Food delivery apps, which have soared in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic, may have to cover costs related to accidents involving their delivery workers. According to a report in The New York Post, a law proposed by the City Council will require app companies such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub to cover a delivery driver’s out-of-pocket costs when it comes to medical care and property damage.
Implications of the Proposed Law
If passed, New York City would become the first city to require food delivery
companies to reimburse delivery workers when the workers incur costs due to an on-the-job accident. The bill won’t require the companies to provide commercial liability insurance because the state has purview over insurance matters. But, it would effectively force the companies to procure such policies.
As it stands, if a food app driver is involved in an accident while making a delivery, he or she is generally responsible for paying their medical bills and for fixing any damaged property. Also, if someone is struck by such a delivery worker, the victim often ends up paying for his or her medical care and property. Because these drivers/couriers are viewed as independent contractors, the delivery apps say they should not be held liable for these accidents.
But that would change if this proposed law is passed by the New York City Council and will shift at least some of the liability of a driver’s out-of-pocket costs to the delivery apps. Nearly half of all delivery workers in New York City report that they have been involved in accidents while they were on the job, according to a recent survey.
The latest bill would also extend to pedestrians who are struck by delivery workers —some of whom ride their bicycles or e-bikes. A recent study conducted by a Cornell University group called Los Deliveristas Unidos found that 49% of delivery workers reported having been in an accident while doing a delivery and 75% said they paid for their own medical care with personal funds.
This is an important law because it not only helps delivery workers most of whom work minimum wage jobs, but also other victims such as pedestrians who are injured by drivers for these food delivery apps. Such accidents have the potential to cause devastating or even fatal injuries. It is important that injured victims have a way to seek compensation for their tremendous losses in such cases.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident or bicycle accident, it is important that you contact a New York personal injury lawyer who can determine liability in your case and help secure maximum compensation for your losses. Injured victims of traffic accidents can seek compensation from at-fault parties for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families that have lost loved ones in pedestrian accidents can seek compensation for damages such as lost future income, medical and funeral costs, pain and suffering, etc.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle or e-scooter accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should remember that they can seek compensation for injuries or losses in collisions even if the victim was not walking in a marked crosswalk and even if the driver involved in collision was not charged. Our law firm recovered the full one million dollar insurance policy for a girl who was not in the crosswalk when a motor vehicle hit her.
For 50 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole.
We also obtained $295,000 in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens onto a bicyclist). Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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Source: https://nypost.com/2021/11/08/nyc-law-would-force-delivery-apps-to-cover-costs-of-driver-accidents/