Key Takeaways
- Under Illinois’s modified comparative negligence law, you can’t collect damages if you’re found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident.
- Grubhub drivers are almost always independent contractors, which makes suing the company directly for a driver’s mistake very difficult.
- A ticket for double parking (a violation of Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/11-1304) doesn’t mean 100% fault, but it does create a legal presumption of negligence.
- If you’re in a crash with a delivery driver, you have to document everything, photos, witnesses, and the police report are your foundation.
- You’ll need an attorney who handles personal injury and traffic cases to sort through the shared fault arguments and insurance runaround.
When a Grubhub driver gets hit while double-parked in Chicago, figuring out who’s liable is a mess, and there’s a ton of bad information floating around about fault and responsibility.
Myth 1: Double Parking Automatically Makes the Double-Parked Driver 100% at Fault
This is probably the biggest misconception out there. Yes, double parking is illegal under both Chicago Municipal Code 9-80-040 and the Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/11-1304, but that ticket doesn’t just hand 100% of the blame to the parked driver. Illinois law follows a system called modified comparative negligence (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). Under that law, you can only collect damages if your share of the blame is 50% or less. So if a Grubhub driver gets cited for double parking, that citation creates a strong presumption they were negligent. But the other driver, the one who did the hitting, could easily share the blame, or even have more of it. Were they speeding, texting, or just not paying attention? Imagine a delivery driver double-parked on a busy street like North Michigan Avenue to make a quick drop. If another car slams into them while going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone, the speeding driver’s choices are a massive factor in why the crash happened and how bad it was. Figuring out the percentages is tough work. It often means bringing in accident reconstructionists, grilling witnesses, and digging deep into the police report. That double-parking ticket is a big deal, of course, but it’s just one part of the puzzle.
Myth 2: Grubhub is Directly Liable for All Accidents Involving Its Drivers
People see the Grubhub logo and think the company’s on the hook for any crash. That’s a huge mistake. It’s almost always wrong because these drivers are classified as independent contractors. And that classification changes everything in a personal injury case. Grubhub and other gig companies set things up this way specifically to dodge direct liability. As an independent contractor, the driver’s own actions don’t automatically become Grubhub’s problem, though there are some exceptions. Illinois courts look at the “right to control” test, if Grubhub isn’t setting a driver’s hours, dictating their specific route, or giving them a company vehicle, then that person is not an employee. So if a Grubhub driver causes a wreck, your first claim is against the driver and their personal auto insurance. Grubhub does have its own insurance, often with a $1 million limit for bodily injury, but it’s secondary coverage that only kicks in under narrow conditions, like when the driver is actively on their way to pick up or drop off an order. You have to know exactly when that coverage applies, and honestly, most people don’t find out until it’s too late. For more on how insurance companies deny claims, read about Miami Uber Drivers and Insurance Denials.
Were you in a car accident?
Insurance adjusters are trained to settle fast and pay less. Most car accident victims leave an average of $32,000 on the table.
Myth 3: Insurance Companies Will Easily Settle Double-Parking Accident Claims
Don’t ever think an insurance company will just roll over and pay a claim because of a parking ticket. An adjuster’s job is to save their company money, and a shared-fault situation like double-parking is the perfect excuse for them to do it. They’ll hammer on the fact that the double-parked driver was breaking the law, trying to pin more blame on them to slash the payout or deny the claim completely. When a double-parked Grubhub driver gets hit, the insurers for both parties immediately start a drawn-out fight over who was more at fault. The striking driver’s insurance will blame the illegal parking, while the parked driver’s insurance will point to the other driver’s failure to avoid an obvious hazard. It’s common for these talks to stall completely, forcing everyone to get lawyers involved. As attorneys, we see this all the time: both sides pull out sections of the Illinois Vehicle Code and city ordinances trying to gain an edge, especially on a street like Clark Street in Lincoln Park where traffic is a known headache. This stops being about a car accident and turns into a strategic legal fight pretty quickly. These cases are complicated, and trying to get a fair settlement on your own is next to impossible.
Myth 4: A Police Report is the Final Word on Fault
A police report is absolutely necessary after a crash, but it doesn’t have the final say on legal fault. Police officers are there to document what happened and hand out tickets if they see a clear violation. Their report contains the facts, location, time, parties involved, witness info, and sometimes their own opinion of who broke the law. But whatever the officer writes about who they think is at fault doesn’t legally bind a judge or jury in a civil case. The report is a key piece of evidence, for sure, but the court looks at everything, not just the officer’s initial take. For instance, a Chicago Police officer responding to a crash on West Madison Street might cite the Grubhub driver for double parking and put that in the report. What the report might miss, however, is that the other driver was distracted by a billboard or swerved because another car cut them off just before impact. A good lawyer’s investigation will often dig up facts the responding officer might have missed in the moment (they have a lot going on).
Myth 5: You Can’t Recover Damages if You Were Partially at Fault
This idea is just plain wrong and goes against Illinois’s modified comparative negligence law (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). Again, as long as you’re 50% or less at fault, you can still get paid. The amount you collect is just reduced by whatever percentage of fault is assigned to you. If a court decides a double-parked Grubhub driver was 25% responsible for a collision, that driver can still recover 75% of their damages for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and vehicle repairs. The whole game is about proving the other driver was more responsible for the crash than you were. You do that by showing their negligence with hard evidence like traffic camera footage, witness accounts, or even data pulled from the car’s event data recorder (the “black box”). For example, if a crash happens near the busy intersection of State and Lake, there are probably multiple cameras that caught the whole thing. Showing that the driver who hit the parked car had plenty of time and space to avoid it but didn’t makes a strong case for putting more of the blame on them. That’s why a deep-dive investigation and a solid legal argument are everything when fault is split. For more insights on accident fault, consider reading about Smyrna Right-of-Way and Accident Fault. Cleaning up the mess after a crash with a Grubhub driver, particularly with shared fault from something like double-parking, takes real knowledge of Illinois law and someone fighting for you. Anyone in this situation needs to get a good lawyer to make sure they’re not leaving money on the table.
What is “modified comparative negligence” in Illinois?
It’s the Illinois rule that says you can collect damages from an accident only if you’re 50% or less to blame. If a judge or jury finds you 51% or more at fault, you get zero. If you’re found to be 20% at fault, your total damage award is reduced by that 20%.
Does Grubhub provide insurance for its drivers?
Grubhub carries a commercial auto policy, but it’s secondary coverage. The driver’s own personal insurance is the primary policy. Grubhub’s insurance generally only comes into play when a driver is actively on a delivery, meaning they’re on the way to a restaurant or a customer’s address, and typically only after the driver’s personal policy has paid out its limit.
Can I sue Grubhub directly if their driver caused an accident?
It’s very difficult. Because drivers are classified as independent contractors instead of employees, Grubhub is largely shielded from direct liability for a driver’s negligence. You would sue the driver and their insurance first. Grubhub’s policy might get involved later as secondary coverage, but going after the company directly is an uphill battle.
What evidence is important after an accident with a double-parked delivery driver?
You need photos of everything: the scene, the damage to both cars, and any nearby traffic signs. Get the names and numbers of any witnesses. Always get the police report number and copies of any tickets they issued. On top of that, keep all your medical bills, car repair estimates, and proof of any time you missed from work.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after an accident in Illinois?
The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Illinois is generally two years from the accident date, according to 735 ILCS 5/13-202. For claims involving only property damage, you have five years. You need to talk to a lawyer well before these deadlines to make sure your rights are protected.
