driver being sued

[But Benefits Are Great!]

In a real world, there is a risk to everything we do.

We try to minimize the risk as much as possible, but to eliminate the risk is impossible.

Then there is the idea of individual responsibility. Both of the shipper and the consignee. You as the consignee know that you have dogs roaming free in the yard. You also order what you wish, knowing that UPS or any other of the delivery companies, will deliver it to your door, and leave it there.

You know what you are getting, you ordered it. The company that ships it to you is trying to save you money and time. So they do not place a signature required sticker on the package.

Without the sticker, the driver has no knowledge of what he is delivering. None of our business, unless it is something blatantly illegal. We are in the delivery business, not snooping and regulating.

So we do our job, and do it well. We can not, nor do we accept any blame for the oversight or stupidity of the customer or the shipper.

To totally protect both from any kind of issues that might occur would not only drive us out of business, but hinder the free and rapid movement of goods.

There is no way possible to protect each and every customer and their dogs, cats birds fish, kids etc etc etc, from every possible risk of harm.

Do things by the book, and let UPS take care of the issues with the customer.

d

***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING

Your post has been flagged because it makes perfect, common sense.

This is to inform you that common sense replies will no longer be tolerated.

The Correct Reply would have been something like "Yeah, we should sue the blacktop companies if my stupid kid eats the driveway"

Please carry on.

***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING

 

[moreluck]

Originally Posted by dannyboy
I"n a real world, there is a risk to everything we do.

We try to minimize the risk as much as possible, but to eliminate the risk is impossible."

D.,
This is kind of my philosphy in life. I look at a skateboard and think, "that looks like fun". But, allowing for my age and other circumstances I know I would be risking severe injury if I tried it.

They say there is gang warfare in Tijuana......guess what? I guess I don't need that pottery in Tijuana, I'll just go to Michael's.

We can't protect ourselves from everything, but we can make the careful choices that might prolong our good health and good life. Sometimes my hubby thinks I'm paranoid, but I just call it being careful.

 

[tvick]

I heard a story about a guy in our ceter that was delivering a package to a door. He DR'd the package and was on his way back to truck, completing his paperwork(when we were still on paper) when a small dog came out of a little doggie door and grabbed him by the leg. His first reaction was jabbing the pooch in the sid with a pen. When he did this the dog spun toward where he had been stuck and ran back in his doggie door. He then bled to death in the kitchen floor and was found by owner with a brown ups pen in his side. don't know if there was any kind of lawsuit but the driver is still doing his job

 

[longlunchguy]

His first reaction was to STAB him? Couldn't just swat the thing with the clipboard?

 

[hseofpayne]

His first reaction was to STAB him? Couldn't just swat the thing with the clipboard?

This wasn't Brownshark was it? he likes to "shank" stuff!

 

[soberups]

As far as the driver being sued....it is UPS's responsibility to pay for any work-related damages caused by an employee, not the employee himself. UPS has "public liability" insurance to cover this sort of thing. There was an instance where I was wheeling a handtruck full of packages in a parking area, lost my footing, and put a big scratch in the side of someones new car with my handtruck. I found the customer, apologized, and when I got back to the building I filled out an insurance form so the customer could get their car fixed.

 

[rocket man]

To upstate nyer you must be a real winner everyone that had something happen to him or her it happened to do you Do the company a favor and quit you dog so my stock can go up by. sorry to here about your brother the dog.

 

[New Englander]

His first reaction was to STAB him? Couldn't just swat the thing with the clipboard?

Screw that! I'm all for what he did. I actually like dogs but nothing pisses me off more then stupid freaken owners.

 

[brown67]

As far as the driver being sued....it is UPS's responsibility to pay for any work-related damages caused by an employee, not the employee himself. UPS has "public liability" insurance to cover this sort of thing. There was an instance where I was wheeling a handtruck full of packages in a parking area, lost my footing, and put a big scratch in the side of someones new car with my handtruck. I found the customer, apologized, and when I got back to the building I filled out an insurance form so the customer could get their car fixed.

Then charged with an avoidable accident, suspended for a week, had to recite dok questions, and join safety committee.

 

[john346]

It's amazing to me how much our society has changed. 15 years ago, if you slipped on the ice, fell on your arse, you were a clumsy bugger, but now, OH NO! It's someone elses neglegance that caused that, BECAUSE I have cat-like reflexes, and in a runner-up position for the current Bat Man slot! It's un-freaking beleivable the crap that people sue over anymore.
Coffee too hot & I squeze the cup too tight between my thunder thighs? Not me, them. Typically them equates to the deepest pockets that the P.O.S. lawyer can find in the line of potential defendants. So if UPS doesn't cough up, or want to settle, then it has to be those bastards that made the chemicals, or if they aren't willing to settle, then certainly the creeps that manufactured either the container or the cheap ass box, yeah, that's it, lets see what they offer. Hopefully whomever is seeking litigation isn't Africian Americian. Because they'll have the race card to play, thankfully Johnny Cochran is in the grave, as he could turn this into a driver that may or may not have said the N word at a new years party in '72 while slightly under the influence, & has clearly had it in for that black dog since he first laid eyes on it. You be the judge... Certainly the plaintiff, who has been so egregiously wronged, they certainly couldnt be remotely responsable to know the nature of their animals and to possibly intercept the delivery in any way, or pen the beast away for the day the parcel arrives, noooo, it's us, hell bent on finally getting that dog!
For me, I see it so clearly, I Will Not open a gate to gain access to a ranch, because I know that even though I'm in Idaho, the horse that runs out on the highway & gets to be part of a Freightliner's grill. Will go from being called "Alpo" to a direct lineage to the last triple crown winner, and let the real games begin.
Did you know that hundreds of years ago William Shakespere did indeed include in his writings the phrase "lets kill all the lawyers, and let's kill them tonight."? Words of wisdom I think, plus if we did an effective job, who would be left to prosicute us for the crime?

 

[But Benefits Are Great!]

{{{{Rant}}}}

Everybody in the world feels the same way.

Everybody feels lawsuits for falling off a ladder are stupid.

Until they fall off a ladder, slip on ice, get bit by a dog - then they see the payday and go for it.

 

[hseofpayne]

Everybody in the world feels the same way.

Everybody feels lawsuits for falling off a ladder are stupid.

Until they fall off a ladder, slip on ice, get bit by a dog - then they see the payday and go for it.

You will hearing from my lawyer regarding my lawsuit suing you for slander.

 

[But Benefits Are Great!]

You will hearing from my lawyer regarding my lawsuit suing you for slander.

And you will be hearing from mine due to the mental anguish caused by your post.

Let's just sue each other , split what we win.

 

[hseofpayne]

And you will be hearing from mine due to the mental anguish caused by your post.

Let's just sue each other , split what we win.

Of course I will counter sue for filing a frivolous lawsuit and ask for damages plus lawyers fees and ask that your suit be dismissed as your suit was filed after the fact. THEN we can split it!

 

[dannyboy]

While there are too many lawsuits indeed, there are many times when one of our drivers get hurt (and sometimes badly) where the customer directly did something, or failed to do something that caused the problem.

Case in point.

House on a hill, pretty steep incline, driveway goes behind the house to the two car garage. No walkway to the front door, no pathway, just a bunch of washed out clay that will not grow grass.

Customer orders a lot of stuff, and wants it all left at the front porch, and the driver is instructed to do so. As a result, he attempts to deliver a very large heavy package to the front, but ends up tearing his knee up badly trying to get said heavy package to the front door.

Two things come to mind. First, the home owner is responsible because they created an unsafe condition, and then demanded our driver use the unsafe area to make the delivery. Secondly, UPS has a real buy in on this injury to the driver, as they instructed him to leave the sidewalk, and go up the hill over the clay areas which were very wet that day, and follow the customers request.

IMHO, he ought to be able to sue both. And rightfully so.

As for dogs, I always let the customers reaction be the basis for the decision to sue. Laugh and think its cute and funny or that I deserved to have your mutt bit me, or as in some cases, where you told your dog sic him (which has happened many times cause you think its cool), you will talk to my lawyer. And in the case of the last one, the police department as well.

d

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

D, common sense has to prevail and, in the situation you described above, even though the customer requested (ok, demanded) front door delivery, if conditions did not warrant such delivery, common sense would tell you to find an alternate delivery location and then, when the inevitable phone call to your center manager is made, you have the basis of knowing that conditions did not allow you to make the delivery to the desired location but you did make delivery to a safe yet alternate delivery location. I would hope that your center manager would back you up in this case but, if not, I would rather have a Code 14 in my file than an torn up knee for the rest of my life.

As far as the causes of action, I do not see the merit in either case. First of all, how would he have action against UPS? Was he told specifically by his mgt team that he had to make delivery to the front door irregardless of conditions which would make such delivery unsafe? Second of all, he may have action against the homeowner as he was directed by him to deliver to the front door but a good lawyer would simply ask if there were an alternate delivery location available that would have been a safer option on that particular day.

Much of what I am trying to say goes back to your personal responsibility post, which made a great deal of sense. I would only add common sense to the equation.

 

[dannyboy]

Well, that is where I beleive you to be mistaken.

1 House built by resident
2 Regular driver (me) refused to deliver to the front door because it is unsafe
3 Management specifically instructed the cover driver to deliver to the front door In writing
4 Cover driver delivered the first package without too much problem, but when they were delivering the large monitor over the unsafe area, they slipped in such a way that the knee ended up under the driver and bent it in such a way that the knee tendons were torn, and other damage occured.

So, we have a customer with whome it has been documented had an unsafe delivery area that they still demanded delivery to. The even went as far as to call in a customer complaint to the point that they did not want the regular driver to deliver to them again, because he refused to deliver to the front door, but instead left the items at the garage door. (BTW, there is no way a DR to the front door can be hidden from the street, which is another reason why I would not deliver to the front door.)

So the customer has a track record in writing on what they wanted done.

As for UPS, shame on the management for not following through on the refusal of the safety cochair to deliver to an unsafe stop. That caused them a serious injury to another driver who spent the next 8 months off work.

End result was that UPS had an injury that all hell got raised over, and the company sued the home owner for the workers comp costs on this claim.

Personally, since the driver had it in writing to deliver the unsafe stop and was instructed by the company to do so, they did have liability for that action.

Agree or not, that would be my stand. And I think legally it would be pretty damning in front of a jury. And while I understand your "assuming personal responsiblity" is in agreement with my views, there comes a point in time where the company has to accept responsibiliy for its actions as well.

To send out a rookie to make an unsafe delivery when the seasoned driver refuses shows a total lack of concern for the driver.

d

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

D, these are all good points and sorry if I missed some of them in your first post. From what I read the first time, I took it as the homeowner wanted deliveries made to the front door but was not to the point where it was in writing. Your point about the complaint is what I had said, I would rather have a Code 14 and complete the delivery safely than an injury due to a misguided homeowner directive.

Much of the information that you gave in your subsequent post was not in your original. My reply would have mirrored yours had I had this additional information. As such, I apologize but I had replied based on your initial scenario.

Dave

 

[dannyboy]

Dave

Not a problem my friend.

Sometimes when I tell a story, I know the background, and fail to make the background plain in postings. That is my fault.

Sorry for the confusion.

Best

daniel

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.