Delivery Personnel Falling on Private Property

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Delivery services such as DoorDash, Postmates, and UberEats have exploded in popularity over the past couple of years. These services use both employed delivery drivers as well as gig workers who make deliveries for multiple platforms. Delivery personnel frequently must walk onto customers’ properties to complete their deliveries, exposing personnel to the risk of a slip and fall or trip and fall accident. If you are a delivery driver who was injured in a fall on private property, you should learn more about your legal rights and options. 

Delivery Services Are Surging in Popularity

Delivery services have seen a boost in usage, as customers turn to these services to get food delivery from restaurants that do not have their own delivery personnel or even to obtain deliveries of groceries and other products from stores. 

Who Is Liable If You Are Injured on Private Property?

Some delivery services provide insurance coverage to their delivery drivers, even if the driver works as an independent contractor rather than an employee. For example, DoorDash provides occupational accident insurance to personnel who are injured while making a delivery for the service. This insurance includes up to $1 million in medical coverage, with no obligation for the delivery worker to pay copays or deductibles, along with disability payments of 50 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage (up to a cap of $500 per week).

Delivery personnel who are employed by a delivery platform may be entitled to file a workers’ compensation with their employer if they are injured while completing a delivery on a customer’s property.

Under certain circumstances, a property owner may be liable to compensate a delivery worker if the worker falls due to a dangerous or hazardous condition of the property. In many cases, a delivery worker may be considered an “invitee” of the property owner, as the owner has invited the delivery worker to come onto the property to benefit the owner by delivering goods the owner has ordered. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care by landowners, including making reasonable efforts to repair or warn visitors of the existence of any dangerous or hazardous condition of the property. In other cases, a delivery worker may only be deemed a “licensee,” who is entitled to a lesser duty of care from a landowner. 

What Can You Recover If You Were Hurt While Making a Delivery on a Customer’s Property

If you fell on a customer’s property, you may be entitled to recover compensation for expenses and losses that you incur due to the injuries you suffered. If you are eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim with the delivery service you work for, you may receive benefits that include:

• Payment of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses
• Partial wage replacement if you are temporarily disabled from work
• Disability benefits if your injuries cause permaMInent partial or total disability

Companies like DoorDash also insure their delivery workers against injuries suffered while completing deliveries, providing compensation for medical expenses and partial replacement of lost income.

If you have a viable premises liability claim against the owner of the property where you fell, you may be able to secure a settlement or court judgment that pays you:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Lost future earning ability
• Pain and suffering
• Lost quality of life

Contact a Rochelle Park Workers’ Compensation Lawyer to Discuss Your New Jersey Workplace Injury Case

A workplace injury can be devastating, particularly if it prevents you from returning to work for an extended period of time. Although New Jersey Workers’ Compensation laws are supposed to provide you with reimbursement for medical expenses and replacement pay for missed time at work, it is not always easy to get the Workers’ Comp benefits you deserve. That is why you should speak with a knowledgeable Workers’ Compensation lawyer about your situation and get guidance throughout the claims process. The experienced Workers’ Compensation attorneys at The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. represent clients in Mahwah, Paramus, Ridgewood, Englewood, and all across New Jersey. Call (201) 380-7687 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a free consultation about your work injury case. Our main office is located at 340 West Passaic Street, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.