Belcamp Uber/Lyft Accident Lawyer

Uber and other similar companies have largely supplanted taxi cabs in most locations because of their convenience. Accordingly, hundreds of thousands of people use these services across the country every day. Unfortunately, that also means that some number of Uber or Lyft trips are bound to end in a collision. When that happens, rideshare passengers and people in other vehicles can get seriously hurt and require urgent medical attention. Following the accident, victims may have to deal with lengthy recoveries and substantial medical fees.

Fortunately, there are options available to you. The law allows you to hold accountable those who negligently hurt you. Our attorneys have worked with many plaintiffs injured in accidents involving Uber or Lyft vehicles, so we are no strangers to handling these claims. We have the professionalism, experience, and drive to give you the best shot possible at getting a positive outcome for your claim.

Get a free, no-obligation case review from Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Uber/Lyft accident legal team when you contact us at (410) 694-7291.

Important Considerations for Uber/Lyft Accident Claims in Belcamp

By and large, Uber accident lawsuits are similar to other car crash cases our Uber/Lyft accident lawyers handle. However, some things in Uber lawsuits tend to be more important than in other cases.

First, the insurance scheme in these claims is much more complicated. Drivers must have either rideshare insurance or commercial driver’s insurance policies. Their regular policy will not cover the use of their vehicle for work in this way. Accordingly, those insurance policies should be your first port of call before filing a lawsuit. However, if the driver does not have insurance, or the insurance provider is being difficult, you can sue them in court.

Another important thing to remember is that you probably cannot sue Uber or Lyft directly. The law allows companies to be held liable for negligent actions by their employees. Uber and Lyft drivers, however, are not employees; they are independent contractors. Therefore, it is not a good idea to waste time going after these companies. Instead, you should look to hold other parties liable for your injuries.

Types of Compensation You Can Get in Belcamp Uber/Lyft Accident Lawsuits

If you successfully prove that the defendant was liable for your injuries, you will be awarded damages by the court. Damages are the court’s way of trying to undo the effects of the crash and return the plaintiff to where they started. In almost all cases, damages are financial compensation and not an obligation or other thing the defendant needs to do.

When you file your lawsuit, it is often a good idea to give some explanation as to what you are basing your damages on. The things you base your damages on can fall into economic, non-economic, or punitive damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are based on things that can have their value more easily proven in court. This includes items like medical bills, lost income from missing time at work or taking a less lucrative job, and property damage. Often, the evidence used to prove economic damages will be records or paperwork of some kind that our lawyers have obtained.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages, on the other hand, can be harder to pin down. Things that fall under this category include mental anguish, emotional distress, and the actual pain you experienced because of your injuries. So, for example, you can get economic damages for the cost of prescription painkillers you had to take to manage your injuries, but you can also get non-economic damages for the pain itself.

Since everyone experiences pain or emotional distress differently, you and our lawyers will have to convince the court of their value in your claim.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are distinct from economic or non-economic damages in that they are based on what the defendant did, not your condition. Courts do not always award these damages, so you should have our lawyers determine whether going after them is a good idea in your case.

Calculating Damages in Belcamp Uber/Lyft Accident Lawsuits

No matter the damages you are seeking, you also have to specify the amount of damages that you want the court to award you. There is no standardized method for calculating damages in personal injury cases, but there are certain methods that our lawyers use in different circumstances.

The Multiplier Method

The multiplier method simply takes your economic damages and multiplies them by a given factor to calculate your non-economic damages. For example, if you have $100,000 in economic damages and our legal team agrees on a multiple of 4 for non-economic damages, you would have a total of $500,000 in compensatory damages. The multiplier method is most often used when plaintiffs are expected to be dealing with the effects of their accident in some form for the rest of their lives. Thus, the amounts of financial that you may request using this method can often be quite high. Of course, they still have to make sense for your claim if you want to have a successful case.

The Per Diem Method

Alternatively, there is the “per diem” or “daily” method. This method involves calculating an amount to represent the hardships of dealing with your injuries each day. You then add up that amount for each day you are expected to deal with your injuries to determine your non-economic damages. This method is used when the plaintiff is expected to fully move on from their injuries at some point, as employing this method for lifelong injuries would result in an infinite amount of damages awarded, which no court is going to hand out.

Get Assistance from Our Belcamp Uber/Lyft Accident Attorneys Now

Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s team of Uber/Lyft accident attorneys can help you when you contact us at (410) 694-7291.