Memphis Walmart Truck Accident Lawyers

What is Walmart’s in-house distribution system?

Unlike many large-scale delivery services, Walmart does not rely heavily on independent contractors or third-party service providers. Instead, its delivery services are almost all in-house. Its drivers are almost all Walmart employees.

Employer liability

Generally, you can sue both the at-fault driver and their employer for truck accident compensation. The driver must have been acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the accident.

Insurance coverage

If you sue the driver, you shouldn’t rely on their personal auto insurance. Instead, you should rely on the driver’s commercial auto insurance provided by Walmart. Coverage limits might be in the millions of dollars.

If that isn’t enough, you can sue Walmart because they are responsible for their employee’s on-duty misconduct. Walmart, as one of the world’s largest companies, can certainly afford to pay your claim with or without insurance. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean they won’t vigorously defend against your claim.

What are the elements of a Walmart truck accident claim?

Negligence means carelessness. Of course, carelessness might not have caused the truck accident that injured you. Perhaps the driver intentionally rammed your car in an act of road rage. Since most Walmart truck accidents are based on negligence, it makes sense to list the elements of negligence below.

Duty of care

On the road, every driver owes every other driver the duty to drive with reasonable care. That means obeying all traffic laws, but it could mean more. It could mean, for example, that you should drive well below the speed limit during an ice storm.

Breach of duty

There are two ways to breach your duty of care:

• By doing something you shouldn’t have done (driving the wrong way on a one-way street); or
• By failing to do something you should have done (stop at a red light).

No matter how a driver fails to meet their duty of care, a breach of duty equals negligence. Negligence alone, however, is not enough to win — you also need causation and damages.

Causation

To win, you must prove that the driver’s negligence caused your damages. There are two types of causation: actual cause and proximate cause. You prove actual cause by showing that, but for the Walmart driver’s negligence, you wouldn’t have been injured. You prove proximate cause by showing that your injuries were foreseeable in light of the driver’s conduct.

Damages

To prove damages, you must show that you suffered some type of harm. Typically, this harm is a physical injury. Once you prove physical injury, you can claim medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and any other tangible or intangible losses that you suffered.

What evidence can I use to establish my truck accident claim?

The Tennessee Rules of Evidence govern the admissibility of evidence in Tennessee courts. Inadmissible evidence is often unpersuasive in settlement negotiations. Following is a list of some of the most common types of evidence that victims use to establish their claims after Walmart truck accidents:

• Cell phone records (to prove distracted driving)
• Dashcam or surveillance camera video footage
• Data from the truck’s event data recorder (its “black box”)
• Documentation of lost wages (from the victim’s employer)
• Documentation of pain and suffering (therapy records, for example)
• Driver logs and maintenance data
• Expert testimony
• Medical records
• The driver’s employment records
• Photographs of the scene of the accident
• Police reports
• Walmart’s internal policies and procedures
• Witness statements

A full list of commonly used evidence would include hundreds of items.