Greenbelt, MD Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer

Crashes involving rideshare drivers are often difficult to handle because of the multiple insurance policies and drivers involved.  Injured rideshare accident victims might want to sue the rideshare company involved in their case, but this is usually not allowed.  Instead, drivers and passengers need to get compensation through insurance claims or other lawsuits.

Our attorneys can help you file a claim with the right insurance policy to get you the coverage you need.  If insurance refuses to cover you in full, we can take the at-fault driver to court and fight there to get the damages you need.

For a free case evaluation, contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ Uber and Lyft accident attorneys today at (410) 694-7291.

Can You Sue Uber or Lyft for a Rideshare Accident in Greenbelt, MD?

Generally, if someone causes an accident or otherwise injures you by accident in the course of their job duties, you can sue their employer for what they did.  In the case of a rideshare driver, the case usually ends with the driver, and lawsuits are not usually allowed against the rideshare company.  However, there are some exceptions.

Why You Can’t Sue Uber and Lyft

Uber and Lyft insist that their drivers are not employees but rather independent contractors.  This makes them self-employed and means that there is no “employer” to speak of in this situation.  Uber and Lyft insist that their drivers control their own hours and the place and manner of their work.  This allows them to list the drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, disclaiming any responsibility for what they do.

Because of this, you sue the driver directly instead.  However, there are insurance policies that Uber and Lyft provide to cover accidents, potentially helping you cover additional damages that the individual driver might not have been able to afford on their own or through their own insurance.

Exceptions

In some limited situations, Uber and Lyft have enough involvement that you can sue them not in their role as the driver’s boss but rather for their own mistakes.  This usually comes up when the rideshare company’s failure to properly screen out dangerous drivers is involved.

For example, if a driver has a history of assault and assaults you, that is something the rideshare company should have screened for, and it becomes their fault that you were in that dangerous situation.  Similarly, you might be able to sue the rideshare company when they put a dangerous driver with a history of DUI on the road and they cause a DUI accident with you in the car.  However, these cases are quite difficult to bring, and these rideshare companies have strong legal teams, so it is important to have your own Uber and Lyft accident attorneys representing you in these challenging cases.

How to Get Damages from an Uber/Lyft Driver who Caused Your Accident in Greenbelt, MD

An Uber or Lyft driver is like any other driver on the road, and they can be held individually responsible for an accident they cause.  Before you can get payment, though, you need to prove the case against them.  Because there is no employer in these cases, the claim is often more straightforward than when you try to sue a trucking company or a taxi company for their employee’s mistakes.  However, there are layers of insurance involved in these cases, adding some confusion about which policy covers the accident.

Proving Your Claim

If you can prove the Uber/Lyft driver was at fault for the crash, then you can succeed in your case against them.  This usually requires proof that they broke a traffic law or did something else negligent to cause the crash and that that violation or negligence caused the crash.  You can often prove these cases with your testimony, photos, any videos that might have captured the accident on tape, and other evidence.  Eyewitness testimony – such as testimony from the driver of the other car if you were injured as an Uber/Lyft rider – will also be helpful.

Which Insurance Pays Damages?

Your damages are usually going to be paid for by insurance, but determining which insurance policy should cover you is a bit complicated.

If you were a rider, then Uber and Lyft’s $1 million insurance should cover you.  This also covers accidents that happen on the way to pick up a rider.  However, if you were in another car or were walking or cycling when you got hit by an Uber driver who had no passengers at the time, their own insurance policy is supposed to cover your injuries.

If the driver was on duty, they must have rideshare or commercial driver’s insurance to cover accidents.  The rideshare company should then supplement this with $50,000 of extra coverage.  If the driver was off duty, then their own private car insurance should cover the crash.

Many people are also covered by a “personal injury protection” policy (PIP) under their own driver’s insurance or a household member’s car insurance policy.  This might provide some additional coverage to you, whether you were driving at the time of the accident or not.

Filing a Lawsuit

If there are any additional damages that are left unpaid or the driver, for whatever reason, did not have the insurance they were required to carry, then you can sue them directly to cover the additional damages.

Even if they do have insurance, you can sue in court rather than relying on an insurance settlement, and you should always consider this option if the insurance companies are refusing to cover your injuries in full or have denied your claims for various reasons.

Call Our Uber and Lyft Accident Attorneys for Help in Greenbelt, MD Today

For help with injuries sustained in a rideshare accident, contact the Uber and Lyft accident lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling (410) 694-7291.