Kansas City Delivery Truck Accident Lawyer

Delivery trucks are a common sight in Kansas City, from local delivery vans to big UPS, FedEx, and Amazon trucks. Unfortunately, crashes involving these delivery trucks happen too often, causing serious or fatal injuries.

If you have been injured in a delivery truck accident, you may be able to claim compensation that’s crucial for your recovery and getting your life back on track. However, unique aspects of these crashes can make your claim highly challenging, especially when a company and their insurer are involved. Getting the help of an experienced injury attorney can make all the difference for a successful claim.

In the Kansas City area, Flick Truck Accident Law has been trusted for these cases for 40 years and running. We are a personal injury law firm that has won millions of dollars for victims and their families, thanks in large part to our hyper-focus on truck accident claims. We have specialized training in the truck accident legal system, which enables us to aggressively and strategically advocate for our clients’ full compensation.

Reach out to Flick Truck Accident Law for a free consultation. We can guide and represent you at no cost until we win for you. Call us today at (816) 221-0501.

Delivery Trucks on Kansas City Roads: A Growing Presence and Risk

Kansas City’s central location makes it a trucking and logistics hub. Apart from having major interstates like I-70, I-35, and I-29, the metro is also home to many warehouses and distribution centers for companies such as Amazon, UPS, and FedEx. This means high volumes of delivery trucks and commercial vehicles are on our roads every day. While this is good for commerce, it unfortunately increases the chances of accidents.

More delivery vehicles on the road, often on tight schedules, means more opportunities for collisions. Add to that Kansas City’s transportation issues like traffic congestion, which can make crashes more likely when trucks and passenger cars mix in heavy traffic.

Statistics show that delivery truck crashes are a significant problem in the US. Take a look at these accident numbers of delivery companies and carriers between 2023 and 2025, as reported by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

• Amazon Logistics, Inc.: 353 total crashes, 6 fatal, 128 injury
• Federal Express (FedEx): 1,847 total crashes, 39 fatal, 632 injury
• United Parcel Service (UPS): 2,319 total crashes, 70 fatal, 793 injury.

The delivery accident issue is clearly felt here in the Kansas City metro area. In 2023, the Kansas Department of Transportation logged 84 fatalities involving large trucks, while the Missouri DOT found 137 deaths with commercial motor vehicles.

Common Types of Delivery Truck Accidents

Delivery trucks can be involved in many of the same types of crashes as other vehicles, but their size, weight, and purpose can create some unique accident scenarios. Here are some of the typical types of accidents delivery trucks often get into:

• Rear-end collisions: Delivery trucks often make sudden stops when the driver is searching for an address or making an unexpected drop. A following car can crash into the back of the truck if it cannot brake in time. Conversely, a heavy truck that can’t stop quickly enough might rear-end a smaller vehicle ahead. Rear-end crashes can cause serious injuries due to the truck’s momentum.
• Side-impact and turning accidents: Delivery drivers sometimes realize at the last second that they are about to miss a turn or delivery location. They might execute a sudden turn, which is dangerous because trucks and vans need more space to turn than a car. Wide turns can swing into adjacent lanes, side-swiping cars.
• Backing-up accidents: Delivering packages often requires backing into driveways, alleys, or loading areas, made riskier by significant blind spots around a truck or van. If a driver isn’t careful, they might back into another car, a pedestrian, or a cyclist. For instance, if a UPS or FedEx truck reverses out of a driveway without a clear view, it could hit someone crossing behind.
• Rollaway and parking incidents: If a driver forgets to set the parking brake or the truck’s brake fails, a delivery truck can roll away driverless and crash into vehicles or structures. Parking on hills or leaving a truck in gear improperly might lead to such accidents.
• Highway crashes and overturns: Delivery trucks, including larger box trucks or semis carrying delivery trailers, travel on Kansas City highways like I-435 and I-70. At high speeds, a mistake can lead to multi-vehicle accidents or rollovers. For example, a FedEx semi-truck in Johnson County once drove off an overpass from K-7 onto K-10, plummeting onto the highway below and catching fire. That 2020 crash tragically killed the 24-year-old FedEx driver and shut down the highway for hours.
• Pedestrian and cyclist collisions: Delivery trucks frequently operate in residential areas, city streets, and even college campuses, bringing them close to people on foot or bike. A distracted or negligent driver might not see someone in a crosswalk or crossing behind the truck. In one local case, a delivery truck struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk on the University of Kansas campus, pinning the person underneath. The victim suffered serious, potentially life-threatening injuries.

Frequent Causes of Delivery Truck Crashes

Understanding why these accidents happen can help you as an injury victim identify who may be at fault. Many delivery truck accidents in Kansas City share similar causes, often related to the nature of the delivery business:

• Driver distraction: Delivery drivers rely on GPS devices, smartphones, and dispatch instructions while driving. Taking eyes off the road for even a moment can lead to a crash. A distracted driver might run a red light or stop sign without noticing, or lose critical time to react to unexpected road events.
• Rushing and reckless driving: Delivery work is often on a tight schedule, and many drivers feel pressure to speed or drive aggressively to meet deadlines. This can mean running yellow lights, making rolling stops, or not yielding properly. In one horrifying Missouri case, a UPS truck driver ran a red light and smashed into a car carrying a pregnant woman. The crash injured the mother and caused her baby to be born with permanent brain damage. Evidence showed the driver had been speeding just before the collision.
• Inexperienced or poorly trained drivers: The boom in online shopping has led companies to hire many new delivery drivers, some of whom may lack extensive training. Inexperience can lead to mistakes like misjudging clearance, tailgating, or failing to check mirrors.
• Driver fatigue: Long hours on the road or making dozens of stops can exhaust a delivery driver. Fatigue slows reaction times and can cause a driver to nod off, miss a car stopping ahead, or fail to see a pedestrian. Companies are supposed to enforce hours-of-service limits and rest breaks, but if they push drivers too hard or drivers ignore rest guidelines, the risk of a fatigue-related wreck increases.
• Mechanical issues and poor maintenance: Delivery trucks rack up a lot of miles and need regular maintenance. Brake failures, tire blowouts, and other mechanical problems can quickly lead to loss of control. If a company fails to keep its fleet in safe condition with proper inspections and repair, it can be held responsible for accidents caused by equipment failure.
• Unsecured loads: If packages or freight are not properly secured, they can shift or spill, causing a driver to lose control or tip over. Items can even fall out of the truck onto the road, striking other vehicles. Ensuring cargo is secured is another responsibility that, if neglected, can cause harm to others on the road.

Each accident is different, but these factors often contribute. Many delivery truck crashes are ultimately traced back to driver negligence (like distraction, speeding, or fatigue) or company negligence (like poor maintenance or unrealistic schedules). Often it’s a combination of both.

When investigating a delivery truck accident, our attorney at Flick Truck Accident Law will look at the driver’s actions as well as the company’s policies to see what went wrong. We have a sharp eye for negligence, as we’ve undergone advanced training specifically on truck accident investigation, laws, and claims. This gives us an edge when representing truck accident victims, and has enabled us to win millions for them.

The Particular Dangers of Delivery Truck Accidents

Crashes with delivery trucks tend to be more dangerous than ordinary car accidents for several reasons.

Delivery trucks are larger and heavier than passenger cars, especially when loaded with packages. This means forces in a collision are much greater, leading to more severe damage and injuries. A 10,000+ pound UPS truck hitting a 3,000-pound sedan, for example, can crumple the smaller car easily. Victims in the smaller vehicle often bear the brunt of the impact.

Delivery vehicles also have significant blind spots (“no-zones”) around the front, back, and sides. Other drivers or pedestrians can be practically invisible to a truck driver if they’re in those areas. This raises the risk of the truck striking someone during lane changes, turns, or backing up.

Additionally, because trucks require longer stopping distances, a sudden hazard can result in a crash that a smaller vehicle might have avoided. For example, if traffic on I-70 comes to an abrupt stop, a loaded delivery truck might not be able to brake fast enough, causing a high-speed rear-end collision or even a chain-reaction pileup.

When a delivery truck accident occurs, the injuries can be devastating. Victims commonly suffer:

• Broken bones and fractures from the blunt force of impact
• Head injuries or traumatic brain injuries from striking the head inside the vehicle or being hit by debris
• Spinal cord injuries and whiplash due to sudden, violent jolts
• Internal injuries caused by the force of collision or crushed vehicle components
• Severe cuts or disfigurement from shattered glass, metal, or road rash
• Amputations or crush injuries, especially if a limb is caught in wreckage
• Burns if a vehicle catches fire, which can happen in high-impact crashes or rollovers.

Tragically, fatalities are not uncommon in high-speed or otherwise severe delivery truck crashes. Pedestrians and bicyclists struck by a delivery truck often experience life-threatening injuries given the lack of protection. Even delivery truck drivers themselves can be hurt or killed. For instance, a FedEx driver in Missouri died when an Amtrak train hit his delivery truck at a railroad crossing he was trying to cross.

Beyond the physical injuries, victims often face significant financial and personal consequences: medical bills, lost wages during recovery, pain and suffering, and long-term disabilities. Families may lose a breadwinner or face the challenge of caring for an injured loved one. All of these factors make delivery truck accidents uniquely challenging and traumatic for those involved.

Rights and Legal Options for Those Injured in Delivery Truck Accidents

Being hurt in a delivery truck accident can throw your life into disarray. It’s important to know that you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries and losses if someone else was at fault. These cases can be more complex than a typical car-on-car crash, so having some knowledge of the process and getting professional legal help are very useful.

Who Can Be Held Liable?

In delivery truck crashes, multiple parties may share liability:

• The delivery truck driver who caused the accident (through negligent driving) is an obvious responsible party.
• The trucking or delivery company that employed the driver or contracted them can often be held accountable as well. Companies are generally responsible for the actions of their on-duty employees under the legal principle of respondeat superior, meaning an employer answers for employees’ negligence. For instance, if a UPS or Amazon driver injures someone while delivering packages, the company itself may be on the hook to pay damages. Companies may also be directly liable if they failed to maintain the vehicle or pressured drivers to break safety rules.
• Other entities might also be liable in specific cases – for example, a maintenance contractor if a mechanical failure due to poor upkeep caused the crash, or another driver if that driver’s actions contributed.

One challenge is that delivery companies sometimes use drivers who are independent contractors, not their direct employees. This is common with Amazon’s delivery service partners and FedEx Ground, for example. These companies might initially claim “the driver isn’t our employee, so we’re not responsible.”

However, courts and lawyers often still find ways to hold the big company accountable, especially if the truck had the company’s branding or if the company exercised some control over the driver’s work. The key is that victims should not assume they can only pursue the individual driver. In many cases, the company’s larger insurance policies and assets are available to cover the damages.

Insurance Issues

Accidents with commercial vehicles involve different insurance dynamics from a regular car crash. Delivery companies typically carry commercial auto insurance with high policy limits (often millions of dollars) to cover accidents. The delivery driver may have their own personal policy, too. There might even be multiple insurers for the driver, the vehicle owner, and the company. Sorting out which insurer pays and how much can be complicated.

It’s also worth noting that insurance companies often fight hard to minimize payouts, since a serious injury claim can be very expensive. This is why many victims choose to have an attorney handle communications with insurers to avoid saying anything that could hurt their claim.

Damages You Can Recover

If you’re injured by a delivery truck, you can typically seek compensation for:

• Medical expenses: Hospital bills, surgery, medications, rehabilitation, future treatment needs
• Lost wages and earning potential: For time missed at work or if you can no longer work the same job
• Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life due to the accident
• Property damage: Repair or replacement of your vehicle and any property that was damaged.

In some cases, punitive damages (extra damages intended to punish a wrongdoer) might be possible. For example, a company’s gross negligence in keeping a dangerous driver might warrant punitive damages, or a hit-and-run driver might face punitive penalties.

Missouri and Kansas laws both allow accident victims to recover these types of damages, though the specific processes and any caps on damages differ by state. Since the Kansas City area spans both Missouri and Kansas, the location of the crash will affect which state’s laws apply. Our experienced local attorney at the Flick law firm will know the differences and ensure you file in the correct jurisdiction.

What To Do After a Delivery Truck Crash

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being in a crash with a delivery truck, here are some steps to protect your well-being and legal rights:

1. Call 911 and get medical help. Your health is the top priority. Some injuries (like internal injuries or concussions) may not be obvious right away, so get checked by a professional even if you feel “okay.”
2. Ensure the police make a report. Having an official accident report will be important for any claim. The police will document the scene, collect the driver’s information, and hopefully record any admissions or evidence of fault. If the delivery driver fled (hit-and-run), give the police all details you observed (company logo, truck number, and the like).
3. Gather evidence if you can. If you’re able, take photos and videos of the accident scene, your injuries, vehicle damage, and potential evidence like skid marks. Get contact info from any witnesses. Note which company the truck is from and any identifying details on the truck. This evidence can be crucial later.
4. Do NOT sign anything or give detailed statements to insurance yet. Soon after the accident, you might be contacted by the delivery company’s insurance representatives. It’s wise to speak to a lawyer before giving a recorded statement or accepting any settlement offer. Insurance adjusters may try to get you to settle quickly for a low amount or say things that could be used against your claim.
5. Consult an experienced truck accident attorney. These cases involve complex issues like federal trucking regulations, corporate liability, and large insurance policies. Our experienced attorney Lawrence Flick knows how to handle delivery truck accidents in the Kansas City area, can investigate on your behalf, preserve evidence (such as truck driver logs or vehicle maintenance records), and fight for fair compensation while you focus on healing. We offer a free consultation, so it doesn’t cost anything upfront to get legal advice.

Your goal should be to recover fully – both physically and financially – after a delivery truck accident. Pursuing a claim is about getting the resources you need through an insurance settlement or court verdict to cover your medical care, support your family, and move forward with your life.

But remember, delivery companies have teams of lawyers and insurers working to protect their interests from the moment a crash happens. To level the playing field, you need your own legal advocate.

Get Experienced Help With Your Kansas City Delivery Truck Accident. Call Flick.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a delivery truck accident, know that the law provides a path for victims to seek justice and compensation. Getting compensation won’t erase the trauma or injuries, but it can relieve the financial burden and hold the responsible parties accountable.

Reach out to our specialized and experienced Kansas City truck accident attorney at Flick Truck Accident Law. Led by seasoned attorney Lawrence Flick, our firm has over 25 years of successful experience obtaining favorable settlements and verdicts. We focus on truck accident cases, gaining additional training on this specific field and pouring our resources to better represent each of our clients.

When you work with us, we’ll guide you through your options, investigate what happened, and help you pursue the maximum recovery you deserve so you can focus on healing.

We provide a free consultation at Flick Truck Accident Law, and you won’t have to pay us any fees until we obtain compensation for you.

Call us now at (816) 221-0501. We’re ready to start by listening to your story and evaluating your claim.

This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, please contact Flick Truck Accident Law.