As a leading auto accident attorney serving Sarasota and Bradenton at the law firm of Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh, I’ve seen a growing trend in recent years – more and more crashes involving delivery drivers. Whether it’s an Amazon Flex driver racing to drop off packages, a DoorDash driver speeding to deliver food while it’s hot, or even a traditional company like FedEx or UPS, the increase in delivery vehicles on Sarasota’s roads has led to a spike in serious accidents.
If you find yourself hit by a delivery driver, the aftermath can feel overwhelming. You’re not only dealing with the physical pain and emotional trauma of the accident itself, but also the exhausting task of handling insurance claims and legal issues against big corporations and their teams of adjusters and attorneys.
As someone who has helped countless Floridians in this exact situation, I want to share some key steps you should take to protect your health, your finances, and your legal rights after a delivery driver accident in Sarasota.
Prioritize Safety and Reporting at the Scene First and foremost
Make sure you and your passengers are safe. If anyone needs emergency medical attention, call 911 immediately. Even if injuries seem minor, it’s still wise to have a police officer respond to document the crash and facilitate information exchange.
Florida law requires reporting any crash involving injuries or significant property damage, so don’t let the delivery driver talk you out of calling the police. Be sure to tell the investigating officer that the other driver was working for a delivery service like Amazon or DoorDash at the time. This detail can impact insurance coverage and should be noted in the official accident report.
While you may feel shaken up, try to gather as much evidence as you safely can. Use your phone to photograph damage to the vehicles, the accident scene, and any visible injuries. Get contact and insurance information from the delivery driver, including which company they were delivering for when they hit you. If there are any witnesses, ask for their names and phone numbers as well.
Access Your PIP Benefits and Don’t Neglect Medical Care
As you may know, Florida is a no-fault insurance state. This means that regardless of who caused the accident, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is the first source of payment for your medical expenses and lost wages, up to your policy limits. By law, all Florida drivers must carry at least $10,000 in PIP coverage.
One critical rule to remember: you typically must seek initial medical treatment within 14 days of the accident to be eligible for PIP benefits. Even if you feel okay at first, it’s important to get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. Some common crash injuries, like whiplash or concussions, may not fully manifest for days or weeks after the impact.
Notify your auto insurer promptly to start the PIP claims process, but stick to the basic facts of the accident. Do not admit any fault or speculate about what happened. Your PIP coverage will pay 80% of your reasonably necessary medical expenses and 60% of your lost wages, up to $10,000. For many Sarasotans, PIP is just the beginning – which brings us to the complex issue of liability.
Understand the Liability Landscape: Delivery Company’s Insurance vs. Driver’s
In a typical car accident, you would look to the at-fault driver’s Bodily Injury Liability (BIL) coverage to pay for your damages beyond PIP. But delivery driver accidents introduce a wrinkle: there may be multiple insurance policies in play, depending on the driver’s employment situation and what they were doing at the moment of the crash.
Most major delivery companies, like Amazon Flex and DoorDash, provide substantial liability coverage for their drivers – but only when the driver is actively engaged in a delivery. For example, if you’re hit by an Amazon Flex driver who is on their way to drop off a package, Amazon provides up to $1 million in liability coverage. Similarly, DoorDash has a $1 million policy that kicks in from the time a driver accepts a food order until that delivery is complete.
However, if the delivery driver was between deliveries or had just logged into the app and was waiting for a gig, the company’s coverage may not apply. In these gray area situations, you may need to seek compensation from the driver’s personal auto insurance policy first. This can get tricky, as many personal policies have “business use” exclusions that might void coverage if the driver was working at the time.
If you’re hit by an Instacart driver, the situation is even more complex. Unlike Amazon or DoorDash, Instacart does not provide any supplemental liability insurance for its drivers. This means you may be solely reliant on the Instacart driver’s personal policy – which, as mentioned, might deny the claim due to the business use exclusion.
The employment status of the driver also matters. Many app-based drivers are classified as independent contractors, meaning you generally can’t sue the delivery company directly for the driver’s negligence (with some exceptions). However, if you’re hit by a traditional delivery truck driver who is classified as an employee (like many FedEx or UPS drivers), the company may be vicariously liable under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior.
Navigating Uninsured/Underinsured Situations and UM Coverage
So what happens if you’re hit by a delivery driver who is effectively uninsured or underinsured for the accident? Perhaps their personal auto policy denied coverage due to a business use exclusion, and the company they were delivering for either doesn’t provide any insurance (like Instacart) or their policy doesn’t apply to the specific situation.
This is where your own Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM) coverage becomes critical. If you have UM coverage, it steps in when the at-fault driver doesn’t have sufficient (or any) insurance to cover your damages. Your UM coverage will pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering up to your policy limits. In Florida, UM coverage is optional, but I always recommend my clients purchase it. It’s often the most important piece of your policy in a state like ours with so many uninsured and underinsured drivers.
If you don’t have UM, you may be forced to file a personal injury lawsuit directly against the uninsured delivery driver. While a court judgment in your favor can result in consequences for the driver (like suspended licenses), it can be difficult to collect substantial damages from an individual. That’s why UM coverage is so valuable – it pays you, then your insurer deals with pursuing the at-fault party for reimbursement.
Crossing the “Serious Injury” Threshold and Fighting for Full Compensation
One quirk of Florida’s no-fault system is that it sets a “serious injury” threshold for pursuing non-economic damages (like pain and suffering) from the at-fault party. To step outside the PIP system and seek these damages, your injuries must be significant and permanent. This could include loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury, significant scarring/disfigurement, or death.
As an experienced Sarasota auto accident attorney, one of my key roles is assessing whether a client’s injuries meet this threshold. We work with trusted medical experts to document the extent and permanence of crash-related conditions. If you do cross the threshold, we then pursue ALL available remedies to maximize your compensation. This includes negotiating with the delivery company’s insurer and, if necessary, filing a lawsuit to hold the driver and/or company accountable.
Throughout the process, we handle all the legal heavy lifting – dealing with the insurance companies, building your case, and advocating fiercely for your rights. We have the experience to stand up to big corporations and their legal teams. Perhaps most importantly, we make sure to pursue full compensation for all your damages: past and future medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost enjoyment of life. We don’t let the insurance companies get away with lowball offers that fail to account for the true impact this crash will have on your life.
Act Quickly and Reach Out to a Sarasota Delivery Accident Attorney Today
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a delivery driver in Sarasota or Bradenton, the most important piece of advice I can give you is this: act quickly and reach out to an experienced attorney as soon as possible. The legal landscape surrounding delivery accidents is complex, and the early days are critical for building your case.
At Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh, we’ve been fighting for accident victims in Sarasota for decades. We understand the nuances of Florida insurance law, we know how to investigate delivery accidents and prove liability, and we have the resources to go toe-to-toe with national companies and their insurers.
We offer free consultations and work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay us anything unless and until we secure compensation for you. If you’ve been hit by an Amazon Flex driver on Tamiami Trail, a DoorDash driver in Gulf Gate Estates, or any other delivery service in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, I encourage you to give us a call.
Together, we can navigate this challenging process and fight to get you the justice and financial recovery you deserve. Remember, you don’t have to face this alone – let our experience be your guide.
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