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This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Owen Dwyer, an Instacart shopper in Maryland. He described being stabbed while working for Instacart. Business Insider has verified his identity and employment; corroborated details of the stabbing through police records; and viewed messages from Instacart support and insurance claims Dwyer filed after he was stabbed.
Editor's note: Like many gig workers, Instacart shoppers aren't eligible for protections that many employees have, such as sick time or workers' compensation.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
It happened on August 30, around 8:30 to 9 p.m.
I was at a Walmart doing work for Instacart. Basically, the whole situation occurred over a spot in line. I stepped out of line to go to the baby-food wall at the front of the store to look at some baby food for my two boys. I live in Baltimore, and the Instacart order I was shopping took me back toward home, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone.
When I step out of line, the woman behind me proceeds to move my cart out of line. I asked politely, "Ma'am, may I please get back in line?" Her words, verbatim, were "tough shit." When I asked again, she told me to get in the back of the line. I responded with, "Wow, you're going to be a bitch."
After that, she said: "Get the fuck out of my face. Watch when I see you outside."
I ended up going to the back of a completely different line. I pay for my items and I pay for the customer's items, and I go outside. As I'm walking up to my vehicle and placing the items in my car, a black Chrysler pulls up behind me. The woman from inside the store was the one that stepped out of the vehicle. A man with her rolled down the window and started verbally berating me.
She walks up to me, stating, "What was that shit you were talking inside?" And then she lunged forward and stabbed me in the chest. I stepped back, and she hit my right lower pec close to my liver and collapsed my lung.
I was in complete shock. I didn't know what to do. All I could do at the moment was honestly panic. But as she drove away, the only thing that I could think of was record, record, record as much evidence as possible. I pulled up my phone, and I recorded them. It took several weeks, but the police eventually found the woman and arrested her.
Earlier the same day I'd locked my keys in my car and got into a car accident. It was just a completely messed-up day.
I tried to see if I could file a claim for assistance with Instacart. I get that we don't have full insurance coverage like a full-time job. But I thought that they could provide some help for me since I was injured while shopping an order.
When I filed my claim the first time, they said my claim was denied for assistance. I didn't understand why being stabbed doesn't qualify for assistance.
Then this month, 2 ½ months after being stabbed, I applied again, and they said they would pay out for my medical bills. I'm still waiting to find out exactly how much they'll cover, though. It's also unclear whether or not I'll be receiving reimbursement for my pain and suffering from the situation.
After I got stabbed, I stayed at home for a while. Lately, I've been doing some marketing work online. I've just been doing that because that's the only thing I can do at home.
Since I've been getting a little better, I've gone back to working for Instacart. It's the only thing I can do right now that makes regular money.
I used to go to Walmart, Costco, and all the big-box stores for the big orders with cases of water and other bulk items. Now I just go to CVS because it's hard for me to stand up for a long time. It's also hard to breathe, obviously, with a collapsed lung.
Instacart has this thing called Shop Talk. It's a community where Instacart shoppers can provide tips to each other and updates on what's going on in their areas. After my first claim got denied, I posted: "I was stabbed in the chest during a shop and got no help from Instacart after being a Diamond Cart shopper for three years."
One person told me to post my Cash App or Zelle information so the forum could send money to me. So far there's been 27 people who've helped. Each person sent like $10. It'll help.
I'm not really looking for a sob story to come out of this. I just want answers. Why has it taken so long for Instacart to do anything about it?
Business Insider received a copy of the letter denying the claim dated September 15, 2023. Instacart declined to answer questions regarding the original claim or its insurance policy.
Instacart's insurance provider responded to Dwyer's second claim after Business Insider reached out to Instacart for comment on this story.
Instacart did not specify how much Dwyer would be paid as a result of his November claim. Dwyer told Business Insider he had not received an estimated payment total as of press time.
"The safety of the entire Instacart community is incredibly important to us, and we take immediate action when we receive reports of violence against any member of the Instacart community," an Instacart spokesperson told Business Insider. "We have been in direct contact with Mr. Dwyer on several occasions to offer our support since this incident occurred. We received a shopper injury protection claim from Mr. Dwyer in mid-November, which has been approved and is currently in process of being paid."
