UPS Truck Accidents

Chicago Lawyers Helping Victims Bring Trucking Injury Claims

The United Parcel Service (UPS) delivers millions of packages each day to many countries. Much of their operation is performed by people who pick up and drop off packages in UPS trucks. These drivers spend long hours on the road and may be tired or distracted as they go about their day. Like other drivers, they may cause accidents that cause catastrophic injuries or death to other people on the road, whether they are pedestrians, motorcyclists, or other drivers. If you are injured in a UPS truck accident, you may be able to recover damages. It is important to consult a Chicago truck accident lawyer to determine your options.

Issues Related to UPS Truck Accidents

UPS’ primary business is delivering packages and documents by a certain time. It employs hundreds of thousands of clerks, package handlers, and drivers. UPS trucks can be difficult to operate, and drivers are under immense time pressure to deliver packages quickly. UPS drivers may cause or contribute to an accident by making sudden stops, failing to yield to traffic, backing up a truck too quickly, or making quick turns.

If you are injured and believe that it was a UPS driver’s fault, you will likely need to establish negligence. This means showing that the UPS driver owed you a duty, the UPS driver breached this duty, causation, and actual damages. For example, if a UPS driver backed up quickly into you after passing an address to which he was delivering a package because he was talking on his cell phone, you would likely be able to establish his negligence. Similarly, if he rolled through a stop sign and T-boned your car, your lawyer would likely be able to show his negligence.

However, it can also be important to examine a truck accident to determine whether anything else contributed to the accident. In some cases, UPS may bear responsibility for the crash. When a UPS driver’s negligence in the scope of employment injured somebody on the road, UPS may be held vicariously (indirectly) liable. This means that you would need to show not only the employee’s negligence but also that it occurred while they were on the job. If, for example, he was running a personal errand at the time of the accident, you may not be able to show vicarious liability.

UPS and its drivers must follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations, which are mandatory requirements that all commercial truck drivers and trucking companies must follow, including drug and alcohol prevention programs, repair and maintenance requirements for trucks, driver training requirements, and mandatory driver recordings for hours of service. If a trucking company fails to meet its obligations under the FMCSA, and this failure causes an accident, the trucking company may be held directly liable for the accident.

A trucking company can be held liable for negligent hiring and negligent training. FMCSA violations can be strong evidence to support these theories. For example, if a UPS driver has a history of DUIs that would have been uncovered through a background check, but UPS did not conduct the background check, and later the UPS driver got into an accident, there would be a strong case for negligent hiring.

Injuries can include broken bones, amputations, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and burns. The damages that you can recover if you are able to establish liability will depend on the extent and severity of your injuries. Damages may include wage loss, medical bills, and pain and suffering.

Retain a Knowledgeable Truck Crash Lawyer in the Chicago Area

If you are injured as a result of a UPS truck accident in Chicago, you should consult a skillful and aggressive personal injury attorney. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent accident victims in Chicago, Champaign, Quincy, Aurora, Rockford, and Springfield, as well as other cities in Cook, Adams, Sangamon, Champaign, Winnebago, and Kane Counties. You can call us at 312-724-5846 for a free consultation.