Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Delivery encourages drivers to engage in dangerous driving behaviors that can easily result in serious injuries or wrongful deaths. As food delivery services compete for increased market share, companies that promise expedited delivery times may be needlessly sending people to the emergency room.
Freaky Fast Delivery Is Dangerous
Freaky Fast Delivery was a slogan used by Jimmy John’s to highlight the ability to deliver food nearly as soon as it was ordered. The program indirectly encouraged more than one delivery driver accident. The slogan temps drivers to engage in illegal driving behaviors such as speeding, failing to stop at traffic signals, tailgating, etc., to live up to the slogan and the expectations it fostered in the minds of consumers. It was a dangerous program that paid drivers bonuses and tips for quicker service. Ultimately, it was a program that led to many personal injuries, wrongful deaths, and expensive lawsuits.
In 2011, a victim was seriously injured by a Jimmy John’s delivery driver attempting to make a quick delivery. The victim suffered a broken pelvis and multiple broken limbs. The injuries the victim sustained were life-changing and entirely unnecessary, leaving him with permanent physical impairments. In 2014, Jimmy John’s settled with the victim for an undisclosed sum rumored to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Food Service Delivery Companies Owe the Public a Duty of Care
Companies have a duty of care to ensure their drivers adhere to established traffic laws and societal norms designed to protect the public from harm. When companies engage in business practices and advertising campaigns that encourage the opposite, the cost is simply too great for the public to bear. It’s a model that’s becoming increasingly frequent as Uber Eats and other delivery services strive to prove they can deliver everything from snacks to gourmet meals to and fro faster and cheaper than the competition.
When companies in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada engage in these practices that cause harm to motorists and pedestrians, the courts have held their drivers and the companies accountable for the resulting property damage, personal injuries, and wrongful deaths.
Unfortunately, some companies still haven’t gotten the message, and indeed, while Jimmy John’s has altered the slogan since the lawsuit, the company continues to advertise “freaky fast” delivery services.