Fort Washington Uber/Lyft Accident Lawyer
Car accidents involving vehicles emblazoned with stickers from Lyft, Uber, or other rideshare companies happen every day. These accidents can result in serious injuries to their victims, including broken bones, brain injuries, cuts, bruises, scrapes, and much more. Worse still, the victim can end up needing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, even with good health insurance policies at their disposal.
Fortunately, we can help. We have the skills, determination, and experience to effectively handle Uber accident cases and ensure that you use the right people for the right reasons, ultimately getting you the financial compensation you need when you are injured.
To start getting help with your claim, call the Uber/Lyft accident lawyers with Rice, Murtha & Psoras when you call (410) 694-7291.
Insurance in Fort Washington Uber/Lyft Accidents
Although our lawyers are perfectly capable of helping you sue relevant parties in a lawsuit following an Uber or Lyft crash, in actuality, you should try to file a claim with the appropriate insurance provider before doing so. This has many benefits. First, proceedings will likely come to a conclusion much faster than a lawsuit, especially if the insurance company is willing to cooperate with you and our attorneys. Additionally, insurance policies often have more capital than individuals, so you are more likely to get the coverage you need quickly.
However, if insurance companies do not want to “play ball,” you may need to have our lawyers put more pressure on them or proceed to filing a lawsuit in court. Maryland uses “at-fault” insurance for motor vehicle accidents, which means that the driver responsible for the accident has their insurance provide coverage to injured parties. Insurance companies, of course, are not in the business of capitulating every time someone claims that their policyholder is at fault. They may even try to twist your words – something as innocuous as “my bad” or “I could have done better’ may be used to make it seem like an accident is your fault when it absolutely is not. For that reason, it is always better to have attorneys deal with insurance providers than to deal with them yourself.
Damages You Can Get in Uber/Lyft Accident Lawsuits in Fort Washington
The goal of a lawsuit is to get damages to cover your injuries. The idea is to put the plaintiff back where they were before they got injured – or at least as close as possible to that place. The damages each plaintiff asks for in their claim will vary based on the unique facts and circumstances of their situation, so no two lawsuits will end up with exactly the same damages awarded for the exact same reasons. Some of the things you can get damages for in Uber/Lyft accident lawsuits include:
Medical Expenses
You can be awarded financial compensation for medical expenses you incurred due to a rideshare-related car accident. Things like surgery, long hospital stays, and physical therapy can all become incredibly expensive, so you can get the defendant to pay for those things since they caused them.
Lost Income
Additionally, you can get damages to make up for lost opportunities to earn income. “Lost income” can mean a couple of different things. First, if you had to take time off work to recover from your injuries and you were not getting paid, you can get damages for that. Second, if you have to switch jobs to one that pays worse because your injuries prevent you from working at your prior job, you can get damages based on the difference in income between those two jobs. Finally, if you are no longer able to work due to your injuries, you can get damages based on an estimation of what your income would have been for the rest of your career in your profession.
Property Damage
You can also get compensation to offset the cost of any property damage done to you by the defendant. For example, if a rideshare driver “T-boned” your car and, when you take it to the repair shop, it is written off as a total loss, you can get compensation based on the cost of repairing or replacing your car.
Pain and Suffering
Thus far, we have discussed damages that you can get for things that can have their value shown through pay stubs, bills, and other tangible things. However, you can also get financial compensation for less tangible things. For example, many plaintiffs seek damages for “pain and suffering.” This covers the physical pain and hardships you experience because of the injuries the defendant caused, both in the short and long term. So, you can get damages both for the pain you immediately felt after the crash as well as lingering pain or hardships you have to deal with while recovering.
Mental Anguish and Emotional Distress
Not all injuries experienced in accidents are physical. Courts understand this, and for that reason, you can get damages for mental anguish and emotional distress. For example, if you are diagnosed with PTSD because of the crash, you can get damages based on the hardships you experience that stem from PTSD.
Emotional distress is another thing you can get damages for, but it generally only applies when you see someone else get hurt. For example, if you and a family member were in a speeding Uber and, after a crash, you have to see that family member carted away, limp and unmoving on a stretcher, you may be able to sue for emotional distress. Whether asking for emotional distress damages makes sense in your claim will be a matter you need to discuss with our Uber/Lyft accident lawyers.
Contact Our Uber/Lyft Accident Lawyers and Talk About Your Claim Today
Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Uber/Lyft accident attorneys can be reached for free case reviews when you call (410) 694-7291.