ORLANDO, Fla. — A local man has video of the moment a DoorDash driver crashed into his daughter’s parked car then left the scene.
He contacted Action 9 because he says the food delivery company refused to help.
“You’ll see her back out of the driveway,” said Andy Yother.
Yother showed Action 9, a video that was caught on a home security camera of the moment a driver backed into his daughter’s car. In the video, you could see the parked car shake from the impact. It also shows the driver get out and look at the damage.
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“Then she gets back in and drives off,” Yother said, pointing to the video.
The driver had just made a food delivery for DoorDash.
Yother says the accident caused several dents on the driver’s side of the vehicle and the door gets caught on the side panel every time he tries to open the door.
“As you can see, It’s very difficult to open,” Yother said.
He contacted DoorDash. Yother says he was told that the company was not responsible and that they couldn’t give him the driver’s information. Yother then filed a small claims lawsuit against DoorDash, seeking $2,200 in damages.
“We had it on video, so I thought this would be a slam-dunk case, that they would just own up and pay up and fix the vehicle, but it’s been completely opposite of that,” Yother said.
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Usually, gig workers, like DoorDash drivers, are considered independent contractors, making it more difficult to know who will pay for damages.
According to Yother, DoorDash said that since the food was no longer in the vehicle, the company’s insurance would not cover his vehicle’s damage.
“Yeah, it can end up being pretty complicated,” said consumer attorney Brent Steinberg.
Steinberg, with the Florida Justice Association, says insurance companies might deny accident claims if the delivery driver doesn’t have business-use coverage on their policy.
“It’s very important that any of these gig workers make sure that the proper insurance is in place because your personal auto coverage very well might deny coverage,” Steinberg said.
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Action 9 contacted DoorDash about Yother’s hit-and-run claim. A spokeswoman said the company has now helped him file a claim with its insurance provider and it’s working to resolve this situation.
“At this point, I’d love to get the vehicle fixed, yes, but at the same time I’m sure I’m not the only one out there that this is going to happen to,” Yother said.
After we talked to Yother, Doordash did get back to him with the driver’s information. He’s hoping that makes it easier for him to plead his case.
DoorDash also told Action 9 that safety is extremely important and it’s fully cooperating with local law enforcement.
DoorDash response:
“The safety of our community is extremely important to us, and we are deeply disappointed that Mr. Yother had this experience. Upon learning about the incident, we took action, including deactivating the Dasher involved. We have been in touch with Mr. Yother in our commitment to resolving this situation and stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way we can.”
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