Rides Can Cost You
If you’ve been injured in an Uber or Lyft accident, or by a delivery driver, you should know your legal rights. Whether you were a passenger, driver, or pedestrian, you have the right to compensation if you were injured in one of these crashes.
Your team at Miami Legal Firm has deep experience handling cases involving both Rideshare Accidents (Uber and Lyft) and Food Delivery Services such as DoorDash. We know how to get you the compensation you’re entitled to.
Can You Take Legal Action for Damages After a Rideshare/Delivery Accident?
Yes, you are fully within your rights to sue for compensation after being injured in an accident involving Rideshare and Food Delivery Services. However, these types of claims are different from most vehicle accident-related personal injury cases. When your injury claim involves a driver employed by a rideshare or delivery company, more parties will need to be involved in any ensuing legal action.
For example, if you and another driver collide, and you file an injury claim, you’ll probably only be dealing with that other driver and their insurance company, and possibly an attorney representing one of those parties. In a Lyft or Uber accident, you’ll have the added element of dealing with a multi-billion-dollar company’s legal representatives.
What Types of Damages Are You Entitled To?
If the rideshare/delivery accident that led to your injuries was caused by another driver, then you are entitled to compensation for all the accident-related costs you face. This could include:
- Medical bills (hospitalization, ambulatory care, ongoing treatment, surgeries, medications, physical rehabilitation, etc.)
- Lost wages due to time missed at work or reduced work capacity
- Property damage (vehicle repair or replacement, repair or replacement of valuables in the vehicle, etc.)
- Pain and suffering
When you partner with the Miami Legal Firm, we will work closely with you to determine how much you should demand in compensation. Your teamwill factor in all the economic and non-economic damages you have faced because of the crash.
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How Rideshare Insurance Typically Works
Since your settlement when you’ve been injured in a car accident is usually paid by the at-fault party’s insurance, it’s important to understand how coverage is applied when a crash involves an Uber or Lyft vehicle.
It’s best to think of rideshare companies’ insurance policies in three tiers.
Tier 1:
If an Uber or Lyft driver has a passenger in their vehicle, the rideshare driver has the greatest amount of coverage. In these situations, insurance coverage would include liability and coverage for the driver and their passenger(s).
Tier 2:
When a driver is considered “available” but doesn’t have a passenger in the vehicle, they might only be covered for liability, which means that anyone injured by that driver can still receive compensation.
Tier 3:
If the driver was not actively driving for Uber or Lyft when they caused the accident, you will likely take the same approach as you would if they were any other driver. That means you will be filing a claim against the driver to get compensation from their personal auto insurance policy rather than from their coverage through Uber or Lyft.
Who Can Take Legal Action Against Uber and Lyft?
Anyone who was seriously injured by an Uber or Lyft driver deserves compensation. This is true whether the injured person was driving another vehicle and struck by a rideshare vehicle or they were a passenger in the vehicle when the crash occurred.
There are also circumstances other than collisions in which someone might need to file a legal claim against a rideshare driver or even directly against the rideshare or delivery company to get compensation for injuries. For example, if a rideshare driver assaults a passenger, the victim can pursue justice and compensation from the driver and the rideshare company through a personal injury claim.
What About Passengers Injured by Other Drivers?
If a passenger in a rideshare vehicle is injured by another driver (and not their own Lyft or Uber driver), they’ll have several legal options available. As you can see from the tiers listed above, Uber and Lyft both make sure that these situations are covered by their insurance policies.
In these cases, the injured passengers might get compensation from the rideshare company’s insurance policy, the at-fault driver’s insurance policy, or possibly even a combination of both, depending on the extent of the damages they’ve suffered.
How Rideshare and Delivery Companies Deal with Crashes
If someone is seriously injured in a crash involving a rideshare or delivery vehicle, the company will often rely on their insurance company to resolve claims. However, just like with any type of accident involving injuries, it’s likely the insurance company will offer the injured person less than they deserve.
If their insurers see any opportunity to pay less or to deny the validity of a claim, they’ll do so. None of these companies have become profitable by offering fair settlements to injured people, so you should be prepared to demand more than the amount they’ll first offer you.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a rideshare or delivery driver, contact the team at the Miami Legal Firm for our free case evaluation form to explore your options.