St. Louis Delivery Truck Accident Attorney

How Our St. Louis Delivery Truck Accident Lawyers Can Assist

We handle every part of your legal case so you can focus on getting better. Our first step is to promptly send preservation letters to help ensure the delivery company preserves relevant evidence.

Here’s what we do for you:

• Immediate investigation: We secure electronic data before it’s destroyed
• Evidence collection: We gather police reports, witness statements, and surveillance footage
• Expert analysis: We work with accident reconstruction specialists to prove what happened
• Medical coordination: We help arrange treatment and handle insurance claims
• Insurance negotiations: We deal with corporate adjusters, so they can’t take advantage of you
• Trial preparation: We’re ready to go to court if they won’t offer a fair settlement

Delivery truck accidents are different from regular car crashes. These cases involve large corporations with teams of lawyers whose job is to pay you as little as possible. Our experienced St. Louis truck accident attorneys know how to fight back and win.

What Counts as a Delivery Truck in Missouri

A delivery truck is any commercial vehicle used to transport goods to customers. In Missouri, this includes step vans, box trucks, cargo vans, and sprinter vans that you see making deliveries every day.

Companies like UPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL, and the US Postal Service operate these vehicles.

Even smaller delivery vans are often much heavier than passenger cars.

Missouri law treats these as commercial vehicles, which means they must follow special safety rules. When drivers or companies break these rules, they can be held responsible for the crashes they cause.

Why Delivery Truck Crashes Happen in St. Louis

St. Louis creates unique dangers for delivery drivers. The city has narrow residential streets, frequent stops, and heavy traffic, which makes accidents more likely.

Delivery companies also put enormous pressure on drivers to meet impossible deadlines. This pressure leads to dangerous shortcuts that put everyone at risk.

Common Causes

The most frequent causes of delivery truck accidents include:

• Speeding to meet deadlines: Drivers rush through neighborhoods and highways to deliver packages on time
• Distracted driving: Looking at GPS devices and delivery scanners takes their eyes off the road
• Improper parking: Double-parking or stopping in traffic lanes creates sudden hazards
• Blind spot accidents: Large delivery trucks have huge blind spots that hide cars, pedestrians, and cyclists, causing dangerous accidents
• Driver fatigue: Long shifts without proper breaks result in preventable crashes
• Poor vehicle maintenance: Companies skip routine maintenance to save money, leading to brake failures and tire blowouts
• Inadequate training: Some companies rush new drivers onto the road without proper safety training
• Unsafe backing: Many crashes happen when drivers back up quickly without checking their surroundings

Evidence That Proves a Delivery Truck Claim

Proving your delivery truck accident claim requires specific evidence that can disappear within days. Delivery companies often delete or overwrite crucial electronic data to protect themselves from lawsuits.

The moment you hire our experienced St. Louis delivery truck accident lawyers, we send a legal preservation letter to the delivery company. This forces them to save all evidence related to your crash.

Key Evidence to Secure

The most crucial evidence in these cases includes:

Telematics data:

Electronic records showing the truck’s speed, braking, and location at the time of impact

GPS records:

Route history showing the driver’s behavior and stops before the accident

Electronic logging devices:

Records proving whether the driver was violating federal rest break rules

Dash cameras:

Forward-facing video that captures the moments before the collision

Side and rear cameras:

Footage covering blind spots that may show exactly what happened

Handheld scanner logs:

Timestamps revealing if the driver was distracted by work tasks

Maintenance records:

Documents showing whether the company ignored known safety problems

Driver files:

Employment records, including training history and past violations

Without this evidence, it becomes much harder to prove the delivery company was at fault for your injuries.

Who Is Liable in a Delivery Truck Accident in Missouri

Liability means legal responsibility for paying damages. In delivery truck accidents, multiple parties can be liable depending on what caused the crash.

Missouri is an at-fault state, which means the negligent party’s insurance must pay for your injuries. Our job is to identify everyone who shares blame for the accident.

Potentially liable parties include:

• The delivery driver: For direct negligence, like speeding or distracted driving
• The delivery company: For the driver’s actions or the company’s own negligence
• Vehicle owners: If the truck is owned by a separate company and leased out
• Maintenance providers: Third-party repair shops that did faulty work
• Cargo loaders: Workers are responsible for improperly loaded cargo that shifts and causes loss of control
• Parts manufacturers: Companies that made defective vehicle parts like brakes or tires

Respondeat superior and Negligent hiring

Respondeat superior is a legal rule that makes employers responsible for their employees’ actions at work. If a delivery driver causes a crash while making deliveries, their company can be held liable.

Negligent hiring is another way companies can be responsible. This happens when they hire drivers with bad driving records or fail to provide proper safety training.

Companies may also be liable for negligent supervision if they knew a driver was dangerous but kept them on the road anyway.

UPS, FedEx, Amazon, and USPS Claims in Missouri

Each major delivery company has different legal structures and claim procedures. As experienced delivery truck accident lawyers, we know how to handle claims against all of them.

UPS and FedEx are typically self-insured and employ their drivers directly. This makes it easier to prove liability, but their legal teams are aggressive in fighting claims.

Amazon uses a network of third-party Delivery Service Partners to try avoiding direct liability. They claim DSP drivers aren’t their employees, but we can often prove Amazon’s control makes them responsible.

USPS claims are the most complicated because they’re a federal agency. You must file under the Federal Tort Claims Act within two years, and there’s a special administrative process before you can sue.

What To Do After a Delivery Truck Accident

Your actions immediately after a delivery truck accident can make or break your case. Staying calm and documenting everything protects both your health and your legal rights.

Immediate Steps

Follow these steps right after the accident:

1. Call 911: Get police and medical help immediately, even for minor injuries
2. Seek medical care: Get examined by a doctor as soon as possible, even if you feel fine
3. Document everything: Take photos of vehicles, injuries, property damage, and the accident scene
4. Gather witness information: Get names and phone numbers from anyone who saw what happened
5. Avoid giving statements: Don’t talk to delivery company representatives or their insurance
6. Keep all paperwork: Save medical records, bills, police reports, and repair estimates
7. Call us immediately: We’ll start investigating and send preservation letters today

The delivery company will start building their defense within hours. You need experienced legal help just as quickly to protect your rights.

Can I Recover If I Am Blamed for the Crash

Yes, you can still recover compensation even if you’re partially blamed for the accident. Missouri follows a “pure comparative fault” rule that allows you to seek damages no matter how much fault you share.

Your final compensation gets reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you have $100,000 in damages but are found 45% at fault, you can still recover $55,000.

Delivery companies and their insurers will try to shift as much blame as possible onto you to reduce what they pay. We know how to fight these unfair blame tactics and protect your recovery.

Recoverable Compensation After a Delivery Truck Accident

Missouri law allows you to recover compensation for all losses caused by the accident. These damages fall into two main categories that cover both your financial costs and personal suffering.

Economic and Non-Economic Damages

Economic damages have clear monetary value and include:

• Medical bills and future treatment costs
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Property damage to your vehicle and belongings
• Out-of-pocket expenses like prescriptions and transportation

Non-economic damages compensate for personal losses like:

• Physical pain and suffering from your injuries
• Emotional distress and mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of activities you used to love
• Permanent scarring, disfigurement, or disability

In cases where the delivery company showed extreme recklessness, you may also recover punitive damages. These are meant to punish bad behavior and prevent it from happening again.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Delivery Truck Accident Lawyer

We handle all delivery truck accident cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay us nothing unless we win your case.

We advance all costs needed to build your claim, including expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, and court fees. You never pay anything out-of-pocket.

Our fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover for you. This ensures everyone can get experienced legal help regardless of their financial situation.

Time Limit to File a Delivery Truck Accident Claim in Missouri

In Missouri, you have five years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline is called the statute of limitations.

If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to recover compensation forever. There are no exceptions or extensions once the time runs out.

USPS accident claims are subject to a much shorter deadline of two years under federal law. Some insurance policies also require prompt notice of claims.

Don’t wait to get legal help. The sooner you reach out, the better we can protect your rights and build your case.

Consult With Our Award-Winning Truck Accident Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri

If you were hurt in a collision with a delivery truck, you don’t have to fight alone. Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers helps injured people.

We handle every case personally and are committed to getting you the care and compensation you deserve. Our family firm treats you like family, not just another case number.

We’re available 24/7 for a free consultation. Contact us today to learn how we can help. We’ll start working on your case immediately with no upfront costs.