If an Amazon delivery van hit you, the driver probably doesn’t work for Amazon. Most of the blue Prime vans in Miami are driven by employees of independent Delivery Service Partners, small companies that contract with Amazon. Flex drivers use their own cars. Tractor-trailers are run by independent trucking companies. Who employed the driver decides which insurance pays, so the first job in any Amazon crash is identifying the company behind the van.
Lavent Law, P.A. handles delivery vehicle claims from our North Miami Beach office. The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Call (305) 257-9464.
Amazon vans on our streets
Amazon runs a large fulfillment center in Opa-locka, leased a second Opa-locka warehouse for oversized deliveries in 2025, and has delivery stations across Miami-Dade and Broward, and its vans work every neighborhood we serve: the condo towers along Collins Avenue, the side streets off NE 163rd Street and Biscayne Boulevard, and the residential grids of North Miami and Miami Gardens. Delivery routes come with tight schedules, and the crashes we see follow from that: vans double-parked in a travel lane, quick U-turns, drivers checking a handheld device, and backing up in driveways and condo entrances.
In August 2024, an Amazon Flex driver struck a mother pushing a stroller at NE 7th Avenue and NE 191st Street in Aventura, a short drive from our office, and was arrested and charged with leaving the scene.
Three kinds of Amazon drivers
- Delivery Service Partner (DSP) drivers. They drive Amazon-branded vans but are employed by the DSP, which Amazon says hires and manages its own workers. Amazon arranges an insurance program for DSPs that includes commercial auto liability. Drivers of branded vans typically carry two insurance cards: a master-policy card shown at traffic stops and the DSP’s own policy card, which is the one that matters after a crash.
- Amazon Flex drivers. They deliver in their own cars through the Flex app. Amazon says Flex drivers are covered by $1 million in auto liability coverage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, while they are actively delivering. When the driver is not actively delivering, only the driver’s own policy applies, and many personal policies limit or exclude coverage for delivery work.
- Freight Partner and Relay carriers. Independent trucking companies haul Amazon freight in box trucks and tractor-trailers, some as Amazon Freight Partners driving Amazon-branded tractors and others booking loads through Amazon Relay. Relay carriers must carry at least $1 million in auto liability, and federal motor carrier rules apply to these trucks.
Most branded delivery vans are rated under 10,001 pounds, so federal trucking safety rules usually don’t apply to them, but the larger step vans some delivery companies run are heavier and can be covered by those rules. The tractor-trailers are a different story; see our truck accident page for how those cases work.
Is Amazon itself responsible?
Sometimes. Amazon’s position is that it is not the employer of DSP drivers. Courts in other states have sent claims against Amazon to juries where there was evidence that Amazon controlled the drivers’ routes, pace, training and monitoring, and juries in South Carolina and Georgia have found Amazon responsible for crashes by delivery-partner drivers. We have not found a Florida appellate decision that settles the question.
In practice, the DSP’s commercial policy is the starting point, and the claim against Amazon turns on evidence of control that only comes out through records and testimony. Under Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine, a vehicle’s owner is generally responsible when someone it allows to drive causes a crash, although Florida and federal law limit that rule for leasing companies, so we look at who owns the van, who leases it and on what terms.
The van recorded the crash
Amazon says in-cab camera systems are installed in nearly all Amazon-branded delivery vehicles. The camera system reported in these vans watches both the road and the driver and is designed to upload footage automatically after a collision. Amazon also requires DSP drivers to use a driving app that logs speeding, hard braking, seat belt use and phone distraction.
That data can settle who was at fault. It sits with the DSP, Amazon and their vendors, which is why we send written demands to preserve it as soon as we take a case. On residential streets, neighbors’ doorbell cameras often catch delivery crashes too, and those recordings are overwritten quickly.
Your own PIP still pays first
Whoever was at fault, personal injury protection pays first under section 627.736, usually through your own policy or one in your household. It covers 80 percent of reasonable medical bills and 60 percent of lost income, up to $10,000, but medical benefits are limited to $2,500 unless a doctor finds an emergency medical condition. Get initial treatment within 14 days of the crash, or you can lose PIP benefits. To recover for pain and suffering beyond PIP, your injury has to meet the threshold in section 627.737(2), such as a permanent injury. If the driver’s coverage turns out to be thin, your own uninsured motorist coverage may cover the rest.
What to do after a crash with an Amazon driver
- Call 911 and get a police report. If the driver leaves, see our page on hit-and-run crashes.
- Ask the driver for the company they work for and photograph both insurance cards if they have two.
- Photograph the vehicle, including the plate, any van number, and any company name on the side.
- Look for cameras: doorbells, condo entrances and storefronts nearby. Ask owners to save the footage.
- See a doctor within 14 days, even if you feel fine.
- Don’t give a recorded statement to an insurer before talking with a lawyer.
How long you have
You generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a negligence lawsuit under section 95.11. Under section 768.81, your recovery is reduced by your share of the fault, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. With camera data on the line, the time that matters most is the first few weeks.
How we handle Amazon delivery claims
We identify whether the driver was a DSP employee, a Flex driver or a Relay carrier, find the company and every policy that applies, and send preservation demands for the camera footage, driving-app data and route records. We set up your PIP claim and deal with the insurers. When your treatment is finished, we present the claim with your records, bills and lost income, and if there is no fair offer, we talk with you about filing suit. You deal directly with the attorney on your case, in English or Russian.
For other delivery and commercial vehicles, see our commercial vehicle accident page. If a DoorDash, Uber Eats or Instacart driver hit you, see our delivery driver accident page. If you were hit while walking, see our pedestrian accident page. For crashes near the office, see our North Miami Beach and Aventura car accident pages.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sue Amazon after a delivery van crash?
Possibly. The claim usually starts against the delivery company that employed the driver and its insurance. Amazon can also be responsible if the evidence shows it controlled how the driver worked, which courts in other states have recognized. No Florida appellate decision we know of has settled it.
The driver gave me an insurance card that says Amazon. Is that the right one?
Not necessarily. Drivers of Amazon-branded vans often carry two cards. Photograph both and ask which company employs the driver. We sort out which policy applies.
The driver was in a regular car wearing an Amazon vest. Who pays?
That was probably a Flex driver. Amazon says its $1 million policy covers Flex drivers while they are actively delivering. If the driver was not actively delivering, the driver’s own insurance applies, and it may exclude delivery work.
An Amazon tractor-trailer hit me on I-95. Is that different?
Yes. Those trucks are run by independent trucking companies, either Amazon Freight Partners driving Amazon-branded tractors or carriers hauling loads through Amazon Relay, and federal trucking rules apply to them. Relay carriers must carry at least $1 million in auto liability coverage. See our I-95 accidents page.
How do I get the van’s camera footage?
You usually can’t on your own. We send preservation demands to the delivery company and Amazon right away and obtain the footage through the claim or the lawsuit.
Does it cost anything to talk to you?
No. The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
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