Recently, more and more reports have been published pointing out the high risk of injury that the men and women who deliver Amazon packages face. Now, the Denver Post has shined a light on yet another wrinkle in this story: the particularly high risk of harm faced by new Amazon delivery drivers, including from slip-and-fall injuries, dog-bite injuries and muscle strain injuries. If you are (or were) an Amazon delivery driver and got hurt on (or as a result of) the job, you should waste no time in contacting an experienced Chicago injury attorney about your legal options.
New employees in any field tend to be the most likely to suffer on-the-job injuries. One workers’ compensation insurer reported to the Post that, generally, 41% of the claims it receives involve a worker in his/her first year at that job. For delivery drivers generally, that number is higher, at 58%. For the contractors who deliver Amazon packages, that number was much, much higher… standing at 93%!
Those workers’ compensation claims reflected that Amazon package deliverers were most likely to injure their ankles, followed by knees, lower backs, heads and then feet, according to the Post.
Of course, on top of the hazards posed by icy sidewalks and aggressive dogs, deliverers of Amazon packages faced an additional threat in 2020: Covid-19.
Here in Greater Chicago, Amazon often relies on local contractors to deliver its packages. If you are injured while working for one of these delivery companies, you should contact an attorney promptly. You may have a claim for workers’ compensation, and a knowledgeable legal advocate can be enormously valuable as you navigate the workers’ compensation system.
Additionally, you may have the opportunity to do more. Depending on the precise facts surrounding your injury, it may be that, even though Amazon was not your employer, Amazon nevertheless bears a degree of civil liability for the harm you suffered. If your legal team discovers proof that indicates that’s the case, you may be entitled to pursue a court claim against Amazon.
For example, the BuzzFeed News/ProPublica report indicated that Amazon’s internal GPS and navigational app, which guides deliverers of its packages, was sometimes prone to commanding drivers to make unsafe left turns or U-turns. If an injured driver had proof that the app fell short of reasonable safety standards and caused the driver to suffer an injury, that could be an example of a circumstance where Amazon itself might be liable.
If you’re an Amazon Flex delivery driver and you’ve been hurt on the job, don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you aren’t entitled to file a claim for benefits under Illinois’ Workers’ Compensation law… you are. Additionally, whether your case requires a workers’ compensation claim, a civil suit or both, count on a legal advocate with the experience you need. The knowledgeable workplace injury attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca have devoted many hours to investigating cases involving Amazon Flex driver injuries. Count on us to provide you with the skill, the determination, and the personalized service your case deserves. To set up a free case evaluation, contact us at 312-724-5846 or through our website.