When delivery van accidents result from brake failures, tire blowouts, steering problems, or other mechanical defects, liability may extend beyond the driver to include the delivery company and potentially vehicle manufacturers. Understanding maintenance failure claims helps accident victims identify all responsible parties.
Company Duty to Maintain
Delivery companies have a duty to keep their vehicles in safe operating condition. This includes regular inspections, preventive maintenance, and prompt repair of any safety-related issues. Companies cannot prioritize delivery schedules over vehicle safety.
The duty applies whether companies own vehicles directly, lease them, or contract with drivers who provide their own vehicles (though liability theories differ in each situation).
Common Maintenance Failures
Brake failures occur when companies neglect brake inspections, continue using vehicles with known brake issues, or defer brake repairs to meet delivery demands. Brake failure in a delivery van can cause devastating accidents.
Tire failures including blowouts and tread separation result from worn tires, improper inflation, overloading, or defective tires. Companies must monitor tire condition and replace tires before they fail.
Steering and suspension failures affect vehicle control. Worn components, improper alignment, and deferred repairs can cause drivers to lose control.
Lighting failures make vehicles invisible at night or in bad weather. Brake lights, turn signals, and headlights must all function properly.
Maintenance Records
Companies should maintain records of all vehicle inspections, maintenance performed, repairs made, and known issues. These records can prove or disprove that proper maintenance occurred.
Missing or incomplete records suggest negligent maintenance practices. Companies that can't document proper maintenance face adverse inferences about whether it was performed.
Driver Inspection Duties
Drivers should perform pre-trip inspections to identify obvious safety issues before operating vehicles. While companies bear primary maintenance responsibility, drivers who notice problems and continue driving may share liability.
Companies must train drivers on pre-trip inspections and create a culture where drivers can report problems without fear of reprisal.
Vehicle Manufacturer Liability
When accidents result from vehicle defects rather than maintenance failures, product liability claims may apply against the vehicle manufacturer or component suppliers. Defective brakes, tires, or other components can support claims separate from maintenance negligence.
Determining whether failure resulted from a defect or lack of maintenance requires expert analysis of the failed components.
Gig Driver Vehicle Maintenance
When independent contractor drivers provide their own vehicles, maintenance responsibility shifts—but platform companies may still face liability if they know or should know drivers are using unsafe vehicles, they fail to require vehicle inspections or maintenance verification, and their payment structures discourage drivers from maintaining vehicles properly.
Paying contractors so little they can't afford proper maintenance creates foreseeable safety risks.
Evidence in Maintenance Failure Cases
Critical evidence includes the vehicle itself (preserved for expert inspection), maintenance records showing inspection and repair history, driver logs noting any problems before the accident, testimony about pre-accident vehicle behavior, and expert analysis of failed components.
Preserve evidence immediately after any accident involving suspected maintenance failure. Vehicles may be repaired or disposed of, destroying crucial evidence.
Expert Testimony
Maintenance failure cases typically require expert witnesses who can examine failed components and determine failure cause, evaluate whether proper maintenance would have prevented failure, testify about industry maintenance standards, and explain technical issues to juries.
Pursuing Your Claim
If you suspect a delivery van accident involved maintenance failure, document any pre-accident observations about the vehicle's condition. Note if the driver mentioned mechanical problems. Photograph the vehicle and any visible defects.
An experienced attorney can subpoena maintenance records, hire experts to examine the vehicle, and pursue claims against all responsible parties—driver, company, and potentially vehicle manufacturers.