What to Do if a UPS Truck Hits Your Car

December 7, 2021 / Trucking Companies

A Truck Accident Attorney Can Help Get You Compensation

If a United Parcel Service (UPS) truck hits your car, your best bet is to call 911, get medical attention, take photos and videos of the accident scene, get names and contact information from the driver and any witnesses, and contact a truck accident lawyer.

Truck accidents involving UPS and other delivery services have been increasing due to the increased number of packages being ordered online. UPS is one of the largest package-delivery services in the world, and competes with FedEx, the United States Postal Service, and DHL to make deliveries. Drivers are under extreme time deadlines to get the packages delivered, and this pressure can lead to a delivery truck accident as drivers drive too fast, make turns too quickly, or try to beat a light.

Even though UPS claims to prioritize safety, its drivers end up in thousands of crashes each year. Drivers under pressure are more apt to cut corners and make mistakes that lead to crashes that can cause life-changing injuries and fatalities. Survivors often face long, painful recoveries that require expensive rehabilitation and continuing care; medical bills mount up at a time they are unable to work; and some crashes result in death.

If you or a loved one has been injured or someone has died in a UPS or other delivery truck accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses through insurance or a personal injury lawsuit. Commercial truck lawsuits are complicated due to the federal and state laws involved. UPS and its insurers have a team of lawyers primed to deny benefits and fight your lawsuit. Anything you say can be used against you, so it pays to have an experienced truck accident lawyer on your side to ensure you don’t make costly mistakes.

The Indiana truck accident attorneys at Stephenson Rife know how to fight for a settlement that covers all your losses. We offer a free consultation to discuss the circumstances of your UPS accident and determine the best way to help. There are no fees to you unless and until we win your case, so don’t delay.

What to Do if a UPS Truck Hits My Car

You Can Take Action if Hit by a UPS Truck

UPS trucks are larger and heavier than passenger cars, so they can cause serious damage in an accident. After a crash, the steps you take have important repercussions on your case. If you are physically able to, you should take the following actions:

1. Call 911 and get medical attention.

   Even if you think no one has suffered injuries, it’s a good idea to get checked out medically. Injuries sometimes are not immediately evident and may worsen over time. Get a complete physical after a car accident, as serious injuries such as internal bleeding and head injuries are especially difficult to spot after a collision.

2. Ask for police response and get a police report.

   When police come out to the scene of the accident, they will review the scene, interview both drivers, and create a report about the incident. In addition to providing vital information, such as contact and insurance information, a police report provides an unbiased third-party review of what happened and who was at fault.

3. Get license and insurance information from the UPS driver and contact information from any witnesses.

   License and insurance data from the other driver will allow your attorney to get a head start on your case. Having witness contact information is essential, as witnesses provide first-hand testimony as to what happened.

4. Take photos of the scene.

   If you are physically able, take photos and videos of the accident scene, damage to both vehicles, and any injuries. Note the position of the vehicles, track or skid marks, and roadside damage, and look for presence of surveillance cameras.

5. Document your injuries.

   Getting medical care after an accident is extremely important, and you should follow doctors’ orders carefully. Keep records of treatments you have received and how your injuries affect your life, your ability to work, and your relationships.

6. Get legal help.

   The sooner you get legal help, the better. UPS is a huge company that has experienced legal counsel. Guidance from your own attorney will help protect your rights and keep you from making mistakes and settling your claim for less than what it is worth. Let your lawyer work with UPS and its insurers and attorneys while you focus on your recovery.

How UPS Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help

UPS Has Its Lawyers, You Should, Too.

United Parcel Service (UPS) delivers many packages state to state, and therefore is generally regulated by safety requirements from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) as well as by Indiana state regulations. The FMCSA has rules for driver’s license standards, safety and fitness procedures, financial responsibility for motor carriers, maximum hours truckers can drive, and what inspection, repair and maintenance of vehicles is required. When these regulations are not adhered to, the responsible parties can be found negligent and liable for damages.

UPS is one of the largest package-delivery services in the world, with about 125,000 of its large trucks making deliveries every day. In addition to the brown trucks that come to your door, the company also has 18-wheeler tractor-trailers on the road. UPS drivers are under pressure to make deliveries, drive many miles over long hours, and operate under stress and duress — all factors that contribute to accidents. Drivers may drive recklessly, or UPS may operate trucks in need of repair or fail to provide adequate screening or training for drivers, or there may be another party at fault for contributing to the accident.

If you were injured in a UPS crash that was caused by another party’s negligence or fault, that party should be held liable for the damages you received. However, even when UPS drivers clearly hurt other people through negligent driving or the company itself was at fault, its lawyers are ready to use all tactics to put the blame on you or find reason to keep you from getting the settlement you deserve. The company has long-standing relationships with many insurance defense firms who contest and defend against claims.

That is why you need to have an attorney of your own who knows how to deal with and handle companies like UPS, its insurance company, and their lawyers.

Our Stephenson Rife lawyers know what to do to fight for a fair settlement. We will:

• Meet with you to hear your version of what happened and determine whether you have a valid lawsuit and what the case should be worth.
• Thoroughly investigate your case by examining the crash scene, interviewing eyewitness and first responders, and acquiring driver cell phone records and truck maintenance and UPS hiring and training records.
• Gather evidence to build your case, such as photos and videos from traffic cameras; pictures of damage to vehicles and skid and tire marks; police, ambulance, doctor, phone, and hospital records; and past driver citations for traffic violations such as speeding and for government safety violations.
• Hire experts to testify on your behalf. These may include accident reconstruction experts and life experts who can testify as to the extent of your injuries, your costs, the care you may need in the future, and the physical and emotional effects of the accident.
• Negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement. We will handle all dealings with insurance companies, who are more likely to take your case seriously if they know you have an attorney on your side willing to take your case to court.
• Build your case and prepare it for trial if necessary.

Our legal team will be there for you throughout the entire process, answering your questions and concerns and taking care of all legal requirements, from filing pretrial motions, to discovery, to presenting evidence and making closing arguments, to filing an appeal.

Call us today at (317) 680-2350.

Our UPS Truck Accident Lawyers Must Prove Negligence

Unlike FedEx, which often classifies its drivers as independent contractors, UPS drivers are typically hired as employees. This makes a big difference for injured parties trying to obtain compensation. As long as drivers or other employees of UPS were “working within the scope of their employment,” when they did something that contributed to your accident, UPS can also be held civilly liable in a lawsuit. This is because employers are generally held responsible for the negligent conduct of their employees under a legal doctrine known as “respondeat superior.” As long as the driver was not running personal errands or did not commit an intentional act when the truck hit your car, you can sue UPS as the employer.

UPS may also be held liable for accidents due to negligent hiring, such as by hiring drivers without checking to see if they have a record for a DUI. Another example would be if the accident occurred as a result of failing to properly train an employee on tasks such as how to safely secure and handle packages while delivering.

This benefits you, because UPS has much larger pockets than an individual driver would have, and carries more insurance. Even if your claim exceeds the insurance policy maximum, UPS has enough assets to pay your damages. As a result, in an UPS truck accident, you would be suing the company first, as well as other negligent parties who may be defendants in the case.

In any truck accident case, it is necessary to prove negligence. For the defendants to be found negligent and at fault legally, our attorneys must show the existence of the following elements:

• Duty — The defendant owed you a duty of care not to cause harm.
• Breach — The defendant breached that duty by acting or failing to act.
• Cause – This action or failure to act caused a crash and your injuries.
• Damages — You suffered damages, monetary or otherwise, as a result.

Who Can Be Liable if a UPS Truck Hits Your Car

Depending on the circumstances, liable parties who were negligent may include:

• UPS
• The UPS delivery truck driver
• Other negligent drivers who may have been involved
• Supervisors who failed to properly supervise drivers or failed to take actions if a driver exhibited unsafe practices
• The owner of the cargo if this was not properly loaded or exceeded weight limits
• The manufacturer of the truck or its equipment or parts, if these failed and caused the accident
• The mechanic responsible for maintaining the UPS truck
• The government entity or road repair company responsible for maintaining the road, if poor road conditions caused the crash.

Any or all of these parties may be found negligent and at fault for contributing to the accident, and our attorneys would look to identify all of them, as they all may have insurance and assets that can go toward a settlement award.

Damage Awards Our UPS Truck Accident Lawyers May Win

Settlement Amounts Should Cover All Your Damages

In a successful lawsuit, you may be awarded money for both your monetary costs, called “special damages,” and your non-economic damages, called “general” damages.

Economic Damages — cover the cost of your bills for medical care and other calculable expenses, including:

• Past, present, and projected medical and rehabilitation expenses
• Lost wages, current and projected into the future
• Property damage.

Non-economic Damages — compensate you for losses that do not have a specific dollar value, but negatively affect your life. These may include:

• Physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering, anguish, anxiety, and stress
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Loss of companionship and consortium
• Physical impairment, temporary and permanent limitations on activity
• General inconvenience and loss of quality and enjoyment of life.

To qualify for non-economic damages in Indiana, you must have had physical injury and costs.

Punitive damages
In rare situations, where the accident was caused by actions that were wantonly reckless and negligent, you may also be awarded punitive damages that punish negligent parties and act as a deterrent to similar misconduct in the future.

The amounts of damages you may be awarded vary greatly, depending on the circumstances of the case. In general, if your injuries involve permanent damage and require long-term care, or if a death is involved, it may result in a higher settlement. If there are multiple parties at fault and they all have insurance and/or assets, the settlement may be higher.

Call Our Indiana UPS Truck Accident Lawyers

The skilled and compassionate truck accident lawyers at Stephenson Rife are here to take the burden off you by handling all aspects of your UPS truck accident case.  Our attorneys have been practicing law since 1976.  Mike Stephenson has not only decades of experience handling personal injury cases, but years spent in the courtroom, too. He has been lead counsel in over 100 cases. He is ready to bring his wealth of knowledge and experience to your case. Our attorneys at Stephenson Rife will make sure that clients are treated fairly and that they get the compensation they deserve.

Don’t delay. Indiana has a statute of limitations (Indiana Code §34-11-2-4), a time limit of two years after the date of the accident to file a lawsuit in court. If you miss this deadline, the courts are likely to dismiss your case.

Call Stephenson Rife to schedule a free case evaluation at (317) 680-2350 today.

Attorney Mike Stephenson

Attorney Mike Stephenson has 40 years of experience and is a trusted advisor to many individuals and companies. His current practice is dominated by civil litigation in state and federal courts. He focuses much of his time on handling catastrophic injuries caused by all types of accidents, including motor vehicle, trucking, workplace injuries, product liability, just to name a few. Mike is a proven advocate and trial attorney. He has served as lead trial counsel in more than 100 civil jury trials, and has handled litigation in 18 states. [ Attorney Bio ]