With more than 100,000 vehicles, nearly 125,000 drivers, and an annual revenue estimated at around $84 billion, FedEx is easily one of the largest trucking companies in the United States. With numbers like these, it’s no surprise that FedEx freight trucks are involved in injury-causing truck crashes nearly every day on American roads.
In fact, according to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in a recent 24-month period (November 2020 through October 2022) FedEx Ground trucks were involved in a total of 2,766 crashes in the United States, including 893 that resulted in injuries and 71 that resulted in at least one fatality. That’s more than one injury accident per day on average, and a fatal accident more than every other week.
If you or a family member were injured or killed in FedEx truck crash in Texas that wasn’t your fault, you deserve compensation. But getting it won’t be easy: big trucking companies like FedEx are known to fight insurance claims aggressively, denying liability whenever possible—or, failing that, undervaluing the true cost of severe injuries, pain, and suffering. This makes it difficult for accident victims to get the fair compensation they deserve.
What Causes FedEx Truck Accidents?
Accidents involving a FedEx freight truck are often complex, with many potential contributing factors. Some of the most common include:
- Distracted driving: According to the FMCSA, more than 7 out of 10 accidents involving large trucks occurred when the driver was “doing something besides driving the truck,” for example looking at billboards, using a mobile phone, or eating.
- Driving while fatigued: Truck drivers put in long hours on the road and may even feel pressured to skip mandatory rest breaks to make deliveries on time.
- Negligent training or supervision: Trucking companies are under a lot of pressure to keep up with shipments. Unfortunately, that means they may put a driver who hasn’t been properly trained on the road—or keep a driver on the road despite multiple flagrant safety violations.
- Poor truck condition: Semi-trucks and trailers require regular inspections and maintenance to ensure safety. However, these checks and repairs don’t always occur when they’re supposed to.
- Improper loading: Cargo that isn’t loaded or secured properly, or shifts during transport, can alter a truck’s center of gravity and make it harder to control, and more prone to overturning.
Depending on the circumstances of the crash, the liability for the accident may fall on the truck driver personally, the trucking company (either FedEx or an independent trucking company used as a contractor), a maintenance company, parts or vehicle manufacturer, or even a bar that knowingly overserved a driver.
FedEx’s Recent Crash and Legal History
As mentioned above, due to the sheer size of the fleet, FedEx Ground trucks are involved in a staggering number of serious accidents—nearly 900 in just the last two years alone.
A quick Google search drives the point home. Just in Texas, in the last 12 months, there have been several notable crashes in the news.
- On November 28, 2022, a FedEx truck rolled over on I-35 in Buda, shutting down all but two lanes of the interstate for over an hour.
- On September 6, 2022, a crash between a FedEx delivery truck and a school bus on 183A in Leander sent the bus driver, bus monitor, and a student to the hospital.
- On February 11, 2022, a FedEx truck driver on I-35W in Fort Worth lost control on slick ice and slammed into an existing pile-up crash at high speed. Six people were killed, and dozens were injured in the pileup. (This one was caught on video, and the footage is truly terrifying.)
- On December 17, 2021, a FedEx truck on I-35E in Lewisville hit a concrete barrier, flipped on its side, and caught fire.
Of course, not every crash involving a FedEx truck will necessarily be the truck driver’s fault. Vehicles crash for many reasons.
That being said, like other trucking companies, FedEx regularly has to pay out large verdicts and settlements to injury victims harmed by their drivers—as much as they try to avoid responsibility or dispute the severity of the victims’ injuries.
In fact, just a few months ago on August 26, 2022, a Nevada court awarded $8 million to a woman whose vehicle was rear-ended by a FedEx truck. According to attorney Benjamin P. Cloward, who represented the woman, FedEx accepted liability but never offered more than $1.8 million to settle, despite three years’ worth of evidence strongly supporting a higher evaluation.
Sadly, we see this kind of behavior all the time from large trucking companies like FedEx.
Steps to Take After Your Truck Crash
There are several important steps you should take after any truck crash to protect yourself, your health, and any future legal case you wish to pursue.
- Contact the police. Even if you believe the damage is minor and no one was hurt, still file an accident report. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
- Document any evidence you can. If you are safely able to do so, take pictures of the scene, car damage, and injuries, and even license plate number. Get contact information from eyewitnesses, the truck driver, and the trucking company.
- Keep your cool (but don’t admit fault). Emotions run high after accidents, but yelling won’t help your case. Nor will admitting fault—even if you’re just trying to be nice or you aren’t sure who caused the accident. Words you say, especially before the full facts are known, can be used to deny or reduce your legitimate claim.
- Seek medical attention as soon as possible if you have any new symptoms, no matter how minor they seem. Often, we hear from injury victims whose injuries only got worse over the following weeks or put off treatment because they thought they’d get better on their own. Insurance companies will use this against you, claiming that your injuries must not have been serious or were unrelated to the crash. So always seek help as soon as possible.
- Don’t talk to the insurance company adjuster right away. The insurance adjuster is not your friend. They are trained to get you to say things that may sound innocent to you, but can be twisted to cast doubt on your injuries or your role in the crash. The best way to protect yourself is by having your attorney handle all the communication with insurance.
- Contact an attorney as soon as possible. Evidence disappears quickly after truck crashes. Trucking companies like FedEx are only required to keep logs, event recorder data, and other evidence that could prove your case for a limited time. If that evidence is lost—or even deliberately destroyed by the trucking company—there may be no way to recover it. The sooner you hire experienced legal representation, the more your attorney can do to build you a strong case.
Crosley Law Stands Up to the Big Trucking Companies
You would think a large trucking company that makes billions per year wouldn’t need to nickel-and-dime injury victims and fight legitimate claims. Unfortunately, that’s just not reality.
FedEx and their insurance companies are motivated by profit. Reducing the amount they have to pay out in claims helps their bottom line. And they retain expensive, well-trained attorneys to defend them in court. Injury victims are at a severe disadvantage—but hiring an experienced truck accident attorney can level the playing field and help you defend your rights.
Crosley Law has a history of taking on trucking companies (including FedEx) and winning. In one notable case, we were honored to represent Amanda’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit against a negligent truck driver.
The truck driver in this case claimed that Amanda caused the accident by running a red light. Because Amanda died at the scene and there were no other available eyewitnesses, the police report took the truck driver’s side of the story, and the insurance company refused to pay. Amanda’s mother, however, believed otherwise and hired Crosley Law. After conducting an extensive investigation and forcing the trucking company to provide us with dashcam footage, telematics data, driver records, and more, we discovered that, among other things:
- The truck driver was the one who ran the red light, not Amanda.
- He was traveling 43 miles per hour at the time of the collision, and still didn’t even hit his brakes for five more seconds.
- The trucking company had seen the dashcam footage before us, but deliberately attempted to hide it.
- The driver had a documented history of reckless driving, and never showed any remorse or regret when interviewed by our team.
But that’s not all. We also interviewed more than 40 of Amanda’s friends and loved ones, and even worked with an economist to determine her future potential income. This work paid off, and helped us obtain a $9 million settlement in mediation for Amanda’s family.
Or, consider Jerry’s case. He suffered a devastating brain injury after his pickup was hit by a wrong-way semi-truck driver. Jerry could no longer work and suffered obvious cognitive and emotional damage—yet because his brain scans seemed normal, the trucking company refused to acknowledge that he had a brain injury at all. Crosley Law went the extra mile for Jerry, digging into the latest scientific research and even getting him into an experimental study using brain scanning tech that was far more sophisticated than a simple MRI or CT scan. Our hard work paid off with a $16 million jury verdict for Jerry at trial.
Crosley Law: Helping Injured Texans Get Justice
For more than 17 years, the team at Crosley Law has been helping people injured in car accidents, truck accidents, and other personal injury situations take on the insurance companies and get the compensation they deserve.
Your initial consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win a settlement or verdict at trial on your behalf. To request your in-person or video consultation, contact our personal injury law firm today at 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000 or fill out our brief contact form.
References
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (2022, November 16). Safety Measurement System—Overview (U.S. DOT#: 265752). Retrieved from https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/Carrier/265752/BASIC/CrashIndicator.aspx
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (2015, February 11). CMV Driving Tips—Driver Distraction. Retrieved from https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/driver-safety/cmv-driving-tips-driver-distraction
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
