Michigan FedEx Truck Accident Lawyer
When you have been injured in a FedEx truck accident in Michigan, one of the most important things you can do is to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer who will know how to hold FedEx fully responsible, even when FedEx tries to dodge accountability for the crash by claiming its driver is an independent contractor and not an employee.
This is a defense tactic that our Michigan FedEx truck accident lawyers have come across often and that a lot of trucking companies, not just FedEx, are using today to try to get out of having to pay for the injuries caused and lives lost as a result of the negligence committed by the drivers who these trucking companies have entrusted their semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers and commercial vehicles. But if you have hired a Michigan lawyer who is not familiar and experienced with FedEx truck accident cases, including this latest defense tactic, it could cost you.
The law states that employers are liable for the negligent acts of their employees. That means companies like FedEx who have tried repeatedly to circumvent this by claiming that their drivers are independent contractors, not employees, are using a tactic in an attempt to avoid taking full responsibility for a crash that its employee causes.
Having a Michigan FedEx truck accident lawyer who knows how to cut through FedEx’s smoke and mirrors and get to the truth is essential for you and your family after a crash.
To find out what your case, may be worth, please check out our Settlement Calculator.
FedEx truck accident statistics
FedEx truck accident statistics show that FedEx Ground was involved in 2,763 crashes in the U.S. that were reported to the FMCSA in the last two years. That total includes 76 fatal truck accidents and 899 injury crashes.
Inspections during the last two years rendered 2,058 vehicles and 411 drivers “out of service.”
Additionally, FedEx Ground has amassed 3,476 “driver inspections with unsafe driving violations” over that same period of time.
There are no current statistics for the state of Michigan at the time of this writing.
(Source: FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration), SAFER System; Company Snapshot for FedEx Ground Package System Inc, USDOT #265752; SMS Results, BASIC, “Unsafe Driving”)
FedEx truck accidents caused by employees, not contractors
One tactic our Michigan FedEx truck accident lawyers have noted FedEx do to avoid or limit its liability for a crash is to intentionally misclassify its drivers as “independent contractors” even though they are clearly “employees.” If successful, FedEx could avoid liability under a “respondeat superior” theory.
Under the legal doctrine known as “respondeat superior,” an employer is liable for its employee’s negligence that occurs within the scope of the employee’s employment. However, the respondeat superior doctrine does not apply if the negligent actor is an “independent contractor” rather than an employee.
An experienced Michigan FedEx truck accident lawyer will know that several federal Courts of Appeals and several state supreme courts have ruled against FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., on this issue, ruling that FedEx’s drivers in those cases were “employees,” not “independent contractors.”
Types of FedEx truck crashes
The different types of Michigan FedEx truck accident cases our lawyers have worked on include: (1) rear-end collisions; (2) head-on crashes; (3) broadside crashes; (4) a jack-knifed tractor-trailer; (5) roll over wrecks; and (6) underride crashes (where a passenger vehicle slides underneath a truck’s trailer); and (7) left turn crashes.
What causes a FedEx truck crash?
One of the most common causes of Michigan FedEx truck accidents our lawyers found is driver error. But, ultimately, the non-delegable duty to safely train, supervise, and monitor their drivers rests with FedEx as it does with all commercial motor carriers.
Crashes resulting from driver error usually also involve a larger failure in FedEx’s safety management system.
Other common causes of a Michigan FedEx truck accident that our lawyers found include: (1) negligent hiring of unsafe and unqualified drivers; (2) drivers operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs and/or prescription medication; (3) dangerous out-of-service-trucks caused by improper maintenance; (4) truck driver fatigue due to hours-of-service violations; (5) distracted driving; (6) violating traffic laws; (7) speeding; (8) failing to yield; (9) improper lane usage; and (10) shifting of negligently loaded cargo and freight.
Pain and suffering compensation
When you have been seriously injured in a FedEx truck accident in Michigan, an experienced lawyer may be able to recover pain and suffering compensation and other economic damages from FedEx, the at-fault truck driver and any other responsible parties.
Wrongful death lawsuit
If you have lost a loved one in a FedEx truck accident in Michigan, you and your family along with an experienced lawyer may be able to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against FedEx, the at-fault truck driver and other responsible parties.
A Michigan wrongful death lawsuit after allows you and your family to recover damages for: (1) medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses; (2) pain and suffering compensation; and (3) loss of the deceased’s financial support, society and companionship.
Who can you sue for a FedEx truck accident?
An experienced Michigan FedEx truck accident lawyer will help you determine which of the following parties you may be able to sue after a crash: (1) FedEx; (2) the truck driver who caused the crash; (3) the maintenance company; (4) the trailer owner, if separate from FedEx; and (5) the truck manufacturer.
Settlement and compensation
Your settlement in a case will, as with any personal injury case, partly depend on how much liability insurance coverage the driver and FedEx are carrying on the truck involved in your crash.
Federal law requires interstate trucks to have a minimum of $750,000 to cover bodily injury and property damage. Our lawyers have had many cases representing people injured in truck accidents by FedEx vehicles in Michigan, and we know that FedEx has an insurance tower that is considerably higher than the federal minimum of insurance.
Other factors that may affect the amount of your settlement after include: (1) your injuries; (2) your crash-related medical needs (present and future); (3) whether and for how long your injuries will disable you from working; and (4) your attorney’s experience and track record.
About No-Fault benefits
When you have been injured in a FedEx truck accident in Michigan, you are entitled to collect No-Fault PIP benefits from the responsible auto insurance company to help pay for your medical bills, lost wages, transportation costs for medical appointments, and attendant care services.
To protect your right to recover No-Fault benefits, you must file an application for No-Fault benefits with the responsible auto insurance company within one (1) year after your crash. (MCL 500.3145(1) and (4))
Generally, a person’s own auto insurance company will be responsible for paying the person’s No-Fault benefits. However, if the person doesn’t have his or her own policy, then benefits may be paid through the policy of a spouse or relative who lives in the same home. If no coverage is available through those sources, then a person will need to apply for No-Fault benefits through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan.
If you do not file your application on time, then the auto insurance company will use this to deny your claim and refuse to pay any and all of the No-Fault benefits you would have otherwise been legally entitled to. A Michigan fedex truck accident lawyer can help you make sure this doesn’t happen to you.
Injured in a Michigan FedEx truck accident and need a lawyer? Call now!
If you are injured in a Michigan FedEx truck accident call now (800) 968-1001 for a free consultation with one of our experienced truck accident lawyers. There is no cost or obligation. You can also visit our contact page or use the chat feature on our website. Our attorneys can discuss your legal rights to sue for pain and suffering compensation, economic damages and No-Fault benefits.
Michigan Auto Law specializes in truck crash cases and receives referrals from lawyers all over Michigan and the U.S. Michigan Auto Law attorneys have spoken at nearly 300 seminars and legal education programs throughout the country, educating other personal injury lawyers on how to handle trucking cases. Attorney Steven Gursten is a past-president of the American Association for Justice’s Truck Accident Litigation Group and has been voted into the Truck Accident Lawyer Hall of Fame, one of only three trucking lawyers in the entire country to have won this award. Michigan Auto Law is also the only law firm in Michigan that has national board certification in truck accident law.
Our law firm has an extensive record of success, including recovering the highest recorded truck accident jury verdicts and settlements over multiple years, according to year-end compilations of settlements and trial verdicts by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. These include:
- $34.5 Million – A Michigan Auto Law attorney and his team secured the largest-reported tractor-trailer crash settlement in the U.S. for the year of this crash. It is the largest truck settlement to date by any Michigan attorney or law firm. The defense’s “final offer” before trial was $14 million. The case settled for $34.5 million in trial.
- $14.3 Million – Our attorneys won this truck accident verdict in Clinton County in a case involving a traumatic brain injury, extensive economic damages and loss of consortium. The defense’s final pre-trial settlement offer was $25,000. This was the largest-reported motor vehicle trial verdict in Michigan for that year.
- $13.5 Million – Our attorneys settled a case for a victim in a car vs. tractor trailer crash who suffered major burn injuries.
- $10.5 Million Truck Crash Settlement – A Michigan Auto Law attorney obtained this recovery for a woman who was seriously injured when a truck crashed into her vehicle.
- $9 Million – Our attorneys obtained this recovery for a man who lost both of his legs in a rear-end collision. This was the largest pain and suffering trucking settlement of the preceding decade for a rear-end crash in the state. The insurance company for the trucking company attempted to settle this case for $1 million with the client’s previous attorney, who had urged the client to take this offer before a Michigan Auto Law attorney got involved in the case.
- $6.2 million – This confidential out of state trucking death case was settled by a Michigan Auto Law attorney who was brought in to try the case by another attorney after the insurance company made a “final” offer of $1 million dollars to the widow of the man who was killed.
For more than 50 years, our Michigan truck accident lawyers have been helping people like you who have been injured or lost loved ones in FedEx crashes. A Michigan fedex truck accident lawyer from Michigan Auto Law understands the physical, emotional and psychological hardships you are experiencing. We can help.
