Uber and Lyft might be an essential part of your daily commute or an evening out, but these companies and their drivers are not important enough to be immune from lawsuits. When they make mistakes that leave you injured, you are entitled to compensation.
Injury claims involving Uber/Lyft accidents can be difficult to bring because of the way that rideshare companies hire their drivers. However, insurance is typically available, and cases might not even have to get to trial for you to get full damages.
Call the Uber and Lyft accident lawyers at Rhatigan Law Offices today at (312) 578-8502 to get started on your case.
Who Do I Sue After an Uber/Lyft Accident?
While you may be inclined to sue Uber/Lyft directly for your accident, this is not always permitted. However, drivers who caused the crash can be held responsible, and they often have their own insurance. Moreover, Uber/Lyft’s insurance might cover the accident, even if you cannot sue them.
Suing Uber/Lyft
You can typically sue employers for accidents their employees cause during work duties. However, that only works if the worker is correctly classified as an “employee.”
Employees work under an employer’s control, while “independent contractors” are essentially self-employed and only work a specific job under their own control and discretion. Uber/Lyft says its workers are contractors, which blocks liability if that classification is correct.
However, that classification might be wrong, which would allow us to sue Uber/Lyft. We can also sue Uber/Lyft if they did something to cause the accident, e.g., through negligent hiring.
Suing the Rideshare Driver
If you were injured as a rider in the rideshare care, then your driver might be the one who was at fault. The same is true if you were in another car or you were hit as a pedestrian or cyclist.
If this is the case, that driver is at fault and should pay you. They are supposed to have insurance, and Uber/Lyft might also cover the case with their insurance.
Suing Another Driver
If another driver caused the crash, they might be responsible. This is the case when the rideshare driver did everything right or shared only a small amount of fault.
All drivers should have insurance, so there are often damages to pay for your crash if another driver caused it. Additionally, Uber/Lyft might cover the accident with their insurance, even if you cannot sue them.
What Does Uber/Lyft’s Insurance Cover?
Even if you cannot sue these companies for injuries, they often still cover injuries through insurance. However, there are some complex rules about what insurance covers your accident and when the rideshare company’s policy kicks in.
Driver’s Policy
The rideshare driver must have insurance on their own, and Uber/Lyft typically requires them to have the necessary insurance before they will cover anything. This typically means you can bring a claim against an at-fault rideshare driver’s insurance.
If another driver caused the crash, you would bring the case against their insurance.
Uber/Lyft’s Supplemental Insurance
Both rideshare companies also have supplemental insurance that may kick in if their driver caused a crash while on duty but before they had a rider selected.
Uber/Lyft’s Liability Insurance
Both rideshare companies then have at least $1 million of coverage that will cover accidents that occur when:
- There is a rider in the car or
- The driver is on the way to pick up a rider.
In these situations, their driver is truly doing business for them, and Uber and Lyft use their strongest insurance to try to settle cases early before risking any potential lawsuits against them.
FAQs for Uber and Lyft Injury Victims in Cicero, IL
Who Can File an Injury Case for an Uber/Lyft Accident?
If you played any of these roles in a crash, you can potentially file damages for your injuries after an Uber/Lyft crash:
- The driver in another car
- A rider/passenger in a rideshare car
- A cyclist or pedestrian struck by an Uber/Lyft driver
- An Uber/Lyft driver hit by another driver.
What Damages Can You Claim in an Uber/Lyft Accident?
All car accidents typically involve these three areas of damages:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering.
You might have also faced property damage in the crash that you can sue for, e.g., your own car’s damage or a cell phone destroyed in the crash.
Do I Sue or File a Car Insurance Claim?
How you get your damages will depend a lot on how much the damages are, how willing the insurance companies are to settle, and what evidence you have to prove your case if they are unwilling to settle. Our Uber/Lyft accident lawyers often start injury claims with an insurance claim, and if the defense is willing to pay up, then we do not have to go to court.
However, if the insurance companies challenge coverage or refuse to pay up, we can potentially take them to trial. We may also need to take a case to trial if Uber/Lyft is directly liable and refuses to acknowledge their responsibility for negligent hiring or other mistakes.
What Should I Do After an Uber/Lyft Accident?
In the moments after a crash, do the following:
- Get to a safe place.
- Call 911.
- Report the accident to the police.
- Request an ambulance.
- Report the accident in your app.
From there, get any medical care you need and focus on your treatment and safety if you need to go to the hospital. If you can stay at the accident scene, get contact info for everyone involved; write down the make, model, and license plate number of all cars; and take photos of the accident scene.
Then, in the hours or days after the crash, call a lawyer. Do not work with Uber/Lyft’s representatives or take anything from their insurance company; just call us first, and we can advise you on your next steps.
Call Our Uber/Lyft Accident Attorneys in Cicero, IL Today
For help with your case, call (312) 578-8502 to get started with a free case evaluation from the Uber/Lyft accident lawyers at Rhatigan Law Offices.
Resources