Hi folks. This is Ed Lemmo , your NYC accident lawyer for pedestrians , bicyclists and motorists. Today's topic is whether a delivery person from a restaurant can sue a motorist that strikes him in the roadway and recover in a lawsuit or is he or she relegated to workers compensation  benefits? Restaurants that hire their own delivery persons hurt  these bicyclists rights when they are involved in car accidents. 

Well this situation came from person on a bike for a restaurant, struck by a car . He asked can I sue the car? If the bicyclist was working for a delivery service such as POSTMATES , then under NY law he is an independent contractor and can sue the car . But if he is an employee of the restaurant he is stuck to filing claim for workers compensation with his employer. 

But what about the situation where a delivery person strikes you a pedestrian .  If the bike courier is an employee of an agency and was engaged in a delivery — whether in route to a destination or coming back from a delivery — then he or she may be covered by his employer's workers' compensation coverage. But there are situations where workers' compensation coverage simply isn't enough — or where the bike courier may want to file a lawsuit against a driver or other person who hit him or her. In that case, the bike courier may still file a lawsuit against the person who hit him, and the workers' compensation insurer may then be able to recover from the proceeds of that lawsuit.

But if it was the bike messenger who caused the accident, then it isn't a question of workers' compensation — but of liability insurance. If the courier is an employee (rather than an independent contractor) of the agency, then the person who was hit may want to file a lawsuit against the agency, as that business is likely to have greater financial resources than the individual messenger. Alternatively, coverage may be available under the courier's homeowner's, renter's or other specialty insurance policy. Any number of people could potentially file a lawsuit under this type of claim, such as a driver whose car was damaged by a careless bike messenger who ran into his door, a pedestrian who suffered injuries when a bike courier knocked him over, a shop owner whose window was broken when a bike messenger crashed into it, or another cyclist who was hurt when a bike messenger collided with him.

As you can see, determining who to sue is complicated when one of the parties involved is a bike messenger. As skilled bike accident lawyers, the attorneys of the Law Offices of EDWARD LEMMO ESQ.  CAN HELP . JUST CALL AT 646-522-9082 or send me an email at [email protected] .