What Amazon Flex Drivers Need to Know If They’re Hurt on the Job
Amazon Flex drivers may be taking on more risks than meet the eye when they sign up to make deliveries in their spare time for extra cash. Both on and off the roads, those risks can cause serious accidents and injuries — and many of them can be linked to the intense pressures and extreme demands these drivers are under.
Whether you or a loved one has a gig with Amazon Flex, understanding how most drivers are hurt and how Amazon Flex driver accidents happen can help you when it’s time to recover.
Are Amazon Flex Drivers the Same As Amazon DSP Drivers?
No, Amazon relies on various types of delivery drivers. While Flex drivers can pick up “shifts” with Amazon, as long as they qualify, drivers for delivery service partners (DSPs) are on the roads day in and day out delivering packages.
Despite that difference:
- Both Amazon Flex drivers and DSP drivers are classified by Amazon as independent contractors though the company retains substantial control over drivers’ schedules, deliveries, and daily shifts.
- Both types of delivery drivers face similar requirements and demands from Amazon, as well as similar hazards and injury risks.
- Arguably, Amazon may have misclassified both Amazon Flex drivers and DSP drivers in an effort to minimize liability for them while excluding them from injury reports and safety data.
Common Types of Amazon Flex Driver Accidents
Amazon Flex drivers have to follow routes and schedules set by the Flex app while making deliveries established by Amazon’s schedule in order to fulfill the shift quotas set by Amazon.
The short of it is that Amazon controls a lot of key aspects of how Flex drivers deliver packages — and there have been plenty of reports that Amazon readily overlooks safety and contributes to unsafe work conditions in an effort to push profits and production higher.
That, along with other factors (like driver negligence), ends up causing all sorts of Amazon Flex driver accidents all too often, including (but not limited to):
- Falls: Slipping and tripping causes lots of falls and serious injuries. While falling injuries can happen as Amazon Flex drivers get in and out of their vehicles, falls are just as likely to occur on the way to or from the drop-off point, especially if debris, ice, potholes, or other elements make walking paths more hazardous to traverse.
- Traffic crashes: With very little time to get from delivery to delivery, Amazon Flex drivers may speed, run stop signs, and otherwise break traffic laws. That, of course, can cause auto wrecks. And so can other drivers who are reckless, hasty, or careless behind the wheel, even if Amazon Flex drivers are doing everything right.
- Dog attacks: Homeowners don’t always restrain their dogs on their own properties, especially if they keep their dogs in their yards or garages. Unfortunately, those two places are both areas where Amazon workers may need to go to deliver packages (using the garages only for the Amazon Key program). If they do, it can be difficult to notice dogs before those dogs are in attack mode.
- Getting hit by or running into objects: These items can include things that are fixed, falling off of a structure, or otherwise moving, like trees, mailbox posts, shingles, bicycles, and more.
These and other Amazon Flex driver accidents are more likely to occur when the roads are poorly maintained, there’s bad weather, or vehicle problems occur.
Regardless of what causes these accidents, however, it’s usually crucial to investigate them, verify the causes, and gather evidence that can establish what those causes are.
Amazon Flex Driver Injuries
The trauma that Amazon Flex drivers suffer when they’re hurt on the job can include a wide range of physical injuries, including (but not limited to):
- Broken bones
- Head and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Neck and back injuries
- Loss of limbs
- Severe strains and sprains
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Hearing and/or vision loss
These and other Amazon Flex driver injuries can require intensive, ongoing medical treatment while leaving behind lasting pain and, in some cases, permanent disabilities. At their worst, Amazon Flex driver injuries can be fatal.
What to Do After an Amazon Flex Driver Accident
If you are ever in an accident as an Amazon Flex driver or with one of these drivers, here are the most important steps to take ASAP:
- Call 911 if anyone’s hurt.
- Wait at the scene in a safe spot that’s out of harm’s way.
- Get checked out by emergency medical technicians at the scene if you’re hurt.
- Take pictures and/or videos of the accident scene.
- Do not admit fault or say anything other than the facts.
- Do not engage with any other parties if they are belligerent.
- Exchange information with any involved drivers (for motor vehicle accidents).
- Get witness names and contact details whenever possible.
- Continue receiving medical care, making sure to follow all doctor’s orders.
- Talk to an Amazon Flex driver accident lawyer, who can explain more about liability, how to file a claim, and what to expect if you take legal action.
How to Recover from Amazon Flex Driver Accidents & Injuries
No matter what type of injury you sustain as an Amazon Flex driver, it’s essential to remember that you have rights — and you may have various options for asserting them when it’s time to recover and seek justice. When you are ready to learn more about your rights and get answers about a potential claim, just reach out to an Amazon Flex driver accident lawyer.