A resident of Woolwich, Maine was struck by an Amazon delivery driver in 2020 and his family is now suing the retail behemoth as well as the driver of the delivery vehicle involved in the incident. Among the family’s allegations are accusations that that the corporation’s policies of speedy delivery, along with refunds of shipping costs if deadlines are missed, directly contributed to the death of the husband and father of three.
The Fisher family was on their way to a camping and fishing trip in July of 2020 when Joseph Fisher pulled their truck over to the side of the road to check on his boat trailer. While outside the vehicle, he was hit by a contracted Amazon delivery truck driven by Nasser Tibaijuka. Joseph Fisher succumbed to his injuries 10 days later.
Tibaijuka faced criminal charges in the matter and pleaded guilty to felony driving to endanger causing serious bodily injury. According to the Bangor Daily News, he was sentenced to 10 months in jail, a fine of $575, and a 6-month suspension of his license. Evidence indicated that Tibaijuka received an incoming call to his phone just prior to reports of the collision and the lawsuit alleges that he kept driving for 2/10 of a mile before stopping his vehicle to inspect a headlight. When faced with information from a witness that he had just hit someone, Tibaijuka asked that witness if he was “good to go,” and then continued on his route. He was stopped and apprehended later in the day at the Litchfield, Maine post office.
Amazon’s pressure on its drivers, warehouse personnel, and other logistics employees to perform to nearly superhuman standards have become very well known as worker and labor issues have taken center stage in the American conversation. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Amazon by workers alleging missed breaks, failure to adhere to COVID-19 protocols, being forced to work overtime without compensation, and a host of other issues as Amazon’s business rakes in billions of dollars while employees and contractors struggle to meet nearly impossible quotas.
