What to Do If a UPS Truck Hits Your Car

If you end in a crash with a UPS truck that wasn’t your fault, you may suffer life-changing injuries. Figuring out exactly how to proceed can be a bit of a challenge. Hiring a personal injury lawyer may be your best option to battle UPS when it’s treating you unfairly after your injury crash.

Most people expect that after the crash, the UPS driver will exchange insurance information with you just like any other driver would. However, UPS takes an entirely different approach to addressing accident responsibility than what most drivers expect. Its methods can catch people off guard, especially when they just want to get back to the way they were and have a restored vehicle.

You may need help when battling UPS to try to receive the insurance settlement that you deserve to have. UPS may fight your claim and attempt to reduce the amount it’s paying you. It may try to blame you for the crash in an effort to avoid paying you at all. You might need the help of New York City truck accident lawyers to combat the unfair tactics of the UPS lawyers and insurance company.

Statistical Probability and Risk With UPS Trucks

The convenience of e-commerce and online shopping has caused changes for everyone, one of those being a massive increase in the number of United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery trucks moving through city streets and neighborhoods at all times of the day and evening. Being one of the major players among the big four carriers of goods, products, and shipments, UPS trucks operate in every state, region and town.

The more time they spend on the road delivering an assortment of packages, the more the risk of getting into an accident increases. When that happens, many assume it’s a matter of insurance companies working things out. However, UPS can be a challenge to work with at times, as it uses a strategy to limit claims and reduce damages.

UPS has one of the largest fleets on the road every day. That means around 130,000 drivers are covering more than 3 billion miles on the road annually. It’s not a matter of if, but when, a UPS truck will be in a vehicle accident with someone else. In fact, UPS had more than 2,600 accidents in 2019, resulting in 948 injuries as well as 55 fatalities. On average, every three hours a UPS truck had an accident with someone.

Compared to a sedan or another passenger vehicle, the UPS truck is significantly larger. If the truck is loaded with a lot of weight from packages, it could cause significant damage to your car and leave you with devastating injuries. Because of this extra weight, a crash with a UPS truck could cause more severe injuries than an accident that involves another car.

Common Reasons UPS Trucks End Up in Accidents

Certain situations are repeatedly the reasons for accidents with UPS trucks. Ideally, a company should incorporate these issues into driver training to avoid them and run a smoother operation with prevention. However, the fact that these types of accident scenarios keep occurring continues to signal that the risk is present and not fixed. Common – and oftentimes preventable – reasons include:

  • Forgetting to set the vehicle in park and using the parking brake when stepping out to drop off a package
  • Failing to yield to other traffic when entering a main roadway
  • Trying to drive in reverse when missing an address
  • Failure to be trained sufficiently as a driver for UPS
  • Exhaustion and driver fatigue from too many hours on the road daily
  • Faulty repairs, no maintenance performed at all, or no safety check routines occurring before operating the vehicle.

Proving Negligence When a UPS Truck Hits Your Car in NY

A number of the most common causes for UPS truck accidents are preventable, which means that negligence could be a viable case against UPS when one of its truck drivers is in an accident. Technically, negligence is necessary before a party can win a lawsuit judgment for damages caused by accidental harm. When serious injuries or property damage occur beyond what can be addressed by an insurance policy, negligence then has to be proven to secure full recovery in court.

In essence, that means a plaintiff needs to show:

  • The accident was the driver’s fault.
  • There was a duty of care to prevent harm.
  • The duty was not met, which in turn created the accident.
  • The suing party was hurt, sustaining medical or property damage losses.

UPS Is a Large Company With Legal Resources to Fight Your Claim

UPS has been a successful business for years and has plenty of resources to sustain a legal defense of its operations, far more than any individual can afford. In fact, the company can afford to have attorneys both on staff as well as on contract to provide legal defense when the need arises, which it does on a regular basis to deal with driving issues. As a result, a typical individual expecting to receive a prompt response to a claim for damages is going to run into a lot of frustration as well as delayed communication until UPS has to respond legally in court.

When a victim chooses to have experienced NYC car accident attorneys represent their interests, this forces large companies like UPS to have to respond legally to the complaint being made. They also have to produce information under request processes known as discovery, which can highlight evidence showing where UPS management and drivers were indeed negligent. This can be crucial in helping prove a case and securing the real recovery needed after a bad accident.

If a UPS Truck Hit You and Caused Injuries, Contact Our NYC Truck Accident Lawyers Today

For those in the New York City and Long Island areas, Tucker Lawyers can help. Our New York City truck accident lawyers have experience dealing with companies like UPS, as well as with insurance providers. Our experience is invaluable when it comes time to seeking a financial award after a bad accident at the hands of a UPS truck driver. Call us today at (516) 399-2364 for a free, no-obligation consultation. Find out how Tucker Lawyers can make a difference in your accident case with UPS.

john tucker

Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.

John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]

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