Why it matters who is responsible
A delivery driver personally rarely has the insurance to cover a serious injury. A company usually does. Identifying every business that is legally responsible for the driver or the vehicle is often the difference between a claim limited to a small personal policy and one backed by commercial coverage.
Your own losses are paid in two layers. No-fault PIP pays medical bills and wage loss regardless of fault, usually through your own household policy (see which insurer pays). Losses above your PIP limits come from the parties at fault, and so does pain and suffering if you meet the serious impairment threshold.
Three routes to the company
1. Employer liability (respondeat superior)
In Hamed v Wayne County (2011), the Michigan Supreme Court restated the rule: “An employer is generally liable for the torts its employees commit within the scope of their employment.” A driver is within the scope of employment while “engaged in the service of his master, or while about his master’s business.” A driver on a delivery route, driving to a job site or running a work errand usually qualifies. An act against company rules can still count if it was done to further the employer’s business. A detour purely for the driver’s own purposes may not.
2. Owner’s liability
Under MCL 257.401, the owner of a vehicle is liable for injuries caused by its negligent operation if it was driven with the owner’s express or implied consent or knowledge. This applies regardless of whether the driver was an employee. Leasing companies that rent for 30 days or less are treated differently: unless the lessor itself was negligent, its liability is capped at $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident.
3. The company’s own negligence
A business can be liable for its own conduct: hiring a driver with a bad record, failing to train or supervise, skipping maintenance, or setting delivery quotas that push drivers to speed. These claims do not depend on whether the driver was an employee.
Independent contractor defenses
Large delivery networks often move work to separate businesses. Amazon, for example, uses Delivery Service Partners that hire the drivers and run the vans. Gig delivery apps call their drivers independent contractors.
Michigan’s general rule is that a party who hires an independent contractor is not vicariously liable for the contractor’s negligence (Ormsby v Capital Welding, 2004, stated the rule for owners and general contractors). The defense has limits:
- The contractor business that employs the driver is liable under respondeat superior, and it carries its own commercial policy.
- The registered owner of the vehicle is liable under the owner’s liability statute, even if the driver was a contractor.
- A company that controlled the driver’s route, schedule and methods may be found to be the real employer. That is a question of fact, decided by evidence, not by the contract’s label.
- The hiring company can be directly liable for its own negligent choices.
Answering these questions takes discovery: contracts, routing data, telematics, dispatch logs and the vehicle’s registration and insurance. Telematics and in-cab camera data can be overwritten, so we send preservation letters at the start.
Gig and app-based delivery
A food or grocery delivery driver using a personal car may be covered only by their personal policy, which may exclude business use. Michigan’s rideshare insurance requirements apply to companies that carry passengers, not packages or food, so do not assume the same coverage exists. See Uber and Lyft accidents for passenger rideshare rules, and check your own underinsured motorist coverage.
If you were the one driving for work
An employee hurt while occupying a vehicle owned or registered by the employer claims PIP from the insurer of that vehicle (MCL 500.3114(3)). Workers’ compensation usually applies as well. PIP is reduced by benefits provided under state or federal law, which includes workers’ compensation (MCL 500.3109(1)). You may also have a claim against another driver who caused the crash.
Larger trucks
Box trucks and tractor-trailers operated in interstate commerce are subject to federal safety rules on driver hours, inspections and qualifications. See truck accidents.
Preserve data now. Your PIP application must reach an insurer within one year and a suit must be filed within three years, but GPS, telematics and dashcam data can be lost in weeks.
Contact us for a free review of a crash involving a company or delivery vehicle.
Sources: Hamed v Wayne County (Mich, July 29, 2011); MCL 257.401(1) and (3); Ormsby v Capital Welding, Inc (Mich, July 23, 2004); MCL 500.3114(3); MCL 500.3109(1); MCL 257.2102; MCL 500.3135; MCL 500.3145; MCL 600.5805.
Questions people ask us
Is a company responsible when its delivery driver causes a crash?
Usually, if the driver was an employee acting within the scope of the job. Michigan employers are generally liable for torts their employees commit while doing the employer’s business. A company that owns the vehicle can also be liable under Michigan’s owner’s liability statute.
The delivery driver says they are an independent contractor. Does that end the claim?
No. A company generally is not vicariously liable for an independent contractor’s negligence, but the label in a contract does not settle who controlled the work. The vehicle’s owner may still be liable, the contractor’s own business is liable, and the hiring company may be liable for its own negligence.
I was hurt while driving a company vehicle for work. Who pays?
Michigan sends an employee injured in a vehicle owned or registered by the employer to the insurer of that vehicle for PIP benefits. Workers’ compensation usually applies too, and PIP is reduced by workers’ compensation benefits paid for the same loss.
