A Woolwich widow and her family filed a negligence lawsuit against Amazon Monday, nearly two years after a delivery driver hit and killed her husband in Topsham.
The suit, brought by Misty Fisher and her children in Sagadahoc County Superior Court, alleges that Amazon contracted trucking companies with deficient safety ratings, which caused the death of Joe Fisher, 41, in July 2020.
“In its rush for profits, Amazon is knowingly putting dangerous truckers on the road,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, James E. O’Connell, wrote in a statement. “For the sake of public safety, Amazon is required to ensure the trucking companies it hires are safe, and yet here, Amazon repeatedly used a trucking company with a known dangerous safety record.”
Misty Fisher and her late husband Joe Fisher. Contributed / Fisher family
Joe Fisher was tending to his boat trailer in the breakdown lane on Interstate 295 North in Topsham around 6 a.m. on July 3, 2020, according to the complaint. Fisher, his wife and their three children were leaving on a fishing and camping trip for the holiday weekend.
Nasser Tibaijuka of Waltham, Massachusetts, swerved his box truck full of Amazon packages into the breakdown lane and struck Fisher, throwing him into the air and onto the highway. Fisher died 10 days later.
According to the complaint, Tibaijuka was distracted by his cellphone when he hit Fisher.
On Sept. 10, 2021, Tibaijuka pleaded guilty to a felony charge of driving to endanger and causing serious bodily injury. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison and awarded a $575 fine, according to a Sagadahoc County court clerk.
The newly filed civil suit, which also names Tibaijuka and several Massachusetts trucking companies as defendants, alleges Amazon acted negligently by selecting independent contractors with inadequate safety records.
Joe and Misty Fisher with their kids Shiloh, Giorgia and Joseph Jr. Contributed / Fisher family
In 2021, plaintiffs in at least 35 states filed over 100 motor vehicle injury lawsuits against Amazon Logistics, the company’s delivery arm, according to a Bloomberg report.
Fisher’s complaint also alleges Amazon and its codefendants are responsible for inflicting emotional distress on her three children, Shiloh, Giorgia and Joseph Jr, a point highlighted in her attorney’s statement.
“The tragic result was the death of a father and husband right in front of his family,” wrote O’Connell. “While Amazon continues to thrive as usual, the Fisher family will never be the same.”
In a brief statement, Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
“While our deepest sympathies are with Mr. Fisher’s family, because litigation has just been initiated, we’re not in a position to offer any comment right now,” she wrote.
The Fisher Family declined to comment on the case.
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