With online shopping growing in popularity each year, we’re becoming accustomed to seeing fleets of delivery trucks hauling packages from all over the world to people’s homes. One of the largest companies behind these trucks is UPS. With more than 100,000 trucks in their global fleet, there are few organizations responsible for more vehicles on the road than UPS. If you’ve been involved in a car accident with a UPS truck, it is highly recommended that you contact an experienced attorney at Avrek Law to resolve your case.
To get an idea of just how large UPS’ presence on the road is, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that in 2019 UPS had 121,929 trucks in operation. Collectively, 3,060,113,353 miles were totaled among 118,498 drivers. With so many trucks on the road, it’s unfortunate yet statistically inevitable that some drivers will be involved in accidents. In 2019, UPS trucks were involved in 2,627 crashes, including 948 that caused injuries, and 55 fatalities. That’s about one UPS delivery truck accident every three hours.
Common Causes of UPS Delivery Truck Accidents
While the cause of many UPS truck accidents is no different than other auto vehicle accidents, there are some delivery-specific factors that lead to an increased likelihood of UPS-involved accidents. Some of these factors include:
- Not setting parking brakes while making a delivery
- Not yielding when merging back into traffic after a delivery
- Backtracking after missing the delivery address
- Inadequate training from the company
- Increased driver fatigue from longer shifts on the road
- Failure to complete repairs or safety checks
The Role of Negligence
One common thread between the above causes, which separates them from other vehicle accident factors, is negligence. Proving negligence is crucial to be able to receive damages. However, because this is the case, large delivery companies like UPS will put up a strong legal fight against claims of negligence.
There are four components you need to show in order to prove negligence:
- That the truck driver owed you a duty of care
- That they breached that duty
- Actual or proximate causation in the case
- Damages that you suffered as a result of this negligence
Already stressed about what this means? That’s understandable, but don’t worry: it just means that you should call a professional if you want to win against a company like UPS. Given the number of annual accidents, and the size of the company as a whole, UPS has the power and experience to strongly defend themselves against any individual claims in an accident. You need the experience to match, and that’s where Avrek Law comes in.
What to Do if You’re Involved in a UPS Truck Accident
The complexities and differences in state law make navigating a car accident with a UPS truck difficult. If one day you find yourself in a situation where you’re forced to exclaim “a UPS truck hit my car!” you should get in touch with a professional for your case. Professional attorneys like the team at Avrek Law understand the subtleties of negligence, and can relieve you from the stress of fighting a large company like UPS on your own. Get a free consultation from Avrek Law today!
