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| Amazon avoids liability for delivery car accidents |
The Amazon delivery driver fleet can be separated from the warehouse. But the company continues to monitor its drivers. She installed an always-on camera in her truck. It also requires drivers to accept AI monitoring to detect yawning.
However, it was this monitoring system that got Amazon into a lawsuit claiming responsibility for life-changing car accidents.
The Bloomberg report detailed the incident and how one lawsuit changed the way the legal team would deal with similar situations in the future.
The accident occurred earlier this year when 24-year-old Anas Rana was in the back seat of his brother, Model S, driving from a Tesla to the Atlanta Freeway.
After the car came to a stop behind a malfunctioning vehicle, an Amazon delivery truck crashed into the rear end of a Tesla, causing severe injuries to Rana's brain and spinal cord.
The 24-year-old spent several months trying to save his life and a ventilator helped him breathe.
Rana is now transported in an electric wheelchair. He cannot perform simple tasks such as feeding himself with a remote control or switching channels.
The accident shattered his dream of studying medicine. This young man who wanted to become a doctor focused on rehabilitation. He is also unsure if he will walk again or check his arms.
Rana sued Amazon in June, claiming it was responsible for the accident. However, the report notes that the company cannot be held liable because the delivery driver is not a technical employee.
The delivery driver works for Harper Logistics, one of Amazon's delivery partners for transportation.
The Distribution Service Partner Program begins in 2018. Amazon Partners employ more than 260,000 drivers worldwide. Some said their employers forced them to shut down their security apps in order to meet quotas.
For this reason, Rana has filed a lawsuit against Amazon's algorithms, apps, and devices used to manage employees.
Rana's attorney Scott Harrison wants to prove that the company is using technology to control delivery service partners.
File a complaint against Amazon regarding the incident
According to the lawsuit, the company closely tracks all of its delivery drivers' movements, including monitoring reversal, speed, braking, acceleration, cornering, seatbelt use, telephone, SMS messages and onboard cameras, which are man-made. To detect. yawn;
Most commercial vehicle litigations like this are usually resolved without much interest. However, Rana's case is noteworthy, as her legal department alleged that Amazon's monitoring system held the company accountable.
Rana's lawyers want to know how the company's equipment runs its operations. But that would expose Amazon's algorithm, which the company claims can be classified as a trade secret.
The company designs, creates a roadmap and identifies the number of deliveries each driver can make in 10 hours.
It monitors each driver's performance through smartphone apps, cameras and other devices installed on their branded delivery trucks.
The company may require delivery partners to separate drivers it believes are too slow on the road.
The lawsuit brought by Rana argued that this practice led to the company's negligence in the accident. In fact, this forces the driver to increase the speed to a dangerous level. It also focused on speed and efficiency of delivery without giving due consideration to public safety.
If Rana's legal strategy succeeds, it could affect the outcome of an upcoming series of legal actions.
Bloomberg reported that Amazon Logistics was the defendant in 119 auto-related lawsuits this year alone.