Accidents and Insurance Involving Food Delivery Services

Many people have written about the liability issues, when you are in an accident involving a rideshare company, like Uber or Lyft. But rideshare companies don’t just carry passengers—they also carry goods, and especially food. Are the legal issues different, when you are injured by a rideshare company that is delivering food instead of delivering passengers?

One thing that is obviously different, is that there is no risk of you being injured while inside the rideshare, as the rideshare is not carrying passengers, just food. That means that, much like a normal car accident, you would have to be in another car, or a pedestrian.

Even More Dangerous Than Rideshares?

But in other ways, rideshare companies carrying food may be even more dangerous, because they are incentivized to get the food to its destination as quickly as possible. That speed element may not always be there, when transporting passengers.

In many cases, companies like Delivery Dudes or DoorDash, will pick up multiple orders from different locations, and they are all going to different destinations, and are expected to get there in a timely manner.

Adding to the speed element is the fact that often, the money that the drivers make on tips when delivering food, is less than what they would make delivering people. That means to make the same money, they have to make more deliveries in the same amount of time.

Serious Insurance Problems

When food delivery services do injure other people, their drivers are often surprised to find that their private insurance won’t pay for injuries that they cause to other people. They are provided insurance through the companies that they work for, but often only when they are on the way to pick up food (or whatever item they’re delivering) or while they’re delivering it. And some will only insure drivers one way (for example, only when they are delivering, not while they are picking up food).

And then there are coverage issues for when a driver is not picking up or delivering food—but is working, and waiting for an order or delivery to come in. Some companies insure drivers during this time while they are on the road, and some do not.

Insurance is not just a problem for the driver—it’s a problem for you, as the victim. That’s because an uninsured driver likely won’t have the means to provide you full compensation for your injuries. That’s why in many of these kinds of cases, insurance coverage is an important issue to consider.

Outside of Delivery Services

Many restaurants just do their own deliveries, using their own drivers, outside of the major delivery companies. This is different, as in most cases, the restaurant or store’s insurance policy will fully cover the drivers that they put on the road to do deliveries.

Call the Knoxville personal injury lawyers at Fox Farley Willis & Burnette, PLLC, today for a free consultation if you have been injured by a rideshare, or food delivery service.

Sources:

forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/delivery-drivers/

abc11.com/food-delivery-grubhub-doordash-car-accident/10333324/