Washington Delivery Truck and Van Accident Lawyer: Amazon, FedEx, UPS, DHL and USPS Crashes, the 3-Year Deadline and the Shorter USPS Clock (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a delivery truck or van crash in Washington

1. Get medical care and keep every bill and record.
2. Get the police report. See how to get a police report in Seattle. Our guide to traffic camera footage in Seattle explains how to ask for city video before it is gone.
3. Photograph the vehicle, its markings and its USDOT number, and ask the driver who employs them.
4. Ask the company in writing to keep its own video. Amazon says all Amazon-branded vehicles carry in-vehicle camera safety technology (Amazon). See do Amazon delivery vans have cameras.
5. If a mail truck was involved, plan around two years, not three. The federal claim deadline is shorter than Washington’s.

Who employs the driver

The brand on the vehicle shows whose packages it carried. The claim follows the business responsible for the driver, and the major companies staff their routes differently.

DHL and regional carriers raise the same questions. Our pages on Amazon delivery van accidents, FedEx truck accidents and UPS truck accidents cover each company, and owner-operator or company driver: who pays explains contractor arrangements.

Washington law on who answers for the driver

Washington generally makes each defendant liable only for its own percentage of fault. There are two key exceptions. A party is responsible for the fault of another person “when a person was acting as an agent or servant of the party.” And if the injured person was not at fault, the defendants found liable are jointly and severally liable for the sum of their shares (RCW 4.22.070(1)).

The Washington Supreme Court explained the scope-of-employment test in Rahman v. State, 170 Wn.2d 810, 246 P.3d 182 (2011): whether the employee was “engaged in the performance of the duties required of him by his contract of employment, or by specific direction of his employer; or … in the furtherance of the employer’s interest.” In that case a state employee on a work trip broke a department rule by bringing an unauthorized passenger, then crashed. The court affirmed that the State was liable as a matter of law, because the trip and route were dictated by official business. It quoted the rule that if serving the employer’s business “actuates the employee to any appreciable extent, the employer is subject to liability” (Rahman opinion). Under that test, a delivery driver who breaks a company safety rule while working the route is likely still acting within the scope of employment. In 2011 the Legislature acted to overrule the result in Rahman for riders inside the employer’s vehicle: a private employer is not liable to an unauthorized occupant of its vehicle if the employee had acknowledged its vehicle-use policy in writing (RCW 4.24.770). That statute covers only occupants of the employer’s vehicle, not other drivers, cyclists or pedestrians the vehicle hits.

A company in the business of renting or leasing vehicles is not liable only because it owns the van, unless it was itself negligent or committed a crime (49 U.S.C. § 30106). See also company vehicle accidents: who is liable.

Insurance and why the size of the vehicle matters

A vehicle used in interstate commerce to carry property is a federal “commercial motor vehicle” if its gross vehicle weight rating is 10,001 pounds or more (49 C.F.R. § 390.5). For-hire carriers of ordinary freight in that class must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage (49 C.F.R. § 387.9), but the federal insurance rules do not apply to a vehicle rated under 10,001 pounds unless it hauls certain hazardous materials (§ 387.3(c)). When a van is involved, the policy behind it has to be found, not assumed.

Washington’s minimum auto liability limits are $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 for property damage (RCW 46.29.090), and that minimum matters when a driver’s personal policy is the main coverage. Amazon says its Flex policy applies only during an active delivery block (Amazon Flex FAQ). Underinsured motorist coverage is part of Washington auto policies unless rejected in writing (RCW 48.22.030); see making an underinsured motorist claim.

For trucks covered by federal rules, a contractor driver counts as an “employee” while operating the vehicle (§ 390.5), and a property-carrying driver may not drive more than 11 hours after 10 hours off duty, or past the 14th hour on duty (49 C.F.R. § 395.3). See how hours-of-service logs prove a tired driver.

Postal Service crashes: a shorter clock than Washington’s

Tort claims arising out of Postal Service activities are governed by the Federal Tort Claims Act (39 U.S.C. § 409(c)). The written claim must be presented to the agency within two years after the claim accrues, and suit must be filed within six months after the agency mails its final denial (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). Washington’s three-year statute does not extend that. You cannot sue until the claim is denied in writing or six months pass without a decision (§ 2675(a)).

The Postal Service treats a claim as presented when it receives a Standard Form 95 or other written notice with a demand for money damages “in a sum certain” (39 C.F.R. § 912.5; SF-95). That number generally caps what you can later sue for (§ 2675(b)). The suit is against the United States, not the carrier (§ 2679(b)(1)). Washington law, including its fault rules, governs liability under the federal “law of the place” rule (28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1)). A judge decides the case without a jury (§ 2402), with no punitive damages or prejudgment interest (§ 2674). Federal motor carrier safety rules generally do not apply to transportation performed by the federal government (49 C.F.R. § 390.3(f)(2)).

Contractors are different. The Act excludes “any contractor with the United States” (§ 2671), and the Postal Service moves mail between plants and post offices on supplier-operated routes (USPS OIG). A crash with a contractor’s truck follows Washington’s three-year rule. See USPS mail truck accidents.

Washington deadlines and shared fault

For a death claim, see the Washington wrongful death statute of limitations, and for how fault is split, see comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington.

Truck crashes in Washington and what they show

Fault in a commercial vehicle crash is not automatic. In October 2026, three cars and a semi collided on northbound I-5 near Boeing Field in Seattle; diesel spilled and multiple people were hurt, with the cause under investigation by the State Patrol (our report on the I-5 crash). East of Moses Lake that same month, investigators said a sedan traveling well above the 60 mph limit crested a rise and struck the front of a tractor-trailer; the sedan’s 23-year-old driver died (our report on the Moses Lake crash).

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission reports 659 traffic deaths in 2025 in preliminary data, 10.5% fewer than in 2024 and 18% fewer than the 809 in 2023 (WTSC). We take delivery vehicle cases statewide, including Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane truck accidents.

Related pages

• California delivery truck accident lawyer
• Texas delivery truck accident lawyer
• Washington truck accident lawyer
• Box truck and moving truck accidents and hit by a truck while walking or biking
• Washington car accident lawyer and Washington pedestrian accident lawyer
• Washington wrongful death lawyer

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.