Most delivery drivers try to complete their many daily drop-offs as quickly and as safely as possible. But there are times your California neighborhood may seem more like a raceway than a quiet street.
In the delivery rush each day, those brown vans used by United Parcel Service or UPS are hard to miss. They drop the packages we order at our doorsteps and keep stores stocked, but these vans and big rigs can also provide obstacles to our safety on California boulevards and highways.
A crash caused by a reckless UPS driver might leave you or a loved one with a serious injury and without a clear path to earning injury support as you heal. UPS may resist taking responsibility for the mistakes its employees make. Or they could try to pay you less than what you need to cover the enormous costs of recovery. It’s a good time to bring your case to a legal professional.
Schedule a Free Consultation After an Accident Involving a UPS Driver
After being in a frightening crash with a UPS vehicle, don’t trust your recovery to UPS lawyers or their insurance providers. Don’t file your accident claim until you’re fully informed of the rights you have and every benefit available to you.
Find out how to earn full compensation for everything you’ve been through in a free case consultation with Maison Law of California. You’ll discuss your case with a real lawyer and go over your best options for securing financial support for your injury recovery.
UPS Van Accident Dangers in California
It’s the brown UPS vans and big rigs themselves that provide the first hazards to your safety. The physical dimensions and the loads they carry make them much more dangerous than the average car or SUV.
The cargo area on a UPS van runs around 25 feet in length or more. That space can hold a lot of packages and a full van may weigh up to 20,000 lbs or more. Any car collision involving more weight makes for a more devastating impact and can lead to much more severe injuries.
The shape of a UPS van makes it harder to keep in narrow lanes. You might not notice a UPS vehicle coming up on your left side until it swipes your car and sends you off the road.
UPS Driver Distraction Dangers in California
UPS drivers are the other dangerous component of every delivery route. They work from behind the wheel and delivery schedules and changes provide major distractions. Distracted driving is a major hazard on all California roads, but UPS employees fall prey to these distractions while operating a massive vehicle in some of the busiest traffic areas of the state.
Here are just a few of the dangerous behaviors UPS drivers may be forced to engage in throughout their day:
- Distracted Delivery Driving – UPS drivers use DIAD computers (Delivery Information Acquisition Device) to track packages, locate their next drop-off address, and communicate with their HQs. These devices are made as hand’s free as possible, but drivers can’t do their jobs without glancing at these screens from time to time. UPS big rig drivers also battle the temptation to look at their cellphones to check texts and take calls.
- Reckless Driving: UPS drivers have a set amount of packages to get out each day. That pressure encourages employees to sometimes go faster than they should. Deadlines might also frustrate drivers and cause them to lose focus on the driving portion of their jobs. UPS employees could also be driving aggressively to reach an address and forget to hit the brakes in time to prevent a collision.
Does UPS have Accident Insurance for Its Drivers?
UPS does cover its full-time drivers with commercial auto accident insurance. Victims in an accident caused by a UPS employee may file a claim to hopefully draw from a one million dollar liability insurance policy.
Don’t fall into a trap of thinking that UPS will make it easy to get support for your recovery. They have their own lawyers and insurance agents ready to pick apart your account of what happened, just to save the company money. They could try to get you to accept blame for an accident, even when their driver is clearly at fault.
They can also float you a “lowball offer” that doesn’t cover anything more than one trip to the emergency room. If you sign off on a low settlement, the rest of your hospital bills and physical therapy costs will come out of your pocket.
If you are successful in your claim, you and your family can earn financial support for some of the following factors:
- Accident Settlement — Every hospital bill. The costs associated with a physical disability or long-term injury care. The wages lost while the victim misses work. Travel costs for patients going to medical appointments. Compensation for the physical pain experienced and the emotional trauma the victim must cope with after a collision and during recovery.
- Wrongful Death Settlement – After a tragic accident, the victim’s family members will earn support for the costs of a memorial service and burial. They’ll also be awarded money to pay for emergency services fees and medical costs built up before the loved one passed on. The income the family has lost now that the deceased can no longer provide a weekly paycheck to the family should also be replaced.
What Happens If I Am Partially At Fault in a UPS Accident?
You can still receive substantial injury compensation even after you’ve been found partly to blame for an accident with a UPS driver.
California follows the legal concept of comparative liability. It means that two or more drivers can share fault in a crash. They would be assigned percentages of blame in a collision and would owe injured victims compensation based on their level of liability.
For example, you and a UPS driver may be found to have both been going a little too fast before an impact. You might accept 30% of the blame. The UPS driver could be assigned 70% of the blame. You could still earn an award to help you pay for your injuries, but your compensation would be reduced by your 30% of liability.
Your personal injury lawyer would fight at each turn to make sure you accept as little blame as possible. With the right evidence, your attorney would also work to show that you should be assigned zero percent of the fault.
Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer Serving California Victims
If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident caused by a UPS driver, discuss your options with a skilled California UPS Accident Lawyer. You and your family will need to make sure your financial and medical care needs are covered now and in the years ahead.
Filing a claim against a company like UPS can leave you facing off against corporate lawyers. There’s no need to fear this battle as long as you have a legal expert on your side collecting the evidence you need to win a fair insurance settlement.
Attorney Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, offers a free and confidential case evaluation to victims and their family members. This consultation is a chance to find out what your injuries are really worth and to map out your next step. Contact Maison Law as soon as possible so that we can begin building a strong case for you.
