One truck driver was killed and another severely injured in separate incidents at the same Amazon facility in Indiana. A pair of lawsuits attempting to hold the e-commerce giant accountable now can proceed.
The Indiana Supreme Court recently denied two petitions to rule on cases involving two independent contractor truck drivers struck by another vehicle outside an Amazon facility. The high court’s decision leaves intact the Indiana Court of Appeals’ orders that paved the way for the lawsuits to continue.
Although separate incidents, both lawsuits argue that Amazon should have known that the layout of its Greenfield, Ind., facility was dangerous to drivers. A lack of signage and lighting left truck drivers confused about where to enter, forcing them to stop outside the facility while figuring out where to go.
There are three entrances to the Amazon facility. Coming from the west, the first two entrances had “no truck” signs at the time of both incidents. No signage at those entrances indicated where truckers could enter, which was the third entrance. That entrance was located 500 feet away from the facility.
The Greenfield, Ind., Amazon facility coming from the west taken by Google Maps in October 2022:
In the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 2, 2022, Mahari Mrach Oukbu approached the Indiana Amazon facility for the first time as an independent contractor. He was provided no information other than the address and delivery time.
When Oukbu approached the facility, he was confused about where to enter. He stopped on the road outside the facility and was struck by another vehicle when he exited his truck. Oukbu was severely injured.
The man who drove the vehicle that struck Oukbu told police, “You see these truck drivers all the time stopping and getting out here.” An Amazon employee told investigators, “Amazon sees lost truck drivers get out of their trucks at that spot every day.”
Several weeks later, on Oct. 20, 2022, Harvail Singh Dhillon, also an independent contractor truck driver delivering to the Indiana Amazon facility for the first time, faced the same dilemma. However, when Dhillon stepped outside his truck, he was struck and killed by a fuel tanker.
An updated Google Maps street view of the Amazon facility taken in October 2024. Note the additional signage for truck drivers:
Oukbu and the estate of Dhillon filed separate lawsuits against Amazon. Both lawsuits argue that Amazon breached its duty of reasonable care “because the lighting and defective and confusing signage at the fulfillment center created a hazard to delivery drivers.”
The trial courts found that Amazon did not owe a duty to guard against injury from the negligent acts of someone over whom it had no control and when the injury occurred off its premises. Any negligence on Amazon’s part was not the proximate cause of Oukbu’s injuries, the trial courts found.
However, the state court of appeals disagreed. Last September, the appellate court overturned the trial courts’ dismissals of both cases. The appeals panel unanimously found that liability is not limited to the area owned or leased by Amazon but also extends to adjoining areas “which harbor a dangerous condition” that it created.
Additionally, the appellate court ruled that “a person may not use his land in such a way that would injure the interests of those not on his land, including users of public ways.” The panel also said that the incidents were foreseeable based on the witness accounts from one of the drivers and Amazon employee.
“Given these circumstances, Oukbu (and the estate of Dhillon) sufficiently alleged in his complaint that Amazon used its premises in a manner that harbored a dangerous condition off its own premises, i.e., on the county road, that affected the risk of injury to others,” the appellate court ruled. “… Put another way, Oukbu pled facts that Amazon’s lack of signage and its failure to direct delivery drivers where to enter the fulfillment center created confusion and a dangerous condition.”
Both cases will go back to the trial court, where plaintiffs can pursue claims of negligence and wrongful death. LL
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