Quick answer: Delivery-truck cases are corporate-defendant cases. The driver usually works for a subcontractor (a 'Delivery Service Partner' for Amazon, an 'Independent Service Provider' for FedEx Ground, or a feeder contractor for UPS), and the coverage questions are complicated. We pursue the driver, the immediate employer, the delivery contractor, and the parent company where the relationship supports it.
Why delivery-truck cases are different
Delivery drivers are under scheduling pressure that rewards shortcuts: rolling stops at residential intersections, speed through neighborhoods, distraction from dispatch apps, and fatigue from back-to-back routes. Common delivery-truck crashes we handle in Houston:
- Backing over pedestrians and cyclists in residential driveways and apartment lots
- T-bone collisions at stop-controlled intersections the driver rolled through
- Rear-end crashes where the delivery driver was looking at their handheld scanner
- Turning crashes where large step-vans block visibility of pedestrians and smaller vehicles
- Double-parked delivery vans striking passing cyclists and motorcyclists
The contractor-employer question
None of the big delivery companies makes it easy to sue them directly. They build their networks on contractors and subcontractors, then argue they're not responsible for the drivers' acts. We've seen this argument repeatedly — and it often fails once we examine the actual relationship:
- Amazon Flex and Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) — Amazon tightly controls routing, uniform, scanning, and scheduling. Texas courts increasingly find Amazon has vicarious liability despite the DSP structure.
- FedEx Ground Independent Service Providers (ISPs) — after the Estrada line of cases in California and follow-on cases in Texas, the FedEx Ground "independent contractor" shield has narrowed significantly.
- UPS — UPS drivers are generally direct employees. The plaintiff's focus is usually the driver and UPS directly.
- Last-mile contractors (OnTrac, LaserShip, regional carriers) — lightly capitalized, often underinsured. We identify the shipper and the parent brand where possible.
Insurance stack in a delivery-truck case
- The driver's personal auto policy (if they were using a personal vehicle — common for Amazon Flex)
- The contractor's commercial auto policy
- The parent company's umbrella or excess policy
- Cargo policies, in cases involving falling or shifted cargo
- Your own UM/UIM coverage as a backstop
Preserving evidence against big-company defendants
Delivery companies have sophisticated legal and fleet-data teams. They preserve evidence that helps them and let other evidence disappear. We send same-day preservation letters for:
- Route and stop data from the driver's handheld device
- GPS and telematics data from the vehicle
- Dash camera and cargo-area camera footage
- Driver scorecards and behavior monitoring data (Amazon's Netradyne and similar)
- Dispatch records and app notifications the driver received
- Package and delivery manifests
- Driver training and disciplinary records
