People arrange for rideshare transportation for a variety of different reasons. Perhaps they are in an unfamiliar city, and they don’t want to pay for a rental car. Maybe they were out celebrating with friends and know that they have had too much to drink.
Whatever the reasoning behind paying for a trip in a rideshare vehicle, passengers expect to reach their destinations safely. Unfortunately, crashes involving rideshare vehicles are relatively common. Rideshare drivers can become quite aggressive in traffic, in part because they want to pick up as many passengers as possible on any given day.
Can someone injured during a Lyft or Uber ride take legal action against the business for their losses?
Insurance is the first line of financial defense
While lawsuits are sometimes necessary when people have substantial personal injury losses, lawsuits are usually only an option when other solutions are not available to the affected party. After a car crash, motor vehicle liability insurance can cover the costs generated by a collision.
Typically, the person at fault for the crash provides that coverage. If the Uber or Lyft driver was not the party that caused the collision, then the other driver may provide insurance coverage for the crash. If the rideshare driver was at fault for the crash, then different insurance policies may apply.
If the crash occurs before the driver officially starts the trip or after the driver ends the ride on the app comma then their personal rideshare insurance policy may cover any costs incurred by an injured passenger. However, if the crash takes place during the ride itself, then the insurance policy for Uber or Lyft typically applies. Passengers have up to a million dollars in liability coverage available to them to help cover medical costs, property damage losses and lost income.
While lawsuits are sometimes possible after collisions that cause catastrophic injury or death, people generally need to pursue insurance compensation first. Additionally, a lawsuit against a rideshare company can be a challenging undertaking because the driver is an independent contractor, not an employee. They operate their own vehicle, not a company fleet vehicle.
Lawsuits are possible in some circumstances, but a careful review of the situation is necessary to determine if litigation is a realistic choice. At the end of the day, however, understanding the options for compensation available after a rideshare crash can potentially help people pay for the costs caused by a wreck for which they were not responsible. Rideshare passengers should not have to accept economic setbacks due to a collision during a paid ride.