy three times a week for 10 months. He also receives epidural shots to relive his back pain, and has not been able to return to his job as a human resources consultant since the accident. The Amazon van’s driver claims that Harrison made an abrupt lane change just before the crash. But Harrison alleges that Amazon drivers are often careless and inattentive, and that they allegedly speed, with little regard for their own safety or the safety of others, as they race to meet their quotas.
The suit cites a 2019 article from BuzzFeed News that said “[p]ublic records document hundreds of road wrecks involving vehicles delivering Amazon packages in the past five years, with Amazon itself named as a defendant in at least 100 lawsuits filed in the wake of accidents, including at least six fatalities and numerous serious injuries.”
The article attributes the large number of accidents and injuries to Amazon drivers’ use of a company-created app called “Rabbit” that was said to be “notoriously flawed and has often caused drivers to make quick, and frequently dangerous, route corrections in order to find a given address.” The article claims that Amazon uses “a variety of underhanded tactics to skirt Department of Transportation oversight” and that it fails to institute mandatory rules, regulations and procedures to ensure that its delivery drivers have proper training and qualifications. The article claims that Amazon drivers frequently skip meal breaks and bathroom breaks so they can meet productivity quotas. The suit also notes that Democratic U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio wrote to Jeff Bezos, who was former CEO of Amazon to “express [their] concerns regarding numerous reports that Amazon’s delivery standards are imposing unfair and dangerous conditions upon the delivery companies for the drivers who deliver its packages.”
Filing a claim against an Amazon delivery truck driver can be complex. Much of the success of your case depends on a host of variables that are difficult to process. For example, some Amazon drivers are independent contractors. You may have to take legal action against the driver as an individual, rather than Amazon as a company. We will keep you updated as we identify liable parties, communicate with other parties on your behalf, and determine a value for your case. Contact New York Amazon delivery truck accident lawyers Friedman& Ranzenhofer, PC today by calling or texting 716.333.5144 for a free consultation and case evaluation.