Delivery van and a damaged car stopped on a Texas road after a collision

UPS truck accident lawyers in Texas.

Reviewed by Josh Alexander, Founder & Managing Attorney | Updated

UPS package drivers are UPS employees. So when one of them hits you, the company answers for the driver, and you know who the defendant is on the first day. What happens next is a question of proving fault and getting the records UPS already has.

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A UPS truck crash is not built like an Amazon or FedEx crash.

When a delivery van hits a driver or a pedestrian, the first question is usually which company the driver works for. With Amazon and FedEx delivery work, a separate contractor company often sits between the driver and the brand on the side of the van, and answering that one question can take months.

UPS package drivers are employees of UPS. They are represented by the Teamsters under the largest private sector collective bargaining agreement in North America. In the usual UPS van crash there is no contractor company in between, which means most UPS truck accidents start with the defendant already identified.

That does not make the claim small. It moves the argument to who caused the collision, what the records show, and how much the injury is worth.

Brown delivery step van parked on a residential street in Texas

Why UPS answers for what its driver did.

A UPS driver accident is rarely a claim against one person. Because the driver was a UPS employee working a route, the company is on the claim alongside the driver, and you are dealing with a national carrier rather than an individual with a personal auto policy. The doctrine behind that, vicarious liability, is set out in full on our company vehicle accident guide.

Driver negligence and corporate negligence are separate claims. The driver may have made the mistake, and UPS may have made its own: a driver kept on a route with a known history, training that was never given, a van with a repair request the company never acted on. Each of those is a failure by the company itself.

Both matter because they rest on different proof. Driver negligence is proven from the collision itself. Corporate negligence is proven from employment and maintenance records that only UPS holds, which is why we ask for them in the first week rather than the first year.

Employment and maintenance records of the kind requested from a delivery company after a crash

A UPS truck accident in Texas carries a two-year deadline to file suit.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 gives most injury claims two years from the date of the crash. Exceptions exist and they are narrow, so confirm your date rather than assuming one applies to you.

Shared fault is the second number that decides what you keep. Under Section 33.001, your recovery drops by your percentage of responsibility, and you recover nothing if a jury puts you above 50 percent. Every point an insurer assigns to you is money it does not pay, which is why the percentage gets argued as hard as the injury does.

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Who you are up against.

A UPS accident is not a claim against a driver with a personal auto policy. UPS accidents are answered by people who do this work full time: claims professionals, in-house counsel, and outside defense firms who have handled thousands of delivery collisions and know exactly what a case like yours usually settles for.

One of the first things we establish is how the loss is covered, because that determines who has authority to pay and how the claim gets evaluated. Texas discovery rules require a defendant to produce its insurance and indemnity agreements, so we request them rather than guessing at the structure from the outside.

Until that is answered, an early call is an opening position from an adjuster paid to close your claim for less than it is worth. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other side, or to accept an offer made before your treatment is finished.

“I have worked on both sides of the desk, the most common thing I see with insurance companies is their initial offer, 99% of the time it is not the correct amount; I would know it was a tactic we would use and know I can share that knowledge with you.”
Matthew Graham, Managing Litigation Attorney Matthew Graham Managing Litigation Attorney Former insurance defense attorney

Matthew Graham spent over a decade directing insurance defense litigation for a 10-state region before joining the plaintiff’s side.

Three versions of the same crash, three different defendants.

A UPS driver in a UPS package car.

This is the standard case. The driver is a UPS employee working a route, the vehicle belongs to the company, and UPS answers for the collision. The claim turns on fault and on damages rather than on identifying the right defendant, and the records that prove both sit with the company.

1 What we confirm
Driver employmentVehicle ownershipOn-route at crash time

A seasonal driver in a personal vehicle.

UPS has used seasonal drivers in personal vehicles during peak delivery periods. Whether that arrangement applied to any particular crash is not something we assume. A seasonal driver in a personal car can change who the defendant is, which is one of the first things we check when the vehicle described does not match a standard package car.

2 What changes
Vehicle is not company ownedPersonal policy may applyEmployment status verified first

A hired, staffing, or non-employee driver.

Where a driver was placed through a staffing arrangement rather than hired directly, more than one company can be answerable for the same crash. This is uncommon in UPS package delivery. Whether it applies to your crash is a question of fact, so we establish the driver’s actual employment before naming a defendant. Naming the wrong one costs time you do not have under the two-year deadline.

3 What we request
Employment recordsAny staffing agreementWho controlled the route

What we do in the first week.

A car accident with a UPS truck is a claim against a national company from the minute it happens. The first week is spent making sure the record of it exists before anyone needs to argue about what the record says.

  • 1

    Identify the driver and confirm the employer

    We pull the police crash report, identify the driver by name and unit number, and confirm in writing that the driver was a UPS employee working a route at the time. The defendant gets verified, not assumed.

  • 2

    Send the preservation letter

    We write to UPS and put the company on notice of its duty to preserve the records tied to your crash, including route data, vehicle data, and the driver’s file. The letter creates a documented demand, dated and delivered.

  • 3

    Fix the crash time and the scene

    We establish the exact timestamp and location, then request the footage that exists near it: business cameras, doorbell cameras, and traffic cameras. A timestamp is what lets two recordings be matched to one collision. Private footage is often overwritten quickly, so this is asked for in days rather than months.

  • 4

    Open the claim and take the calls

    We notify the carrier, open the file, and become the contact point. Adjusters call us instead of you, and you stop giving statements to a company whose job is to reduce what it pays.

How people get hit by UPS trucks.

UPS truck crashes fall into a handful of recurring patterns, and in most of them the brown truck was doing something entirely routine when it happened. Whatever version yours was, what you do in the first hours after a UPS truck wreck decides how much of it you can still prove months later.

  • Rear-ended by a delivery truck

    A loaded package car that slammed into stopped traffic leaves damage showing how fast it was moving. Photograph both vehicles before either is moved or repaired.

  • Backed into at a stop

    A step van has limited rear visibility, so a van that ran into you may never have seen you. Note whether a spotter was present and whether the backup alarm worked.

  • Sideswiped in traffic

    Wide vehicles drift when a driver is watching an address instead of the lane. Damage running the length of one side shows the point of first contact, so photograph your whole car.

  • Struck while walking

    Pedestrians are hit near the curb, in driveways, and in parking areas where a van is pulling in or out. Get the names of anyone who saw it before they leave.

  • Hit by an opening door or a double-parked van

    A van stopped in a live lane forces other drivers around it. Photograph where the truck was parked; that position is the evidence and it disappears in minutes.

  • Crashed into at an intersection

    A driver behind schedule takes a light that has already changed and collided with cross traffic. The timing is provable from camera footage and from the vehicle’s own data if it is requested before it is gone.

Whatever you do next, get medical attention and keep the records. A gap between the crash date and the first visit is the argument an insurer makes to say the injury came from something else. See our guide on what to do after a crash in Texas.

The evidence only UPS holds.

  • Route and delivery records

    Stop times, delivery scans, and where the vehicle was through the day. These place the truck at your location at a specific minute, which is often the difference between two versions of the same collision.

  • Vehicle telematics

    Modern delivery vehicles record operating data. What was captured, and what remains available, is established through a formal request rather than assumed from the outside.

  • The driver’s employment file

    The file holds hiring records, training, prior incidents and any discipline. That is what supports a claim that the company itself was careless, separate from what the driver did that day.

  • The company’s own report of the crash

    Large carriers document collisions internally. Maintenance and repair history for that vehicle sits alongside it, and both are requested by name in discovery.

What a preservation letter does

It is a written notice to UPS that identifies your crash and states the company’s duty to preserve the material connected to it, creating a dated record of what was asked for and when.

A preservation letter does not physically stop a record from being lost. What it does is remove any argument that no request was ever made, and if evidence connected to your crash later turns out to be unavailable, that failure to preserve has a legal name: spoliation.

This is why the timing is the point. The letter goes out in the first week, before we know which record will end up mattering most.

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What you can recover.

Texas allows recovery in four broad categories. What any single claim is worth depends on the injury, the medical record, and the proof of fault.

  • Medical expenses

    Treatment already received and care your doctors expect you to need. Future care is proven with medical opinion, not with an estimate written after the fact.

  • Lost income

    Wages missed while you were unable to work, and lost earning capacity where an injury changes the work you are able to do going forward.

  • Property damage

    Repair or replacement of a wrecked vehicle and the personal property damaged inside it, including a rental for the time yours is unavailable.

  • Non-economic harm

    Physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, and physical impairment. Texas treats these as real losses even though no invoice exists for them.

For how these categories are valued in Texas claims, see our guide on what a Texas accident case is worth. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Results from Texas vehicle claims.

  • $716K
    Motor vehicle accident

    Recovered for a driver injured by another motorist’s negligence.

  • $350K
    Motor vehicle accident

    Settlement for a client rear-ended in Texas traffic.

  • $15M
    18-wheeler, wrongful death

    Recovered for a family after a fatal collision with a commercial truck.

  • $2.55M
    18-wheeler crash

    Resolved for a client seriously hurt in a wreck with a tractor-trailer.

  • $1M
    18-wheeler crash

    Recovered after a heavy truck caused a high-impact highway collision.

  • $750K
    18-wheeler crash

    Settlement for injuries from a commercial truck collision.

Sample results from real past cases, none of which involved UPS. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Who handles these claims

You reach an attorney, not a call center.

  • Josh Alexander, Founder and Managing Attorney at J. Alexander Law Firm

    Josh Alexander

    Founder & Managing Attorney

    A Marine Corps veteran and Texas trial lawyer who founded the firm and has recovered millions for hundreds of injured clients. On a UPS file he owns the fault question, naming what the driver did and what the company failed to do.

    Meet Josh Alexander
  • Matthew Graham, Managing Litigation Attorney at J. Alexander Law Firm

    Matthew Graham

    Managing Litigation Attorney

    Spent over a decade directing insurance defense litigation for a 10-state region of the country’s second-largest auto insurer. He gets the preservation letter out in week one and sits with you before any recorded statement.

    Meet Matthew Graham
  • Laura Rivas, Senior Associate Attorney at J. Alexander Law Firm

    Laura Rivas

    Senior Associate Attorney

    Nine years representing injured people in motor vehicle, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death claims, in English and Spanish. She keeps the medical record moving so every symptom ties to treatment. Texas Bar No. 24096510.

    Meet Laura Rivas

Questions people ask after a UPS accident.

If yours is not here, call and ask it. The answer is free either way.

Talk to an attorney today

Tell us what happened and we will tell you whether you have a claim worth bringing.

Call (469) 807-7480
Who is liable for a UPS truck accident?
UPS package drivers are employees of UPS, so the company is normally answerable for a crash its driver causes while working. That differs from Amazon and FedEx delivery work, where a separate contractor company often sits between the driver and the brand. In a typical UPS van crash you know the defendant on day one, and the argument moves to fault and damages.
Are UPS drivers employees or independent contractors?
UPS package drivers are UPS employees, represented by the Teamsters under the largest private sector collective bargaining agreement in North America. There is normally no contractor company between the driver and UPS. Where the vehicle involved was not a company package car, we verify employment status before naming any defendant.
How long do I have to file after a UPS truck accident in Texas?
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 gives most injury claims two years from the date of the crash to file suit. Exceptions exist and they are narrow. Confirm your specific date with an attorney instead of assuming an exception covers you. More detail is in our guide to Texas filing deadlines.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001 reduces your recovery by your percentage of responsibility, and bars it entirely above 50 percent. Being partly responsible does not end a claim. It does mean the percentage becomes something worth arguing carefully, because every point assigned to you is money the insurer keeps.
What evidence does UPS have after a crash?
UPS holds records you cannot get on your own: route and delivery data, vehicle telematics, the driver’s employment and training file, vehicle maintenance history, and any internal report of the collision. We send a written preservation letter putting the company on notice of its duty to preserve that material, then request it formally in discovery.
Do I have to talk to the insurance company?
You are required to report the crash to your own insurer under your policy. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other side, and you are not required to accept an offer made before your treatment is finished. Our guide on dealing with insurance companies in Texas covers the common tactics.
What does it cost to hire you?
Nothing up front. We work on contingency, which means our fee comes out of money we recover for you, and if there is no recovery you owe us no attorney’s fee. We also advance the costs of building the case. See how contingency fees work for the full breakdown.

Six Texas offices. The same file, worked the same way.

A UPS route runs through every one of these counties. Find the office nearest you, or call the Dallas number and we will route it. If you cannot travel while you are treating, we come to you.

Hit by a UPS truck anywhere in Texas? The preservation letter goes out the same week, whichever office opens the file.

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Related reading.

Hit by a UPS truck? No fee unless we recover.

Tell us what happened and we will tell you whether you have a claim worth bringing. You pay nothing up front, we advance the case costs, and our fee comes only out of what we recover for you.

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Attorney advertising. Josh Alexander is responsible for the content of this page; principal office 12801 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1100, Dallas, TX 75243. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. The information on this page is for general purposes only and is not legal advice; contacting the firm or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. UPS is a registered trademark of its owner and is named here only to describe the type of claim this firm handles; this firm is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of that company. Se habla español.

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