What To Do if a FedEx Truck Hits Your Car in Alabama?

While it’s great to have companies like FedEx, UPS, Amazon, and DHL deliver packages to your doorstep, it’s another thing if delivery trucks cause injury accidents because drivers are hurrying to stay on schedule.  If you’ve been in a crash, you may wonder what to do if a FedEx truck hits your car in Alabama.

In the 24 months before December 7, 2021, FedEx drivers were involved in a total of 405 accidents, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.  This includes 10 fatal collisions and 159 crashes involving injuries. Of the 405 accidents, 236 required one or more vehicles to be towed.  FedEx employs more than 42,000 drivers who log over a billion miles a year on the road.

These statistics demonstrate that FedEx truck crashes are serious and can result in severe injury or death.  You may be entitled to financial compensation if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a crash with a FedEx or other delivery truck.

You don’t have to face mounting medical bills, time off work, and other setbacks all alone.  A skilled and experienced Alabama truck accident lawyer can fight for your rights.

Steps to Take after a FedEx Truck Hits Your Car

Car accidents and truck accidents resulting in injury must be taken seriously, even if you think you haven’t been badly hurt.  Sometimes severe symptoms arise hours or days later.  The most important thing to do immediately after a FedEx truck hits your car is to ensure your own safety and seek medical attention.  Following are seven steps to take if you’ve been injured in a vehicle accident:

1. Call 911 and ask for emergency vehicles and the police to respond right away.
2. Seek medical attention, whether riding in an ambulance to a hospital emergency room or seeing your family doctor within days of the accident. This not only ensures you get the medical treatment you need, but it also creates documentation and test results showing your injuries.
3. Get the name and delivery truck number of the driver who hit you.
4. Get the names and contact info of people who witnessed the accident so your attorney can interview them later.
5. Take pictures of the crash scene and your injuries with your cell phone, if you can.
6. Answer police officers’ questions accurately and succinctly, but do not elaborate or try to explain things in greater detail.  And do not acknowledge fault for the accident.
7. Hire a personal injury attorney to represent you.

The actions you take following an accident with a FedEx truck can help your attorney make your case for damages.

Potential Injuries If You’re Hit by a FedEx Truck

Delivery drivers have strict schedules and delivery quotas every day, which can cause them to hurry and sometimes cut corners.  Drivers who are more concerned with speed than safety can cause accidents.  Following are some common injuries suffered in delivery crashes:

• Concussions
• TBI
• Neck and back injuries
• Broken bones
• Burns
• Internal bleeding
• Cuts, bruises and lacerations
• Neurological injuries
• Organ damage
• Paralysis
• PTSD
• Wrongful death.

In 2019, there were 11,243 truck accidents on Alabama roadways involving all kinds of trucks.  That year, a person was injured in a traffic accident every 11 minutes and 19 seconds in Alabama.

Many different things can cause delivery truck accidents. Some of these are:

• Driver fatigue
• Speeding
• Texting while driving
• Distracted driving
• Driver impairment due to alcohol or drugs
• Delivery trucks with manufacturer defects
• Poorly maintained delivery vehicles
• Roadways with potholes, debris, and missing traffic lights and signs.

What Happens When a FedEx Driver Hits Your Car?

When a FedEx driver hits your car and you suffer damages, you should hire an attorney to notify them that you are seeking compensation. This notification serves as the starting point for settlement negotiations.

The strength of your case is based on your lawyer’s ability to show that the driver was careless or took actions without regard to your safety. There are several steps to building a successful case.

Things Your Lawyer Must Prove to Win Your Case

To make your case for damages, your attorney must show that four elements of negligence existed in your FedEx truck accident case. These elements include the following:

Duty – The driver owed you a duty of care.

Breach – The driver breached that duty.

Cause – The breach of duty caused your accident.

Damages – The accident led to your injuries and other losses.

In addition to proving negligence, Alabama has another bar to reach to collect damages in your FedEx truck accident case. The state uses a contributory negligence standard to determine whether you can collect compensation. You cannot collect damages if you are even 1% responsible for your accident. Only a handful of states use this very high standard.

Insurance companies will fight to prove that you are partly responsible for your damages to avoid paying a claim. It is very important that you do not talk to them without an attorney present, as they may try to twist your words to find the 1% of your blame they need.

Steps Your Lawyer Will Take to Prove Your Case

To overcome the high standards set in Alabama to collect damages, your attorney must work tirelessly to prove your case. Some of the things an experienced lawyer will do include the following:

• Evaluate the damages you have suffered because of the accident and determine what your case should be worth
• Prepare a “demand letter” that states what compensation you are seeking from FedEx or their insurance company
• Find all responsible parties and possible defendants
• Interview witnesses, police, and first responders
• Gather evidence, such as videos from traffic cameras
• Obtain police and medical reports
• File all necessary paperwork
• Consult and hire expert witnesses
• Handle all correspondence and negotiate with insurance companies and other attorneys
• Take your case to court and litigate it in front of a judge or jury if necessary.

When determining what to do if a FedEx truck hits your car in Alabama, a skilled attorney will take all these steps and potentially more to overcome the high burden Alabama places on plaintiffs in personal injury cases.

What if a FedEx Truck Hit My Parked Car?

You still have a case for damages if your car was parked when the FedEx truck hit it. There would be a case for property and personal injury damages if someone in the car got hurt.

Take lots of pictures or video footage around all areas of your parked car. Pay particular attention to where your vehicle is situated in relation to the curb or marked parking areas. FedEx and their insurance company know that they only have to show that you were 1% responsible for your damages to avoid compensating you. If they can show that you were parked too far off the curb, that might be enough.

What Is the Statute of Limitations on Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Alabama?

The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Alabama is two years. This means if you want to sue a party that caused you harm in a FedEx delivery truck accident, you must file your lawsuit promptly.  The clock begins on the date of your accident in most cases, unless there are exceptions that apply.

What Happens When a FedEx Driver Hits Your Car and a Family Member Dies?

Your family’s trauma following a collision with a FedEx Truck is only made worse when a loved one dies at the scene or later in the hospital due to their injuries. You can file a wrongful death suit, but it will include damages treated differently than in Alabama personal injury cases or wrongful death cases in other states.

Alabama allows for compensatory economic and non-economic damages in personal injury cases. These are designed to make victims whole again.

The state only awards punitive damages in wrongful death cases as a way to focus on what the defendant did wrong. These damages are designed to punish the defendant for their negligent actions and deter other people from acting similarly in the future.

The statute of limitations on a wrongful death claim is two years from the date of death. When damages are awarded, they are shared among the heirs to the estate directly instead of becoming part of the estate. This helps protect the damages against collection from creditors.

Contact a FedEx Truck Accident Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a FedEx truck accident, you don’t have to face this tragedy alone.  The skilled and experienced attorneys at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana can assess your situation and determine if you may qualify for financial damages.

Our Alabama accident lawyers will hold FedEx accountable and aggressively go toe-to-toe with insurance companies to get the justice you deserve.  To find out more about how we can help, call us at (251) 444-7000.  The initial consultation is free, and we are prepared to fight for your legal rights.