Are Amazon Flex and DoorDash Drivers Eligible for Workers’ Compensation in Pennsylvania?

If you deliver packages for Amazon Flex or food for DoorDash in Pennsylvania, you already know how hectic the work can be. You are juggling your phone, GPS directions, tight timing windows, traffic, stairs, and all kinds of weather. What most drivers do not think about, until something goes wrong, is what happens if they get hurt while doing all of that.

The natural question is this: Are Amazon Flex and DoorDash drivers ever eligible for workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania? The honest answer is sometimes. It depends less on the name of the app and more on how your work is actually set up.

At Stern & Cohen, we represent injured workers in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases. That is all we do. A growing part of that work involves people who earn their living through gig and delivery jobs, including Amazon Flex and DoorDash drivers.

I. Why your “independent contractor” label is not the whole story

Most app-based drivers are told upfront that they are “independent contractors.” You sign up through an app, use your own vehicle, and get paid per block or per delivery. On paper, that sounds very different from a traditional job with a boss and a timesheet.

However, when it comes to workers’ compensation, what matters is the reality of the working relationship, not just the label in a contract or in an app. Some of the factors that can matter include:

• Who controls how and when you work
• Whether you can freely work elsewhere
• Whether you are truly running your own business or simply plugging into someone else’s system
• Whether another company, not the app itself, is actually your employer

If you are truly operating as your own business, you generally will not be covered by someone else’s workers’ compensation insurance. But that is not always the end of the story.

II. Situations where an Amazon Flex or DoorDash driver might be covered

There are several common situations we see where a driver using these apps may still have a workers’ compensation claim:

• You are on a payroll elsewhere in the chain. Sometimes a restaurant, grocery store, or logistics company is the entity that actually hires and pays you, even though you are using Amazon Flex or DoorDash to receive assignments or routes. If that company treats you like an employee, its workers’ compensation coverage may apply if you are hurt while working.
• You split your time between app work and a traditional job. If you have a part-time job with a traditional employer and deliver for Amazon Flex or DoorDash on the side, an injury sustained during the traditional job may still require your app earnings to be considered when calculating wage loss benefits.
• You have been misclassified. If your day-to-day work looks like a regular job, such as being subject to firm expectations, effectively working “on shift,” or facing penalties for turning down work, there may be an argument that you are actually an employee under Pennsylvania law, even if you were told otherwise. This is a fact-specific issue that requires careful review of how your work is structured.

None of this is obvious from looking at an app on your phone. It usually requires a deeper review of your work arrangement, pay records, and the degree of control exercised over you.

III. Common injuries we see with Amazon Flex and DoorDash drivers

Drivers in these roles face significant risks during a typical workday. We regularly see:

• Motor vehicle accidents while driving between pickups and deliveries
• Slips and falls on wet, icy, or uneven steps and sidewalks
• Back, neck, and shoulder injuries from lifting and carrying packages or stacked orders
• Injuries involving dogs, confrontations, or unsafe property conditions

If your injury occurred while you were working, the next critical question is who you were legally working for at the time.

IV. What to do if you are hurt while delivering

If you are injured while working as an Amazon Flex or DoorDash driver in Pennsylvania, you can help protect your potential claim by taking a few practical steps:

1. Seek medical treatment right away and make sure your provider knows the injury happened while you were working.
2. Report the incident in writing, whether through the app, to any company you work for directly, or both.
3. Preserve documentation, including screenshots of active blocks or deliveries, photos from the scene, messages related to the order, and the names of any witnesses.
4. Speak with a workers’ compensation attorney before assuming you are not covered. Many drivers accept the “independent contractor” label without ever having their situation properly evaluated.

V. Talk with Stern & Cohen about your rights

The rules surrounding gig work, delivery apps, and workers’ compensation are complex and continue to evolve. What does not change is this: if you are out on the road earning a living and you get hurt, you deserve to understand your rights.

If you drive for Amazon Flex, DoorDash, or another delivery platform and were injured while working, contact Stern & Cohen for a free consultation. We focus exclusively on Pennsylvania workers’ compensation and will carefully review how your work was structured, who may be considered your employer, and whether you may have a valid workers’ compensation claim.