More people and businesses than ever before are taking deliveries at their homes and businesses. While this is great for product availability and the economy, it also places delivery workers in situations where they may suffer injuries. Worse, the rise of gig economy deliveries creates muddled legal situations where it can be tough to determine who might be liable for injuries to a delivery person. California's legal framework often creates complex situations where multiple parties might be held liable.
Knowing who to seek damages from is an essential part of an injury case. Here is a closer look at delivery driver injuries and premises liability in California.
California Premises Liability
Liability under California law often falls on the owner of the premises where the delivery occurred. Property owners have a responsibility to maintain safe conditions for visitors, especially individuals they've invited to the property. By requesting a delivery, a property owner creates an invitation.
Property owners must perform reasonable inspections regularly to make sure their places are safe. For example, a homeowner should check the steps leading to their porch regularly for safety issues. Likewise, property owners have a duty to properly repair any damage found. Similarly, they need to remove known hazards.
Where this can get trickier is in common areas or public spaces. For example, local laws often determine who is liable for injuries on sidewalks. Likewise, a delivery person's location at the time of an injury in a space like a mall could dictate liability. The lease agreement for a mall shop likely establishes liability at a specific line where the store begins.
Notices and Knowledge
Anyone who has ever seen a "Wet Floor" sign has seen a notice. Even in the absence of a notice, the law presumes there's a reasonable amount of time before a property owner or their authorized agents ought to notice a problem. For example, a store owner can't simply say they ignored a spill for the better part of the day.
Common Dangers
Delivery drivers encounter an above-average number of dangers in the line of work. These include things like:
- Uneven or cracked surfaces, particularly sidewalks
- Poorly lit porches, walkways, steps, and stairwells
- Debris
- Wet or slippery floors
- Broken handrails and stairs
- Aggressive and unrestrained animals, especially dogs
Assigning Liability
The flip side of all of this is that owners often assume that delivery services cover drivers with workers' compensation insurance. Consequently, many feel they don't owe money for delivery driver injuries. Even if a delivery driver's employer is subject to workers' compensation laws, there are still many cases where the company's insurer has the right to reduce its costs by pursuing legal action against the owner of the premises.
Notably, commercial property owners tend to have heightened liability. They frequently see delivery people coming and going all day, especially in the age of gig work like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Delivery Service Liability
Liability may fall on the delivery service in several instances. Foremost, workers for traditional delivery services like UPS and FedEx almost always fall under workers' compensation rules. Secondly, the delivery service is liable for injuries arising from poor equipment and vehicle maintenance. If a delivery driver is using an unsafe hand truck, for example, then the company might be liable.
App Platform Liability
California assigns stricter liability to app platforms than most U.S. states do. App operators must carry a million dollars of coverage for each active driver. Legally, this is occupational accident insurance rather than workers' compensation. Also, the million-dollar limit creates situations where the app operator's coverage is insufficient for catastrophic injuries.
Comparative Negligence in California
One of the trickier aspects of injury law of any type in California is the state's unique view of shared liability. In most states, a target defendant must be more than 50% liable to owe anything in an injury case. However, California allows the assignment of partial liability to several distinct parties.
Consider the scenario where a gig worker suffers an injury and pursues a claim in excess of the operator's million-dollar maximum. The injured worker may also pursue a claim against the property for premises liability. They might say that the platform and the property owner are both partially responsible.
Be aware that workers' compensation law generally doesn't allow this sort of claim if the worker was justly compensated through their employer's policy. However, there are scenarios where third-party claims are still possible.
Notably, California's theory of contributory liability also means that a driver's responsibility may reduce the value of their claim. Distracted driving, ignoring safety protocols, trespassing on a property to make a delivery to an adjacent one, rushing unsafely, and general carelessness can also reduce compensation.
Steps to Take
A driver needs to document as much of what was known at the time of an injury as possible. This includes notifying the employer or platform of the incident in a timely fashion. Likewise, they should formally inform the property owner. Even if liable parties were personally present, you should still officially notify them in writing.
You also want to document the scene of the incident. Take pictures of obvious hazards. Likewise, take pictures of notices. Even if a notice was available, there might be obstructions reducing its readability.
Document all medical records and bills, too. Keep damaged clothing and equipment from the incident, if possible. Preserve records, especially any instructions from your boss or an app platform.
Statute of Limitations
For most workers' compensation claims in California, the statute of limitations is one year. If you end up filing a personal injury claim based on premises liability, the limit is likely two years. This means you have that much time from the date of the incident to formally notify the alleged at-fault party that they are subject to a claim. After that, the case can take as long as necessary.
Seek Compensation for Delivery Driver Injuries
You have a right to pursue compensation for your injuries while working as a delivery driver. However, the California system sometimes makes it hard to determine what sort of case to pursue. If you believe you have a case, contact an attorney right away.
