Rideshare accidents can cause serious injuries and deaths

 

There are several rideshare companies in the U.S. They recruit drivers and, through an app, arrange for them to drive passengers to their destinations. Given the increasing popularity of these services, accidents involving rideshare vehicles happen every day.

 

  • A Lyft driver and another motorist were charged in June with driving under the influence after a head-on crash in Chicago that left a rideshare passenger, a 25-year-old Arizona resident, dead. The Lyft driver was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of a drug, according to NBC Chicago.

 

  • A passenger in a Lyft vehicle in California was killed in December when their vehicle pulled onto a rural highway and into the path of another vehicle, according to the Sacramento Bee.

 

  • An El Paso woman has filed a lawsuit against Uber after she suffered serious injuries in a collision that happened in 2017. She claims her driver was distracted by his phone and ignored a red light. The vehicle was struck on the side at the intersection, reports the El Paso Times.

 

Insurance to cover rideshare accidents

 

Personal injury litigation is sustained by defendants’ insurance. Insurance pays for settlements and jury verdicts. It also pays for defendants’ legal representation. As a practical matter, if there’s no insurance policy covering an accident and injury, it can be hard to obtain an attorney to represent you. It’s too easy for an individual to hide assets or declare bankruptcy and avoid paying a judgment.

 

Uber and Lyft require all of their drivers to have personal car insurance that meets or exceeds state minimums. A problem can come up if the driver’s policy excludes liability for accidents occurring when the insured is making money by driving. Rideshare drivers generally don't need to have commercial insurance, though that may depend on the rideshare company, the service the driver is providing, state law and local regulations.

 

In order to protect themselves and attract passengers who want to be sure they’ll be taken care of in case of an accident, the biggest rideshare companies, Uber and Lyft, provide insurance coverage for passengers and others on the road. Whether that insurance covers an accident depends on the facts of the situation.

 

If the driver is in the vehicle but not logged into the app and thus not in "driver mode," the driver's own personal car insurance coverage will apply if an accident occurs. If the driver is logged in but has not yet accepted a ride request, the company’s insurance covers an accident that’s the fault of the driver. It covers the harm done to those involved in the accident, but not to their driver.

 

There are limits to this coverage.

 

  • The most a person can collect from the policy coverage is $50,000 in an accident caused by the driver,
  • $100,000 total injury liability per accident, and
  • $25,000 total property damage liability.

 

If the driver’s logged in and actively driving for the rideshare company (with a passenger or on the way to pick one up), the insurance jumps up to at least $1 million (it may be more, depending on the state where the driver is located) to cover harm done to third parties, including pedestrians, those in other vehicles and passengers in the vehicle. The driver’s insurance would be the primary coverage, with the company’s policy applying after that coverage is exhausted.

 

If you've been injured, a personal injury lawsuit may be an option.

 

If an accident and injuries occur because of the negligence of the rideshare driver, and negotiations with the driver’s and the rideshare company’s insurance companies don’t result in a settlement, you may file a lawsuit.  It would probably be filed against the driver (not the rideshare company, unless there are extraordinary circumstances), and copies of the complaint would be served on the driver and the rideshare company’s insurance company.

 

If you’ve suffered injuries because of mistakes made by a rideshare driver, you have options and there should be insurance to cover your damages. Don’t let the fact that a rideshare company was involved stop you from protecting your legal rights and seeking compensation for the harm done.