With the rise of e-commerce, we’ve seen a parallel increase in the frequency of FedEx and other delivery trucks and vans on our streets. This means more delivery trucks where you drive, and even more where kids ride bikes or play in the neighborhood. The increase in FedEx and other delivery truck traffic has led to an increase in delivery truck accidents. The accidents can cause serious injuries, including broken limbs, brain injury, and more. As a result, injured people might spend time in the hospital, might become disabled, and might even die.

It would be nice if FedEx or any other delivery company would step up after an accident and agree to pay your full costs. However, the truth is that they are likely to offer you a settlement that is a fraction of what you need, then fight to keep you from getting the compensation you deserve. That’s why you need the help of a FedEx truck accident lawyer, one who knows how to hold trucking companies and their employees responsible for the consequences of their actions. At Fisher & Talwar, we’re experienced truck accident lawyers who have helped many people get compensation for their injuries. Give us a call to learn how we can help. The initial consultation is free, confidential, and there’s no obligation.

Four Steps to Take After a FedEx Truck Accident

The steps you take after your truck accident can be very important. The right steps can preserve your rights and make it easier to get compensation for your injuries. The wrong steps can make it harder to get compensation and hold FedEx or other delivery truck companies responsible for their injuries. Take these four steps right away to protect yourself and your rights. These steps are ranked by importance–you don’t have to do them in this order, so long as you do them all soon after your accident. 

Step 1: Get Medical Attention

It’s vitally important that you and anyone else injured in the FedEx truck accident get medical attention soon after the accident. Call an ambulance for anyone who is seriously hurt or might not be able to make it to a hospital on their own. 

Medical care is important even if you don’t think you’re injured. In the shock following the accident, while under the influence of adrenaline, you might not realize that you’re hurt. Some injuries might even take time to become obvious. Getting medical attention can help document your injuries and alert you to potential complications that may become visible in the near future. 

Step 2: Contact the Authorities

California law requires that you report any crash that results in an injury. If you called an ambulance, the details you give about the accident should be reported to the police as well. An officer from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) or other local jurisdiction should arrive to take statements and document the scene. 

When the officer arrives, they will ask for your statement, and you should comply. Provide a basic, factual account of the accident. Do not embellish anything beyond what you did and what other drivers did. Don’t talk about your state of mind, and don’t speculate on what other drivers were thinking.

Step 3: Obtain Information

To the best of your ability, try to gather any documentation related to the FedEx truck accident. Get names, identification, and insurance information for all drivers involved in the crash. If one of the drivers starts to flee the scene, don’t try to stop them. However, you should try to get pictures of them and their car. 

Get pictures of the crash scene and the damage to all the vehicles. Take pictures of any skid marks that you can see. Also, collect contact information from any witnesses to the accident. 

Step 4: Contact a Lawyer

If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a FedEx truck accident, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer sooner rather than later. FedEx’s lawyers will be getting involved, and they will quickly make a settlement offer, one that is calculated to seem generous, but is likely far less than your expenses, and less than you deserve. Consulting with a lawyer before getting a settlement offer can help you understand what you should be receiving. 

After talking to a lawyer, you should also contact your insurance company. Most insurance companies recommend reporting an accident to them within 72 hours. Your policy might require this to file a claim, although you may be able to get an exception if you are in the hospital. 

When Can FedEx Be Held Legally Liable for an Accident?

In California, everyone who is negligent can be held liable for an accident that they caused and the injuries and other damages that resulted. Understanding the negligence standard and how the common causes of FedEx truck accidents fit into it can help you see when you might be able to get compensation for your injuries. Knowing about comparative negligence can educate you about how even casual comments and actions can influence your settlements. It’s also important to know how rapid action is necessary for your lawsuit, when you can hold other parties responsible, and what to expect from FedEx when you file your lawsuit. 

Negligence Standard

In order to hold anyone liable for your damages in an accident, your claim must meet all four elements in the negligence standard:

  • Duty: Not everyone has a duty to consider your safety and act reasonably to safeguard it. However, all drivers on California roads have this duty, so at a minimum, the driver of the FedEx truck could be held liable for your accident. In addition, FedEx typically has what is known as vicarious liability for the negligence of its employees. This only applies when the driver is acting as part of their employment, such as when they are making deliveries. 
  • Breach: You have to prove that someone put people at risk when they took or failed to take a reasonable action. Speeding, driving while distracted, or driving while tired are examples of common breaches that contribute to truck accidents in California. 
  • Causation: You must next prove that the person’s breach caused or contributed to the accident. For example, you might argue that speeding reduced a driver’s ability to react and made it harder for the truck’s brakes to stop the truck before it impacted your vehicle. 
  • Damages: Finally, you must show that the items you are seeking compensation for are related to the accident. The most common types are economic damages (such as for medical bills or a loss of earning potential) and non-economic damages (such as for pain and suffering and diminished quality of life). However, in some cases, the court will award punitive damages. These are damages to punish FedEx or its drivers for major breaches of duty that significantly increased the risks to the public. The goal is to ensure FedEx and other delivery companies never adopt this dangerous conduct again. 

You need the help of a truck accident lawyer who has experience proving all four elements of the negligence standard in court. Even though most FedEx truck accident claims won’t make it to court, FedEx won’t make a good settlement offer if they think your lawyer won’t be able to meet all the elements of the standard. 

Common Causes of FedEx Truck Accidents

A truck driver is to blame nearly 90% of the time when a large truck causes an accident, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study. The most common reasons for truck accidents are:

  • Bad decisions: Speeding, following too closely, or changing lanes at a bad time, for example
  • Failure of recognition: Inattentive driving, distracted driving, driving on an unfamiliar roadway, or improper assessment of the situation, for example,
  • Non-Performance: Driver asleep, disabled, or physically impaired in the situation, for example
  • Vehicle: Brake problems, tire problems, or cargo shift, for example
  • Performance: Driver panicked, overcompensated, or caused a jackknife, for example

Most FedEx truck accidents are attributed to the trucks, and most of the time, the driver is to blame. This means that it’s often possible to successfully prove negligence on the part of the truck driver and extend this to FedEx or other delivery companies. 

California Comparative Liability

California’s liability law uses a system that is often described as pure comparative liability. This means that you can seek compensation from others for your accident even if you were partly or mostly to blame for the accident. However, each party is only expected to pay for their share of the liability. For example, if you were involved in an accident with a FedEx truck, and the court decided that you were each 50% to blame for the accident, FedEx would be responsible for 50% of your expenses. 

Can Other Parties Be Liable in Your Accident?

Operating a delivery truck is a complicated operation that might involve many people at different stages of the process. In addition to FedEx, this can include:

  • The owner of the truck or van (if not FedEx)
  • The truck manufacturer
  • The company responsible for truck maintenance
  • A temp agency that supplied the driver
  • Government(s) responsible for maintaining the road
  • Owner of dangerous cargo

All of these parties should be held responsible for their share in the accident. For example, if dangerous cargo started a fire that distracted the FedEx driver, leading to an accident, the owner of the cargo should be held liable for their contribution to the accident. 

How Long Do You Have to File a FedEx Truck Accident Claim?

In California, you have up to two years to file most types of personal injury lawsuits. This is also the case with FedEx truck accidents: you have two years from the date of the accident to file your claim. 

However, there are many good reasons why you shouldn’t wait until the deadline is approaching to start working on your claim. Evidence can vanish, be deliberately destroyed, or hidden. The memory (and credibility) of witnesses can fade. FedEx might hire investigators to make it seem as if you are not as badly hurt as you claim. You may also have bills that need to be paid, and you are running out of money to pay them. 

Compensation Available After a FedEx Truck Accident

You can get compensation for every aspect of your damages from the accident. What this means will depend on the specifics of your accident, but it might include:

  • Medical bills
  • Psychological therapy and other mental health treatments you require
  • Physical rehabilitation expenses
  • Wages lost due to missed work
  • Compensation for reduced earning ability if you can’t earn the same salary as before
  • Long-term disability
  • Property damage to the car and other valuables
  • Emotional distress
  • Pain and suffering
  • Disfigurement
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Wrongful death

This list of compensation spans both non-economic damages and economic damages. Non-economic damages are one place where your choice of lawyer can make a big difference. Their ability to convey the reality and magnitude of your losses can cause this figure to be much higher or much lower. Ask potential lawyers about their approach to maximizing this aspect of your damages. 

Why Choose Fisher & Talwar for Your FedEx Truck Accident Lawsuit

At Fisher & Talwar, we are dedicated to helping our clients get the best possible outcome after a  FedEx truck accident. We want to make sure that every client is better off for having worked with us, rather than going it alone or working with a different lawyer. In fact, we won’t take your case unless we think we can get you a better outcome than any other law firm we know. In addition, you’ll benefit from:

A Record of Success

Fisher & Talwar know how to win compensation for people injured in large truck accidents, including FedEx truck accidents. We have won up to $1.5 million in a case involving a large truck, as well as up to $6 million in other types of car accidents. We know how to approach these types of cases and can give you tough, knowledgeable representation.

Personal Attention

At Fisher & Talwar, we are very selective about the cases that we take. Not only do we make sure that we think we can get you the best outcome, but we also don’t take more cases than our partners can handle personally. If you work with us, you can have confidence that you will get the attention of the best minds at Fisher & Talwar. You’re never handed off to a junior attorney or paralegal. 

Our personal attention can make a big difference in your case. We take time to listen to you so we understand what matters most to you and can work for that outcome. Also, because we take time to understand your life beyond the accident, we can effectively argue aspects of your case, such as pain and suffering and diminished quality of life, delivering a strong argument for better non-economic damages and higher settlement offers. 

No Fees Unless We Win

At Fisher & Talwar, we handle FedEx truck accident cases on a contingency basis. That means that we don’t get paid unless you get paid. We understand that you and your family are already facing significant unexpected bills and may, at the same time, have less income. We want to help you make it through this tough time by not charging you any fees unless you are getting compensation to help you pay your bills and expenses. 

Never Pay Expenses

Although most lawyers will work on a contingency basis for FedEx truck accidents, they often make a distinction between their fees–which you don’t pay unless they win–and case expenses–which you might pay even if they don’t win. Even if they don’t expect you to pay expenses if you lose, keeping expenses separate from fees can be seen as akin to a separate fee you pay after the case, making their actual rate higher than the rate they quoted. 

At Fisher & Talwar, we never ask you to pay our expenses. They are included in our fees so that you will know that the fee we quote is the fee you pay–there are no added expenses. When you talk to a lawyer about their rate, make sure you ask about expenses. Know if these are included in your fees and if you might be expected to pay expenses even if the lawyer loses your case. 

Free Consultation

Contact Us for a Free Initial Consultation

If you were injured in an accident with a FedEx truck, you should act quickly to preserve your rights. At a minimum, you should talk to a lawyer before accepting any settlement offer. These offers may be calculated to seem generous but may fall far short of your actual long-term expenses, such as ongoing medical bills and lost wages, not to mention the impact on your quality of life and psychological well-being. 

At Fisher & Talwar, we have helped many people get compensation after all kinds of traffic accidents, including heavy truck accidents. We are prepared to help you after a FedEx truck accident. Want to learn how we can help? We offer a free, confidential consultation. You can ask us all your questions and get answers from a legal expert. There’s no obligation, either. You don’t have to work with us after your call. Please call us today for your free consultation with Fisher & Talwar.