An ever-increasing number of Americans opt for e-Commerce as a more convenient and cheaper alternative to shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. It seems that soon there will be a point when we no longer need to leave our house, as we will be able to do everything with the help of your cellphone or laptop.

For now, it’s nothing more than distant future. The reality is that the ever-rising popularity of e-Commerce is driving up the demand for delivery trucks in Philadelphia and all across the United States. After all, someone’s got to transport those millions of items each year. Interestingly, the U.S. economy relies on delivery trucks to transport nearly 70 percent of all freight transported each year, with the revenue surpassing $700 billion annually.

Delivery truck accidents caused by unrealistic deadlines

One would think that the delivery service industry is one of the easiest ways to make money, but that’s a huge misconception. “In reality, delivery companies experience a shortage of truck drivers and are sued in thousands of personal injury lawsuits each year,” says our Philadelphia delivery truck accident attorney at Dan Doyle Law Group.

“Wait, who is suing delivery companies for injuries?” you may be thinking. The answer is: all those who get injured by delivery trucks on Pennsylvania roads and highways. As we have mentioned earlier, there is a shortage of truck drivers in the U.S., which prompts many delivery companies to set unrealistic deadlines for their drivers to deliver packages without delays.

As you can imagine, being under pressure, facing tight deadlines, and doing everything in a hurry to delivery items as fast as possible can make it extremely difficult to operate a truck safely. That’s why a large percentage of delivery truck accidents are caused by stressed out, fatigued, overworked, burned-out, drowsy, and angry delivery truck drivers.

Liability in a delivery truck accident

If you were involving in a delivery truck accident and you can prove that the truck driver failed to operate his or her truck safely in order to deliver items on time, you may be able to sue both the truck driver and his/her trucking company.

“The trucker’s employer can be held liable because the employer made its truck driver work in a stressful environment when facing unrealistic deadlines,” explains our experienced truck accident lawyer.

By imposing tight deadlines, the employer is basically encouraging his or her truck drivers to disobey traffic rules in order to deliver items to their customers’ doorstep as fast as possible. Other causes of delivery truck crashes include but are not limited to:

  • Driving above the speed limit
  • Failure to give up the right of way
  • Failure to engage the parking brake when stopping a vehicle to deliver a package
  • Following too closely
  • Getting distracted by the GPS system, text message, or anything else
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  • Running red lights
  • Falling asleep behind the wheel
  • Failure to signal a turn or lane change
  • Failure to operate a truck safely in bad road or weather conditions
  • Lack of training or supervision, and
  • Failure to properly load and secure packages in the delivery truck

Determining fault in a delivery truck accident is not an easy task, because multiple parties may share liability. That’s why you may want to discuss your case with a Philadelphia delivery truck crash lawyer from Dan Doyle Law Group. Call our offices to schedule a free consultation.