Can Delivery Drivers Sue Their Customers For Injuries?

If you get hurt while making a delivery, you might want to sue the person who was responsible. What if that person was your customer? Can you sue your customer for your injuries?

What Responsibilities Do Customers Have to Delivery Drivers?

When you make a delivery, you have the right to expect that the place you're going to make the delivery is safe. Your customer has a duty to take reasonable steps to make sure there are no safety hazards.

If your customer fails to uphold that duty and you get injured as a result, they may be liable for your injuries. In order to be liable, the issue needs to be something that's under the customer's control. So if you get into a car accident while driving to their location, that accident probably had nothing to do with your customer, and they wouldn't be liable.

What if a Customer's Dog Bites You?

A customer will usually be liable if their dog bites you. People generally need to keep their dogs under control and make sure they don't bite people.

In some cases, people aren't liable for dog bites if there was a trespasser and the dog was acting as a guard dog. However, a delivery driver is invited onto the customer's property by the customer. That means they need to make sure their dog won't bite the delivery driver who is supposed to be there.

The main exception is if you went somewhere you shouldn't have. If you could have gone up to the front door but you instead entered a fenced area that said beware of the dog, the customer might not be liable.

What if You Slip on the Customer's Sidewalk?

The customer is usually responsible for making sure their sidewalk is safe. That can include shoveling snow, removing tree branches, and making sure there are no other slippery conditions.

People can sometimes defend against a slip and fall lawsuit by saying they didn't have enough time to learn about the condition. This usually won't apply in a delivery injury case.

When you make a delivery, the customer is usually expecting you. Since the customer knows when you are coming, they should make sure that the area you need to access is safe. For example, if it just snowed, the customer can't say they didn't have time to shovel the snow because they have to make sure the area is safe before you enter.

If you were injured during a delivery job and believe the customer is at fault, contact a personal injury attorney for more information or for help compilin a case.


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