Who Pays When a Delivery Truck Hits a Parked Car

Attorney Answer

A parked car is the cleanest fault picture in this area of law — the driver who hit it is responsible. The real question in a delivery-truck case is who answers alongside the driver, and that turns on who actually employed them, which is often not the company whose name is on the side of the truck.

Liability starts with Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a): "Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself." A driver who strikes a lawfully parked vehicle has not managed their vehicle with ordinary care, and because you were not driving there is no conduct of yours for that final clause to attach to.

What you are owed is measured by Cal. Civ. Code § 3333: "For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by this Code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or not." That reaches the repair, or the vehicle's value if it is a total loss, plus towing, storage and reasonable substitute transportation.

On who else answers: where a driver is an employee driving the company's vehicle on duty, the employer answers for that driver's negligence, the principle the Court of Appeal applied in Moreno v. Visser Ranch, Inc., 30 Cal. App. 5th 568 (2018). Delivery for large retailers, though, is frequently performed by contracted delivery companies and their drivers rather than by the retailer itself, and a logo on a truck does not by itself establish who the employer was. When a hiring company is answerable for a contractor's driver turns on its own set of rules, so that piece needs a local attorney rather than a general answer.

The claims regulations set the pace whoever the insurer turns out to be. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(e), an insurer has no more than fifteen calendar days from notice of claim to acknowledge it, provide necessary forms and instructions, and begin any necessary investigation. Under § 2695.7(b), it has no more than forty calendar days after proof of claim to accept or deny, and under § 2695.7(h) no more than thirty calendar days after acceptance to pay. If the car is a total loss, § 2695.8(b)(1) requires a cash settlement based on the actual cost of a comparable automobile, including applicable taxes, one-time transfer fees and the fees for the remaining term of your registration, and § 2695.8(b)(6) applies those standards to third-party claims like yours.

What you can do

1. Photograph everything before the car is moved or repaired: the truck, its markings and any unit number, both vehicles' positions, and the damage from several angles.

2. Write down the name of the company on the truck, the driver's name and the insurance information offered at the scene. If the truck left, request the police report.

3. Ask nearby homes and businesses for doorbell or security camera footage this week — most systems overwrite quickly.

4. Report the collision to your own insurer even if you intend to claim against the truck's carrier.

5. Get a written estimate from a shop you choose. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.8(e)(1) an insurer may not require that the vehicle be repaired at a specific shop.

6. Keep every receipt for towing, storage and substitute transportation.

7. If the offer will not restore the car, ask in writing for one of the three responses Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.8(f) requires: payment of the difference, the name of a shop that will do the repairs for their figure, or an itemized adjustment of your shop's estimate.

8. If the carrier stops responding, file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who practices in your area is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1) generally allows three years for a claim for injuring goods or chattels, which is the period that applies to damage to your vehicle. If anyone was injured, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1's two years for injury or death is shorter and comes first. Where those periods stand depends on facts a page cannot see, so have a local attorney review the actual dates rather than counting from the calendar.