Hurt in a FedEx Delivery Van Crash? Learn Your Options in Florida

FedEx Delivery Van Accident Florida: Your Options After a Crash

If a FedEx delivery van or package car hurt you or someone you love in Florida, you may have a claim for compensation. These rules explain who can sue, how fault is divided, and how long you have to act. This guide explains those rules in plain language.

You may be reading this from a hospital bed. You may be waiting for an insurance adjuster to call back. You do not need legal training to understand your options.

What a FedEx Delivery Van Crash Claim Covers and Who It Is For

A FedEx delivery van accident claim seeks money for losses caused by a crash with a FedEx delivery van or package car. You may have been a driver, a passenger, a motorcyclist, a cyclist, or a pedestrian.

A claim can seek payment for:

• Medical bills, both past and future
• Lost wages and lost ability to earn income
• Pain, suffering, and mental anguish
• Long-term care and home changes after a catastrophic injury (a serious injury that lasts a long time or is permanent)

Florida limits pain-and-suffering damages in motor vehicle cases.

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Death

Common injuries include broken bones, back and neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and severe burns. The size of an injury matters. But every crash turns on its own facts.

This page is for injured people. It is also for parents, spouses, and adult children. They may be acting for someone who cannot write or make calls right now.

Common Causes of FedEx Delivery Van and Package Car Crashes in Florida

Most of these crashes happen on busy roads, in neighborhoods, and in parking lots and loading areas. Serious crashes often happen on fast highways like the Florida Turnpike. A sudden slowdown leaves little time to stop.

Several causes come up again and again:

• Driver fatigue. Long shifts and tight routes can wear a driver down. Federal rules for property-carrying commercial vehicles require 10 consecutive hours off duty before driving. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.3, a driver may not drive without first taking 10 consecutive hours off duty, and may not drive after a period of 14 consecutive hours after coming on-duty following 10 consecutive hours off-duty. Within that period, a driver may drive a total of 11 hours. Except for drivers who qualify for certain short-haul exceptions, driving is not permitted if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without at least a consecutive 30-minute interruption in driving status. The facts matter.
• Distraction. Handheld devices, dispatch screens, and navigation can pull attention away from traffic.
• Rushing. Tight delivery windows can push drivers to speed or squeeze into gaps in traffic.
• Vehicle problems. Brake or tire failure, poor maintenance, and jackknife or rollover events can all cause a crash.

Crashes involving motorcycles and ATVs often cause serious harm. Florida requires motorcycle riders to wear protective headgear that meets federal standard 218. A rider over 21 can go without a helmet only if covered by a policy with at least $10,000 in medical benefits for crash injuries (Fla. Stat. § 316.211). Helmet use and visibility are often examined after a motorcycle crash.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

Responsibility can reach past the driver. It can reach the companies that employ the driver, hire for the route, or maintain the vehicle. Start with the driver. Then look at the employer and the company that assigned the route.

Some FedEx routes are run by independent delivery service providers. The business that employs the driver may not be FedEx itself. That changes which companies and insurers must be identified.

Other parties can share responsibility. These include:

• A maintenance provider
• A maker of a faulty part
• Another driver whose carelessness contributed to the crash

Florida courts enter judgment against each liable party based on its percentage of fault. In negligence actions, Florida courts enter judgment against each liable party based on its percentage of fault. They do not hold each party responsible for the full amount (Fla. Stat. § 768.81). In legal terms, this rule is called “apportionment of damages.” Judgment is not entered “on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several liability.”

Hiring decisions can matter too. Each crash turns on its own facts.

Florida Rules That Shape Your Options

Florida’s rules on insurance, deadlines, and fault shape every claim. The points below are general. Your facts decide how they apply.

• Your own policy may pay early medical benefits. Ask what it covers.
• Deadline. Section 768.81 sets no filing deadline; it defines a “negligence action” as a civil action for damages based upon a theory of negligence, strict liability, products liability, professional malpractice, breach of warranty, and like theories, without limitation. Negligence means carelessness that causes harm. Deadlines apply to wrongful death claims under Florida law, so families should contact the firm promptly. Acting early protects your options.
• Shared fault. Insurers may argue that you share some blame. Florida divides fault by percentage. So early statements can matter. Be careful about what you say before the facts are clear.

What to Do After the Crash and What to Preserve

Get medical care first. Then protect the records that show what happened. Prompt care also creates a clear record linking your injuries to the crash.

• See a doctor right away. Get checked even if symptoms seem minor. Some injuries appear hours or days later. Follow your doctors’ care plans.
• Get the crash report. Florida requires a Long Form crash report to be completed and submitted to the department within 10 days after the investigation is completed by the law enforcement officer for crashes that result in death, personal injury, or any indication of complaints of pain or discomfort by any of the parties or passengers involved in the crash, or that involve a commercial motor vehicle (Fla. Stat. § 316.066). The parties, their legal representatives, and their insurers can access it.
• Record the FedEx details. Note the vehicle number, the company name, and any driver identification.
• Document the scene. Take photos and video. Collect witness names and phone numbers. Note the weather, lighting, and road conditions.
• Keep every record. Save bills, receipts, and records of missed work.
• Be careful with insurers. Talk with a lawyer before you give a recorded statement or sign a release. A release is a document that gives up your right to sue.

Dash camera footage, GPS and vehicle tracking data, driver logs, and maintenance records can be overwritten on a schedule. A lawyer can send preservation letters. These letters ask the companies to keep this evidence.

How the Claim Process Works, Step by Step

Most claims move through five stages. They start with a consultation and end with negotiation or a lawsuit.

1. First consultation. A free, confidential first consultation reviews the crash facts, your injuries, and your insurance details. There is no obligation to continue.
2. Investigation. The team gathers the crash report, scene evidence, vehicle data, and medical records. Accident reconstruction professionals and medical providers may be brought in when needed.
3. Calculating damages. The team reviews medical bills, lost income, and future care needs. Serious injuries often require a longer look at future costs.
4. Negotiation or lawsuit. If an insurer will not offer fair compensation, a lawsuit can be filed before the deadline. The case can then move toward trial.

Simple cases can resolve in months. Catastrophic injury claims often take longer. The full extent of the injuries must be known first.

When a Family Loses a Loved One: Wrongful Death Claims

Florida allows a wrongful death claim after a fatal crash. The action is brought by the decedent’s personal representative, the person who represents the deceased person’s estate, and recovers for the benefit of the survivors and the estate.

Families may pursue several kinds of losses (Fla. Stat. § 768.21):

• Lost support and services the survivors would have received
• For a surviving spouse, loss of companionship and protection, plus mental pain and suffering
• For each parent of a deceased minor child, mental pain and suffering
• Medical and funeral expenses paid by a survivor

This is a painful time. The focus is on the family left behind and the practical steps ahead. These steps include gathering records and protecting evidence. The two-year deadline applies, so families should act early. You can learn more about wrongful death claims in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk With CHG Personal Injury Lawyers About Your FedEx Crash

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based firm. It handles personal injury cases for people throughout Florida. Our attorneys are licensed in Florida and admitted to The Florida Bar. Igor Hernandez is the responsible attorney for this page.

You may be juggling medical visits, insurance calls, and hard questions about the future. If a FedEx van changed your family’s life, you may have a claim. You don’t have to face it alone. Contact CHG Personal Injury Lawyers for a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue.