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If you live in a major metropolitan area (or even a mid-sized city), you have probably used a ridesharing service at least once in the past few years. Companies like Uber and Lyft have disrupted the traditional taxi industry, and the lower costs of these rides makes them appealing.
But accidents can and do happen, and rideshare vehicles are regularly involved. If you’ve been involved in an accident as the passenger in a rideshare vehicle, do you know what your rights are? Do you know who is responsible for covering your medical bills and other costs?
Liability in rideshare accidents can be complex. As a passenger, you would never be held liable for causing an accident – but your driver might be. Or the driver of the other vehicle might be. Or fault for the accident could be shared in some proportion.
The only reason this matters for you is that it could impact which insurance policy covers your injuries, property damage and other costs. There are at least three insurance policies at play in a ridesharing accident. The first is the personal policy of your driver. The second is the supplemental policy of the ridesharing service. The third is the policy of the other driver.
Uber and Lyft have supplemental coverage that seems generous on the surface. However, both companies (especially Uber) have been known to deny liability in a number of high-profile accidents, leading to a lot of confusion and protracted litigation.
With major companies and numerous insurers involved, you may suddenly find that your injuries are not a priority for any of the parties. Unfortunately, none of the players involved will be acting in your best interests. You may get lowball offers from each of the insurers, assuming that any are actually willing to accept liability.
The best way to ensure that you are a priority is to retain your own attorney, who will aggressively advocate for your rights and help you get the compensation you deserve. Depending on the details of the accident, you may be entitled to damages for injuries/medical bills, lost wages, property damage and pain and suffering.
Rideshare accidents are a relatively new aspect of personal injury law. They are more complex than other cases because they involve numerous parties and competing insurance policies. Most importantly, the rules governing these ridesharing companies are often vague and unclear, leading to highly contested questions of liability.
If you’ve been injured in a ridesharing accident, you likely cannot rely on the good will of the parties involved to give you a fair settlement. Instead, please contact an experienced personal injury attorney, like a car accident lawyer from Barry P. Goldberg, who intimately understands the law and how to aggressively advocate for you, in and out of the courtroom.
