Michigan Delivery and Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer

After a delivery van or box truck hits you, the hard part is not the crash. It is everything that comes next: the medical bills, the adjuster who keeps calling, the missed work, and the slow realization that the driver who hit you was working for a company that has no intention of stepping forward. The vans and trucks that bring packages to every porch in Michigan run on tight schedules, and a driver rushing to make a quota is a driver more likely to roll a stop or miss someone in a crosswalk.

Auto-accident attorneys at Vahdat Weisman Law represent people hurt by delivery and commercial vehicles in Livonia and across Michigan. A driver’s personal policy is rarely enough after a serious crash, so much of our work is figuring out which company stands behind that driver and which larger insurance policy should answer for your injuries.

Two Different Ways to Hold a Company Responsible

People assume that if a driver was working, the company automatically pays. Michigan law is not that simple, and it helps to know the two separate routes.

The first is vicarious liability: an employer is responsible for the negligence of its employee acting on the job. The catch is the word employee. Michigan generally does not hold a company responsible for the acts of a true independent contractor, and the big delivery brands have built their operations specifically around that line. The second route is the company’s own direct negligence, such as negligent hiring, training, supervision, or entrustment of a vehicle to a driver it should never have put on the road. These are different claims with different proof, and in delivery cases we often pursue both, because if a brand wriggles out of responsibility for the driver, its own careless choices may still be on the table.

Amazon, FedEx, and the Contractor Question

The biggest names rarely employ the driver who hit you, at least not on paper. Amazon routes many packages through Delivery Service Partners, separate companies whose drivers nonetheless wear Amazon uniforms, drive Amazon-branded vans, follow Amazon’s routes and quotas, and are monitored in real time by Amazon’s apps and in-cab cameras. Amazon Flex uses gig drivers in their own cars; Amazon provides up to $1 million in liability coverage, but only while a driver is inside an active delivery block, not when they are merely logged in or driving to a station. FedEx historically separated its employee-driven Express operation from its Ground network of independent service providers, and even after FedEx folded Ground into Federal Express Corporation in June 2024, that contractor model still shapes who answers for a Ground-route crash.

To decide whether a national brand can be reached, Michigan courts use the economic-realities test, which looks past the contract to what actually happened: who controlled the work, who paid the driver, who could hire, fire, or discipline, and whether the driving was an integral part of the company’s business. The more control the brand exercised, the stronger the case against it. We investigate that relationship, the contracts, and every layer of coverage, because reaching Amazon or FedEx, the contractor in the middle, or both, often decides the size of the recovery.

How No-Fault Works When a Commercial Vehicle Hits You

Michigan no-fault still sits underneath these cases, and the priority rules have real traps. Personal injury protection (PIP) benefits pay for medical care and wage loss regardless of fault, but which insurer pays depends on your situation. If you were an employee hurt while occupying a vehicle your employer owns, MCL 500.3114(3) makes that employer’s insurer first in line, even if you are technically an independent contractor. If you had no auto coverage of your own and were hit as a pedestrian or cyclist, the 2019 reforms route you to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which caps PIP medical at $250,000. Knowing the right payer early keeps your care from stalling.

The claim against the company is separate. When your injury meets the threshold in MCL 500.3135- death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function-, you can pursue the driver and the company for pain and suffering and for economic losses beyond what no-fault covers. Because commercial defendants carry larger policies, that threshold claim is often where the meaningful compensation is. One caution: Michigan’s comparative-fault rule bars pain-and-suffering recovery if you are found more than 50% at fault, so defense teams work hard to shift blame, and we work just as hard to keep the facts straight.

The Evidence, and Why It Has to Be Locked Down Fast

Commercial vehicles can generate a trail of evidence that an ordinary fender-bender never produces, but only if it is preserved. Depending on the vehicle, that can include GPS and telematics, the engine control module that records speed and braking, inward- and outward-facing safety cameras like the Netradyne units many Amazon vans carry, delivery scan times, route manifests, driver qualification files, and maintenance records. Not every local van carries all of it, and short-haul drivers are often exempt from electronic logging, so part of our job is identifying what actually exists.

The problem is that these records cycle out on a schedule, and federal rules let some of them be destroyed quickly. We send evidence-preservation letters, sometimes called legal holds, to the driver, the contractor, the brand, and their insurers right away, and we move to preserve the vehicle itself before it is repaired or scrapped, because a download from its control module can prove what really happened.

Whose Coverage Pays, and When Yours Has to Step In

Delivery cases often involve a stack of policies: the driver’s personal auto, the contractor’s commercial policy, the policy on the vehicle’s owner under Michigan’s owner-liability statute, MCL 257.401, a brand’s gig coverage, and umbrella layers above them. Gig drivers create a particular wrinkle: a personal auto policy often excludes commercial delivery, so if the driver was working and the brand’s coverage does not apply, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may become the path to recovery. Mapping every available policy is half the battle in these cases.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

A delivery or commercial crash often involves more than one responsible party. Depending on the facts, that can include the driver, the delivery contractor that hired and dispatched the driver, the national brand whose control over the route created the danger, the company that owned or leased the vehicle, a maintenance provider that let a defect ride, or another motorist who shared in causing the collision. We trace every party and every policy, because the company whose name is on the van is not always the only one that pays.

Injuries and Compensation

A loaded van or box truck carries far more force than a passenger car, and the injuries reflect it: spinal damage, fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and permanent limitations that change how a person works and lives. We pursue the no-fault benefits that cover your care, bring the liability claim against the driver and the company for pain and suffering and excess economic loss, and document your medical needs and lost earning capacity so the full weight of the injury is counted.

How Vahdat Weisman Law Handles Your Case

We move fast on the things that decide these cases: identify every company that might be responsible, send preservation letters before the data cycles out, secure the vehicle, and map the full stack of coverage. From our Livonia office, attorneys Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman handle delivery and commercial vehicle injury claims for clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan on a contingency-fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I sue Amazon or FedEx, or only the driver? It depends on the control the company actually exercised, which Michigan measures through the economic-realities test, not on the label in a contract. Even when a driver works through a delivery partner or as a gig contractor, the brand can be reached when it controlled the route, timing, and conduct, and its own negligent choices may create separate liability.
• Does Michigan no-fault still apply to a commercial crash? Yes, but the priority rules matter. If you were an employee in an employer-owned vehicle, the employer’s insurer may be first to pay your PIP benefits. If you had no coverage of your own, you may be routed to the Assigned Claims Plan and its $250,000 cap. The liability claim against the company is separate.
• Why is acting fast so important? Camera footage, GPS data, and driver logs cycle out on a schedule, and federal rules let some records be destroyed within months. The sooner we send preservation letters, the more proof survives.
• What if the delivery driver was using their own car? Coverage can still reach the company. Amazon Flex, for example, provides up to $1 million in liability coverage while a driver is in an active delivery block. If that coverage does not apply, your own underinsured motorist coverage may.
• What does it cost to hire you? Nothing upfront. We handle these claims on a contingency-fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Why Injured Michiganders Trust Vahdat Weisman Law

Vahdat Weisman Law is a personal injury firm based in Livonia, Michigan, representing injury victims and their families throughout the state. Our attorneys, Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman, bring courtroom experience, a record of meaningful results, and a hands-on approach to investigation and case strategy. We prepare every matter as if it will go to trial, which positions clients for stronger settlements and protects their rights if litigation becomes necessary.

We handle delivery and commercial vehicle injury claims on a contingency-fee basis, which means there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. From our Livonia office, we serve clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan, and we explain every step in plain language so you can make informed decisions about your case.

Speak With a Michigan Personal Injury Lawyer

If you were hurt by a delivery van or commercial vehicle, contact Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia today at (734) 469-4994 for a free, confidential consultation. The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can preserve the company’s records before they are gone. Reach out through our contact page to tell us what happened and learn about your options. There is no cost to speak with us about your potential claim.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.