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Delivery truck accident lawyer: a complete guide

The logo on the side of the van is often the least reliable fact about your case. Some major carriers use their own employees driving their own vehicles, which makes liability straightforward. Others route last mile delivery through contractors, so the branded van that hit you may belong to a small company you have never heard of. Whether you can reach the household name behind it depends on control, and courts have gone both ways.

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By Michael Mangione, Legal Research Editor Last reviewed August 1, 2026 13 min read
The first question
Who employed the driver
Not whose logo was on the van. Those are frequently different companies, and only one of them may be reachable.
The legal test
Control
Courts look at who directed the work: the route, the schedule, the monitoring, the standards, the uniform.
The insurance surprise
Possibly $300,000
Where a fleet is entirely under 10,001 pounds, the federal floor is lower than the figure most people expect.
The evidence
Route and app data
Modern delivery generates detailed digital records of the route, the pace, and the driver's behavior. Briefly.

Key takeaways

  • The carriers are not structured alike. Some use employees driving company-owned vehicles, which makes ordinary vicarious liability straightforward. Others contract last mile delivery to independent businesses, which is designed to place a company between the driver and the brand.
  • Control is the question that decides it. Contract labels are not conclusive. Courts examine who actually directed the work, and in 2014 the Ninth Circuit held FedEx Ground drivers were employees under California law precisely because of the company's control.
  • Outcomes are genuinely split. Some courts have allowed claims against the brand to proceed and juries have found agency; others have held the brand too far removed. Anyone who tells you the answer is obvious has not read the cases.
  • The insurance can be thinner than in a big rig case. Where a for-hire fleet consists entirely of vehicles under 10,001 pounds, the federal minimum is $300,000 rather than $750,000.
Editorial content, not legal advice

This guide is written and reviewed by our editorial team to be accurate and current. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Company operating models are described from public reporting and court decisions and can change. Contractor liability law is actively developing and differs by state, so confirm the current position with a licensed attorney. If you are facing an emergency, call 911.

The money behind a delivery van

People assume a commercial vehicle means deep insurance. For lighter delivery fleets the federal floor is materially lower, which is one more reason identifying every reachable company matters.

$300k
is the federal minimum where a for-hire fleet consists entirely of vehicles under 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating.
$750k
is the general freight minimum once the vehicle is rated at 10,001 pounds or more.
2014
is when the Ninth Circuit held FedEx Ground drivers were employees under California law, not contractors.
Split
is the honest description of how courts have ruled on reaching the brand behind a contracted driver.

Federal minimum financial responsibility, by fleet weight

Minimum levels for for-hire carriers of general freight. The lower figure applies only where the carrier's entire fleet consists of vehicles under 10,001 pounds. These are floors, not limits, and a carrier may hold far more.

Vehicles 10,001 lb GVWR and over
$750k
Entire fleet under 10,001 lb GVWR
$300k

Source: 49 C.F.R. sections 387.9 and 387.303T(b)(1)(i), as summarized in FMCSA's January 2026 report to Congress, Table 1. Bar lengths are proportional to the amounts shown.

01 What this kind of lawyer does

Quick answer

A delivery truck accident lawyer works out who actually employed the driver, which is often not the company whose brand was on the vehicle, then builds the factual record needed to reach that brand as well: the contract, the route assignment, the performance monitoring, and the operating standards imposed on the contractor.

This is structurally different from a heavy truck case. Our truck accident guide covers tractor trailers, where the carrier is usually obvious and heavily regulated. Last mile delivery is a different world, with lighter vehicles, thinner minimum insurance, and corporate structures built to separate the brand from the road.

Identifying every entity. The driver, the contracting business that employed them, the vehicle's owner or lessor, and the national brand that set the route. These can be four separate companies.

Getting the digital record. Route assignments, scan data, telematics, and driver monitoring apps produce a detailed picture of the working day, and they are held by the brand rather than the contractor.

The gist

If you were hit by a branded van and have been told the driver was a contractor, that is the beginning of the analysis rather than the end of it. We can help you find a lawyer when the facts support it, and say so plainly when they do not.

Bottom line: establish who employed the driver, then establish who controlled the work. They are different questions and both matter.

Quick answer

A branded vehicle, a branded uniform, and a branded app do not establish that the driver worked for the brand. Several major carriers contract last mile delivery to independent businesses that own or lease the vans, employ the drivers, and carry their own insurance. The branding is real. The employment relationship behind it may not be what it appears.

This is the single most consequential thing to understand about a delivery truck accident claim, because it determines who is on the other side of the case and how much insurance is available.

What the insurer will say first

Expect an early position that the driver was an independent contractor and the brand has no liability. That is a legal argument, not a finding, and it is one the brand's own contracts and monitoring systems may undercut. It has succeeded in some courts and failed in others. What it should not do is end your enquiry, and it certainly should not be a reason to accept a small offer from a contractor's policy.

An open white delivery van loaded for a route
The structure
Branded outside. Contracted inside.

03 Do you need a lawyer?

Quick answer

Anyone injured by a delivery vehicle should speak to a delivery truck accident lawyer, and the reason is specific to these cases. Establishing that a national brand is answerable requires contracts, route data and monitoring records that only formal discovery reaches, and a contractor's minimum policy is frequently inadequate on its own.

Some situations resolve without litigation and a decent firm will tell you so. Here is a straightforward way to see which side of the line you are on.

Legal help almost certainly matters if

  • Anyone was injured seriously enough to need hospital care.
  • You have been told the driver worked for a contractor, not the brand.
  • The van was branded but the insurance details name a company you do not recognize.
  • A pedestrian or cyclist was hit, which is common in residential delivery.
  • An offer has been made that seems to reflect a small policy.

It may be simpler than you think if

  • There were no injuries and only minor vehicle damage.
  • The carrier's insurer has accepted responsibility in writing and paid in full.
  • Your costs are fully covered and nothing is being disputed.
  • You were not involved and suffered no loss.
Illustrative example

A cyclist is struck by a branded van reversing out of a residential driveway. The adjuster who calls represents a logistics company nobody has heard of, and offers a figure that turns out to be near its policy limit. Nobody has asked who set the route, who set the delivery quota, or who was monitoring the driver's behavior that morning.

Told the driver was a contractor? A private review can establish who else may be answerable.

You can start a free case review whenever you are ready. There is no cost, no obligation, and if your situation does not call for a lawyer we will tell you that directly.

04 How the carriers are structured

Quick answer

The major delivery operations use different models. Some employ their drivers directly and own the vehicles, which makes ordinary employer liability straightforward. Others contract routes to independent businesses. A third category uses gig drivers in personal vehicles. Which model applies changes both who you sue and what insurance responds.

The table below describes publicly documented operating models in general terms. Structures change, regional arrangements vary, and the only reliable answer in your case comes from the documents.

General operating models used by major delivery operations and what each means for liability
ModelHow it generally worksWhat it means for a claim
Direct employees, company vehiclesDrivers are employees of the carrier and drive vehicles it ownsThe most straightforward. Ordinary employer liability for an employee acting in the course of employment
Contracted delivery businessesIndependent companies employ the drivers and run branded routes under contractThe contractor is directly liable. Reaching the brand requires proving control or agency
Independent service providersSmall businesses own the vehicles, employ drivers, and contract for regional routesSame analysis. The contracting structure is the brand's answer to earlier misclassification litigation
Gig drivers, personal vehiclesIndividuals deliver in their own cars via an app, usually as contractorsPersonal auto policies may exclude commercial use, so which policy responds becomes a live question
Federal postal serviceFederal employees driving federal vehiclesA different route entirely. Claims proceed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires an administrative claim to the agency before any lawsuit, on its own timetable

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

That last row deserves emphasis. A crash involving a postal vehicle is not an ordinary negligence claim. It runs through a federal administrative process first, with its own strict deadlines, and missing that step can end the claim before a court ever sees it.

05 Reaching the brand: the control test

Quick answer

A contract label does not settle the question. Courts look at the reality of the working relationship, and above all at who had the right to control how the work was done. The more the brand dictated the route, the schedule, the pace, the appearance and the monitoring, the stronger the argument that it should answer for what happened on that route.

The evidence that matters is documentary and it sits with the brand rather than the contractor. That is why a case built only against the small logistics company usually stops short.

  • Route and sequence. Who determined where the driver went, in what order, and how long each stop should take.
  • Performance monitoring. Scorecards, telematics, and driver behavior apps that grade the contractor and the individual driver.
  • Standards and appearance. Uniform requirements, vehicle branding, training curricula and onboarding standards imposed by contract.
  • Economic reality. Whether the contractor could realistically work for anyone else, and who bore the business risk.
The leading decision
Control, not the contract label, decided it
Alexander v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., 765 F.3d 981 (9th Cir. 2014)

The Ninth Circuit held that FedEx Ground drivers in California were employees rather than independent contractors, notwithstanding agreements describing them otherwise, because of the company's pervasive control over how the work was performed. Alexander was an employment rights case rather than a personal injury case, so it does not decide vicarious liability directly. Its reasoning is nonetheless the standard reference point for the proposition that a contractor label does not survive contact with the facts where control is extensive. Read the opinion

A white delivery truck parked inside a distribution warehouse
The record
Routes, scans, scorecards. Held by the brand.

06 What the courts have actually done

Quick answer

The results are genuinely mixed. Some federal district courts have allowed claims against a national brand to proceed past dismissal on joint employer and agency theories, and at least one jury has found a brand vicariously liable for a contracted driver. Other courts have held the brand too far removed from the contractor to be liable. Any page telling you the outcome is settled is overstating it.

That uncertainty is not a reason to give up. It is a reason to build the factual record properly, because these cases turn on the specific degree of control shown in the documents rather than on a general rule.

  • Where claims have failed. Courts have dismissed claims where the brand was found to have contracted with a capable logistics company and left driver selection to it, reasoning that it was not the employer.
  • Where claims have advanced. Other courts have let joint employer and agency claims proceed where the alleged control over routing, monitoring and standards was pleaded in detail.
  • What juries have done. Trial reporting describes a South Carolina jury finding a national brand vicariously liable for a contracted delivery driver, with a substantial punitive award. Verdicts are fact-specific and are not precedent.
  • The practical lesson. The outcome tracks the quality of the evidence about control. That evidence has to be demanded early.
On the verdict figures you may see online

Large delivery verdicts circulate widely and are usually reported by the firms that won them. They are useful as evidence that these claims can succeed, and useless as a prediction of what any other case is worth. Verdicts are reduced on appeal, settled confidentially, or turn on facts that have nothing to do with your crash. Treat any specific figure you read, including any on this page, as illustration rather than valuation.

07 Why these vehicles crash differently

Quick answer

Delivery vehicles operate where people walk. They make constant stops, reverse in driveways and on residential streets, park in places that force pedestrians into traffic, and run against timed route targets. That combination produces a pattern of collisions with pedestrians, cyclists and parked traffic that looks nothing like highway trucking.

Understanding the pattern matters because it points at the evidence. A delivery truck accident that happens while reversing raises different questions from one on an arterial road, and the route data usually answers them.

  • Reversing and blind spots. Vans have limited rear visibility, and reversing in residential streets and driveways is a scenario these vehicles encounter constantly. Whether it caused your crash is a question the route and scan data usually answers.
  • Time pressure. Where stops per hour are measured and graded, the schedule itself becomes evidence about how the work was expected to be done.
  • Parking and door zones. Vans stopped in traffic lanes or bike lanes push cyclists and pedestrians into paths they would not otherwise take.
  • Fatigue at volume. Long routes with hundreds of stops produce a different kind of tiredness from long-distance driving, and it is less regulated.

08 What to do after the crash

Quick answer

Photograph the branding and every number on the vehicle, ask the driver who employs them and write down the answer, get medical attention the same day, decline recorded statements, and get preservation demands out within days so route, scan and monitoring data is held before it cycles.

The distinctive step is the second one. The answer to who employs you is frequently the whole case, and it is easiest to get at the roadside.

1

Photograph every marking

The brand, any smaller company name on the door or rear, the license plate, the fleet number, and any USDOT number. Contractors often display their own name in small type alongside the brand.

2

Ask who they work for

Politely, and write down exactly what is said. A driver who names a small company you have never heard of has just told you the structure of your case.

3

Get checked the same day

Go to an emergency room or urgent care even if you can walk away. Neck, back and head injuries frequently present hours later, and a same day record ties them to the crash.

4

Capture the scene and the stop

Where the van was parked, sightlines, whether it was reversing, and any packages or handheld scanner visible. Delivery context matters to how the crash is understood.

5

Decline recorded statements

You are not required to give one to any insurer for the other side, and there may be more than one insurer involved. Early statements get used to narrow the case to the contractor alone.

6

Get preservation demands out within days

To the contractor and to the brand, covering route assignments, scan and delivery timestamps, telematics, driver monitoring records, and the contract between them.

A delivery van parked at the curb in front of a building
Timing
Digital records cycle quickly.

09 Deadlines and vanishing data

Quick answer

The statute of limitations is set by state law and is commonly two years, though some states are shorter. Two earlier deadlines matter more here. Digital route and monitoring data is retained on commercial cycles that can be short, and a claim involving a postal vehicle must go through a federal administrative process with its own strict time limit.

The data point is the one people underestimate. Modern delivery generates an unusually complete record of the working day, and it is unusually perishable.

  1. Days 1 to 14

    Preservation demands should land

    To both the contractor and the brand. Until one arrives, ordinary retention schedules govern route, scan and telematics data.

  2. Weeks 1 to 12

    Digital records cycle

    Route assignments, delivery timestamps and driver monitoring data sit on commercial retention periods designed for operations, not litigation.

  3. Months 1 to 6

    Federal claims require an administrative step

    Where a postal vehicle is involved, a claim must be presented to the agency first, and no lawsuit is permitted until it is finally denied or six months pass without a decision. The figure stated on that claim caps the later lawsuit.

  4. Year 1 to 2

    The filing deadline arrives

    Two years is the most common period for an ordinary negligence claim. Once it passes a court will usually dismiss.

The federal route
You cannot sue until you have presented a claim and been refused
28 U.S.C. § 2675(a) and (b)

Where a federal employee was driving, subsection (a) provides that an action shall not be instituted upon a claim against the United States unless the claimant shall have first presented the claim to the appropriate Federal agency and his claim shall have been finally denied by the agency in writing and sent by certified or registered mail. It adds that if the agency does not make final disposition within six months, the claimant may at any time thereafter treat that as a final denial and proceed. Subsection (b) contains the trap: an action shall not be instituted for any sum in excess of the amount of the claim presented to the federal agency, except where a higher figure rests on newly discovered evidence or proof of intervening facts. In plain terms, the number written on the administrative claim caps what can later be sued for. Understating it early is very difficult to undo. Read section 2675

Bottom line: if a postal vehicle was involved, get advice immediately. The federal route has its own procedure and its own clock, and the figure put on the first form can cap everything that follows. For every other case, the data deadline arrives long before the court one.

10 How state law changes the answer

Quick answer

Whether a contractor label holds is largely a question of state law, and states differ considerably. California applies a strict statutory test that presumes employment. Other states apply traditional common law control factors. That single difference can decide whether the brand is in your case at all.

This is the variable that matters most on this page, so it is worth understanding what the strictest version looks like.

The strict end
California presumes employment unless all three parts are met
Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018), codified by Assembly Bill 5 (2019)

Under the ABC test a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the hiring entity proves all three of the following: (A) the worker is free from the control and direction of the company in performing the work; (B) the worker performs work outside the usual course of the company's business; and (C) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade or occupation. Part B is the difficult one for a delivery business, because delivering parcels is not outside the usual course of a parcel delivery company. Where this test applies, a contractor label is far harder to sustain.

  • Common law control states. Most states weigh a list of factors rather than applying a presumption, which makes the documentary record about routing and monitoring decisive.
  • Admission of agency. In some states, once a company admits its driver was acting in its service, separate negligent hiring claims are barred, which can keep the wider record from a jury.
  • Shared fault. Most states reduce recovery by your share. A minority bar it entirely once that share crosses a threshold.
A white van traveling along a winding road
Choosing counsel
Ask who they intend to sue, and why.

11 How to choose a delivery truck accident lawyer

Quick answer

Look for a firm that asks who employed the driver in the first conversation, knows the difference between the operating models, sends preservation demands to the brand as well as the contractor, understands your state's classification test, and puts contingency terms in writing.

The clearest test is whether they treat the contractor answer as an obstacle or as an answer. A firm that accepts it and starts negotiating with the small policy has already limited your case.

  • They ask who employed the driver. Immediately, and separately from asking whose logo was on the van.
  • They demand the digital record. Route assignments, scan data, telematics and monitoring reports, from the brand.
  • They know your state's test. Whether a statutory presumption applies or a common law factor analysis governs.
  • Capacity to litigate against a large defendant. These cases are defended seriously and settle late.
  • An active, clean license. Verified good standing with the state bar and no unresolved discipline. You can check this yourself.

12 Questions to ask, and red flags

Quick answer

Ask who employed the driver, whether the brand can be brought in and on what theory, what preservation demands go out and to whom, what your state's classification test is, how many policies may respond, and exactly what the fee agreement says about costs if you lose.

A consultation goes both ways. Pay attention to whether the answers are specific or evasive.

  1. Who actually employed the driver, and have you confirmed it?
  2. Can we bring in the national brand, and on what legal theory?
  3. What preservation demands go out this week, and to which companies?
  4. Does my state use a statutory presumption of employment or a control factor test?
  5. How many insurance policies might respond to this crash?
  6. Was a postal vehicle involved, and if so what is the federal procedure?
  7. What is your contingency percentage, and who pays costs if we lose?
  8. What are the genuine weaknesses in my case?
Walk away if you hear

The driver was a contractor, so that is that. That is the defense position, not a legal conclusion. No plan to demand route or monitoring data. It is the evidence the control argument is built from, and it cycles. A promised number. Nobody can value this before knowing which companies are in. Pressure to settle with the contractor's insurer. That release may close the door on the brand. Anyone who contacts you first. Unsolicited approaches to crash victims are restricted in most states for good reason.

How we vet every lawyer

We do not connect people with just anyone. Before we do, the attorney has to clear a checklist built for commercial vehicle cases. Every one of these has to be true.

  • Active, discipline-free license

    Verified good standing with the state bar, with no unresolved discipline on record.

  • Commercial vehicle experience

    A documented record litigating against carriers and their insurers, not general practice work.

  • Moves fast on digital evidence

    Preservation demands to every entity involved, covering route and monitoring data, as a first step.

  • Clear contingency terms

    Fees and case costs put in writing up front, so you know exactly how it works before signing.

Tell us what happened and we will only match you when a case genuinely fits.

Go deeper

Three companion guides covering the two largest delivery operations and how commercial recoveries are valued.

By carrier

Amazon delivery crashes

The contracted delivery model and what it takes to reach the parent company.

Read more By carrier

FedEx delivery crashes

Employees, contracted operators, and why the distinction changes the claim.

Read more Settlements

Settlement amounts

How layered commercial policies translate into what a case resolves for.

Read more

Help in all 50 states

MVA Lawyer Network is a nationwide guide. Wherever the crash happened, we can connect you with an independent attorney licensed in that state.

Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West Coast Mountain West Gulf States Dense urban delivery markets

State law decides whether a contractor label survives, whether a statutory presumption of employment applies, what happens when a company admits its driver was acting in its service, and the filing deadline known as the statute of limitations. Because national delivery brands are incorporated elsewhere and contracts often specify a forum, which state's law governs is a genuine question. You can start a free case review and a local, state-licensed attorney will sort this out at no cost to you.

Sources and authorities

Legal propositions on this page are sourced to the decided case or the statute. Descriptions of company operating models come from public reporting and from court decisions, and are given in general terms because those structures change.

Court decisions

  • Alexander v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., 765 F.3d 981 (9th Cir. 2014), holding that FedEx Ground drivers in California were employees rather than independent contractors given the company's control over the manner of their work. Justia.
  • Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018), establishing the ABC test in California, subsequently codified by Assembly Bill 5 (2019).

Federal statute and procedure

  • 28 U.S.C. section 2675(a), disposition by federal agency as prerequisite: no action may be instituted against the United States unless the claimant has first presented the claim to the appropriate federal agency and it has been finally denied in writing, with failure to dispose of a claim within six months deemed a denial at the claimant's option. Office of the Law Revision Counsel.
  • 28 U.S.C. section 2675(b), providing that an action shall not be instituted for any sum in excess of the amount of the claim presented to the federal agency, except where the increased amount rests on newly discovered evidence not reasonably discoverable at the time of presentation, or on allegation and proof of intervening facts. Cornell Legal Information Institute.

Federal regulations

  • 49 C.F.R. section 387.9 and section 387.303T(b)(1)(i), minimum levels of financial responsibility, including the $300,000 level applicable where a for-hire general freight carrier's entire fleet consists of vehicles under 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, as summarized in FMCSA's report to Congress of January 2026 at Table 1. eCFR.

A note on how company structures are described. This page describes operating models in general terms and does not assert what any particular company's arrangements are today. Those arrangements differ by region, change over time, and are the subject of active litigation. Nothing here should be read as a statement that any named business is liable for anything. The only reliable account of the structure behind your crash comes from the contracts and records obtained in your own case.

A note on the case law. The decisions summarized in section 06 are described in general terms rather than cited individually, because the district court rulings in this area are numerous, unevenly reported, and frequently procedural rather than final. Alexander is cited because it is an appellate decision squarely on the control question, but it is an employment case and does not itself decide vicarious liability for a crash. Ask a licensed attorney how the courts in your state have handled the issue.

Our editorial standards

How we keep this guide accurate and worth trusting.

01

Primary sources only

Legal claims cite the decided case or the regulation itself, not another firm's summary of it.

02

Reviewed and dated

The page shows when it was last reviewed. Contractor liability law is moving quickly and this page is checked often.

03

Editorial, not legal advice

This is general information to help you make decisions, not advice about a specific case in a specific state.

04

Honest about how we operate

We are an independent referral service, not a law firm, and we may be paid a referral fee by the attorney if you hire through us.

Michael Mangione, Legal Research Editor
Michael Mangione Verified editor
Legal Research Editor · Founder, The Mangione Group, Inc.

MVA Lawyer Network is edited by Michael Mangione, who has spent more than twelve years working inside contingency-based law firms, building intake departments, designing qualification frameworks, and studying how claims are screened and pursued from the first call through resolution. He built this site to turn dense legal material into guidance people can actually use, then connect them with a lawyer worth their time. Michael is not a practicing attorney and does not give legal advice. Every statement on this site is sourced to primary authority, and independent attorneys handle the legal work.

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Common questions, answered

General information, not legal advice. Because these rules are set state by state, talk to a licensed attorney about your own situation.

Can I sue the company whose logo was on the van?

Sometimes, and it depends on control rather than branding. Where the brand employs the driver and owns the vehicle, ordinary employer liability applies. Where delivery is contracted out, reaching the brand means showing it directed the work: the route, the schedule, the monitoring, the standards. Courts have gone both ways on that question, so the answer turns on the evidence in your specific case.

The driver said they work for a company I have never heard of. What does that mean?

It means the branded van is very likely being operated by a contracted delivery business that employs the driver and carries its own insurance. That company is directly liable. Whether the national brand can also be brought in is a separate question, and it is the one that usually determines how much insurance is available. Write down exactly what the driver told you.

What is the control test?

It is the analysis courts use to decide whether a worker is genuinely independent or effectively an employee. The label in a contract is not conclusive. What matters is who had the right to control how the work was done. In 2014 the Ninth Circuit held in Alexander v. FedEx Ground that drivers were employees under California law because of the company's pervasive control, despite agreements saying otherwise.

Does it matter which state I am in?

Considerably. California applies a statutory ABC test presuming employment unless the company proves all three parts, including that the work is outside its usual course of business, which is difficult for a delivery company to establish. Most states instead weigh common law control factors. That difference can decide whether the national brand is a defendant at all.

How much insurance does a delivery van carry?

Possibly less than you expect. The federal minimum for a for-hire carrier of general freight is $750,000, but where the carrier's entire fleet consists of vehicles under 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, the figure is $300,000. Many delivery vans fall under that weight. Contractors may carry more, and the brand may have its own coverage, but the floor itself is low.

What evidence matters most in these cases?

The digital record of the working day. Route assignments, delivery scan timestamps, telematics, and driver behavior monitoring show who set the pace and who was watching. That material generally sits with the national brand rather than the contractor, which is why preservation demands need to go to both, and quickly, since commercial retention periods are not designed around litigation.

I was hit by a postal vehicle. Is that different?

Yes, substantially. Postal drivers are federal employees, so a claim proceeds under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Under 28 U.S.C. section 2675(a) you cannot sue until you have presented a claim to the agency and it has been finally denied in writing, or six months have passed without a decision. Subsection (b) then caps any lawsuit at the amount stated in that administrative claim, subject to narrow exceptions. A separate statutory period governs how long you have to present it in the first place. Get advice quickly, because these are hard requirements rather than formalities.

What if the driver was using their own car?

Then which policy responds becomes the first question. Personal auto policies commonly exclude commercial use, and the platform's own coverage may depend on what stage of a delivery the driver was in at the moment of the crash. These cases frequently involve arguments between insurers about whose policy applies, which is a good reason not to accept the first position you are given.

Are delivery vans more dangerous to pedestrians?

They operate where pedestrians are, which changes the risk profile. Constant stops, reversing in residential streets and driveways, limited rear visibility, and parking that pushes people into traffic all produce a pattern of pedestrian and cyclist collisions that looks very different from highway trucking. Route data often establishes what the driver was doing at the moment it happened.

Should I accept an offer from the contractor's insurer?

Not without advice. A release given to the contractor may close off claims against the national brand and anyone else. Where injuries are serious, an early offer near a small policy limit is often the moment most of the available compensation is quietly lost. Have someone establish which companies are reachable before signing anything.

What does a lawyer cost?

These cases are handled on a contingency fee, commonly 33 to 40 percent of what is recovered, set out in the written agreement. You pay nothing up front and no hourly rate, and the firm advances case costs. Ask specifically what happens to those advanced costs if the case is lost, because firms differ, and ask whether they have litigated against a national defendant before.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

The statute of limitations is set by state law and is commonly two years, though some states are shorter and a federal claim involving a postal vehicle has its own earlier administrative deadline. The practical deadline is earlier still, because route and monitoring data sits on commercial retention cycles that can be measured in weeks.

Is what I tell you private?

Yes. What you share in a case review is kept private and is used only to match you with an attorney who fits your situation. One distinction is worth understanding: true legal confidentiality, called attorney-client privilege, only attaches once you actually have an attorney-client relationship with a lawyer. Submitting a form to a referral service is not the same thing. If that matters to you, raise it directly with the attorney.

What does it cost to use MVA Lawyer Network?

Nothing. We are a free, independent referral service, not a law firm, and we do not give legal advice. Requesting a case review costs you nothing and puts you under no obligation. When a situation fits, we connect you with an independent delivery truck accident lawyer who reviews it directly, and we may be paid a referral fee by that attorney. That fee does not add anything on top of their contingency percentage. You can read more about how we operate.

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