Who is Liable in a Food Delivery Accident?

By Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie on April 27, 2020

Food delivery apps have become a major part of our lives, whether you want pizza on a Friday night or when you forgot to bring lunch to work. You can easily order food for an older family member who can’t get to the store or get that pancake special you have been craving but do not want to drive across town. But when you are on the road, you may dread seeing a speeding or distracted delivery driver.

When delivery driver accidents occur, you may be unsure about your rights to compensation. Do you file a claim with the driver or with the food delivery company?

Insurance Policies and Gig Workers

In most car accidents, your claim will be with the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. However, for gig workers, these policies rarely apply to delivery accidents. If a driver is working for Postmates, Ubereats, DoorDash, or Grubhub, they are often required to have commercial auto insurance to provide coverage while they are on-duty.

However, food delivery services do provide liability coverage in the event of an accident where their driver was at fault. These policies are often limited to when a driver is on-duty, on their way to a restaurant, or currently delivering an order.

These liability policies are:

Ubereats

Ubereats utilizes the same liability policy as the standard Uber rideshare service. Each vehicle is protected with $50,000 in coverage for personal injuries, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. This policy applies when drivers have the app on and have not accepted an order yet. When the driver accepts an order and is on their way to pick-up or drop-off, the policy increases to $1 million.

Postmates

Unlike Ubereats, Postmates only provides coverage in excess of the driver’s personal policy and only when they are on-duty. If you are in an accident with a Postmates driver, your claim will be filed against their personal policy. If the policy does not fully cover the damages you have suffered, you may then be able to file with Postmates’ policy, which provides up to $1 million in coverage.

DoorDash

Much like Postmates, DoorDash’s liability policy comes into play after the driver’s personal policy has been exhausted. At this point, DoorDash provides up to $1 million in coverage for victims.

Grubhub

Unlike Ubereats, Postmates, and Doordash, Grubhub does not have a liability policy in place in the event of an accident. As such, your claim will ultimately be with the at-fault driver’s personal or commercial auto policy.

Holding Delivery Driver’s Accountable

The accessibility of food delivery has made it easy for consumers to quickly enjoy delicious meals – but this does come at a cost. Orders are often rushed in the evening, leading to speeding or fatigued drivers if they are out late. The more orders they collect, the more stressed and reckless they can become. As a result, other drivers are put at risk of suffering catastrophic injuries.

If you were struck by a negligent food delivery driver, contact Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie. Our Orange county delivery accident attorneys can review every detail of your case to determine fault and actively pursue the maximum available compensation for you from both the driver and the delivery company’s policy. Call us at (949) 752-7474 to learn what options are available to you.