Boca Raton Rideshare Accident Attorneys
Whether it be for an easier ride to the airport or because we plan on having a few drinks and need a ride home, rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft have become ubiquitous. With about 15 million riders a day, Uber has become the most valuable privately held tech startup in the world. As the amount of people using Uber and Lyft increases, so does the number of people injured when crashed into by a rideshare driver or as rideshare passenger. So what should you do if you are injured in a rideshare crash?
What can you do if you are injured while riding in an UBER or Lyft?
If you have been injured by an Uber or Lyft driver or injured as a passenger, you are able to seek a financial recovery for your injuries. The first issue that your rideshare attorney will determine is who was at fault for the crash. Was the Uber or Lyft driver negligent? Or, was another person at-fault for the crash? These are important questions in determining who is responsible and how much potential compensation you will receive.
In order to prove your case, your rideshare accident attorney will need to establish who was neligent. Essentially negligence means that the other person failed to hold up their duty of care and that caused you damage.
Under Florida law, the four elements of negligence that must be proven are:
Duty: The at-fault driver had a duty to operate a motor vehicle in a safe and prudent manner.
Breach: The at-fault driver breached their duty to operate the vehicle in a safe, reasonable, or prudent manner.
Cause: The at-fault driver’s breach of their duty, caused injury.
Damages: Because the breach of duty, you suffered injuries or other economic damages in the crash.
Your rideshare accident attorney may establish negligence by proving the other driver was:
Texting while driving
Driving under the influence
Driving while distracted
Failed to stop
Speeding
Driving too fast for conditions
Ran a stop sign
Ran a red light
It is important that your rideshare accident lawyer work to establish liability as soon as possible. The sooner fault can be established, the sooner we can start applying pressure to the insurance company to compensate you for your injuries and for the property damage to your car.
Collecting Evidence of Your Rideshare Accident
It is also important to collect as much evidence of your rideshare crash as possible. Be sure to contact the police so that they can fill out a crash report at the scene of the incident. It is also important to take photos of the vehicles involved in your crash and the accident scene. These photos could be the key to establishing who was at fault in your rideshare accident.
The Law Office of Arye P. Corbett, P.A. has often secured video evidence of the actual crash. Cameras are everywhere these days and many times, a crash is captured on municipal traffic cameras, business surveillance cameras, and even drone footage. They say that a “picture is worth a thousand words.” If so, then a video must be worth a million. Video evidence of the crash can result in a significant increase to the value of your ride share claim. Not only will it definitively establish that the other person was at-fault, but it will also support the severity of your injuries by showing the actual impact involved in the crash.
Proving Your Uber or Lyft Driver Was At-fault
You decided to be safe and take an Uber/Lyft tonight and you end up being involved in this crash caused by your own driver. What is the available insurance coverage for your injuries?
Car accidents involving an Uber or Lyft vehicle can often involve multiple insurance companies and complex rideshare insurance policies. It is important to hire a rideshare accident attorney that is familiar with this process and who has actual experience litigating cases against these billion-dollar companies.
If your rideshare driver was at fault, we are going make our claim against the insurance carrier for Uber or Lyft. Both Uber and Lyft provide a total of $250,000.00 of coverage for injuries to their passengers.
Because there is a limited amount of money available and potentially multiple claimants, it is important to contact your Uber Accident and Lyft accident attorney right away so that your case can start moving forward.
I am an Uber or Lyft driver, can I make a claim against Uber or Lyft for my injuries?
If you are driving for Uber or Lyft and injured by someone else, your car accident attorney would first make their claim against the person who caused the accident. Then, if you were active on the app when the accident occurred, your car crash attorney would make a claim against the Uber or Lyft insurance carrier to recover compensation for your injuries.
Florida law recognizes that an injured rideshare driver can recover money for:
all of the medical bills that they have incurred,
the future medical bills that they will incur,
their lost wages, since they will not be able to work for Uber or Lyft until their car has been properly fixed,
rental car fees because they are unable to work as an Uber or Lyft driver while driving a rental vehicle,
loss of future earning ability,
and pain and suffering in the past and in the future.
Proving Someone Else’s Uber or Lyft driver was at-fault
I was injured by a Rideshare Driver, but I wasn’t an Uber or Lyft passenger.
As always, the first step is determining who is at-fault for causing the car crash. Once your Uber or Lyft car accident attorney has established that the Uber or Lyft driver was at fault, the next step is to determine whether the driver was active on the Uber or Lyft app at the time of the incident.
Just because someone “works” for Uber does not mean that Uber is on the hook for the damage that their driver causes. Uber provides varying levels of insurance based upon whether, at the time of the crash, the driver was merely on the Uber app waiting/looking for a fare or whether the driver was en route to a passenger or actively with a passenger at the time of the crash.
If the Uber or Lyft driver was on the app while travelling to pick up an accepted passenger, the highest level of bodily injury insurance is activated and will provide up to $1M of potential insurance coverage for you to pursue for compensation of your injuries.
If the Uber or Lyft driver was on the app and available for a potential passenger, there is still liability insurance available for your injury lawyer to purse. However, that amount will be far less than the $1,000,000.00 available when with a passenger.
If driver was off the app, there is no insurance coverage through the rideshare company. This is because it is considered that the person was offline and not “working” for Uber or Lyft at that moment. Under this scenario, the driver’s personal insurance policy would be pursued and not the rideshare service’s insurance.
What should I do after being involved in a rideshare vehicle crash?
Just like a car crash under any other circumstance, a rideshare car crash can be a scary and painful event. If you are not significantly injured at the scene and medically able to do so, the following are some important things that you should do soon after the car crash:
Move the vehicles to a safe area.
Contact the police and fire rescue.
Give a police report statement to the police.
Exchange contact and insurance information with those involved in the crash.
Try to obtain contact information for any witnesses. (This is very important).
Take pictures of the scene, the vehicles involved, and anything else you think might be important. Once you leave the scene that evidence might be gone forever.
Once you have left the scene and calmed down, contact your insurance company and inform them of the crash. You don’t need to explain every detail and every injury, just inform them of the crash so that they can document the incident and begin processing any paperwork associated with the crash.
Do not sign any insurance paperwork or accept money from the insurance company.
Seek medical attention immediately.
If you or your family member were too injured to stay at the scene and were taken by ambulance to the hospital, we and our investigators will track down and document all the evidence needed to establish your car crash claim. I
If possible, contact a trusted person like a parent or spouse or to come to the scene and help collect some of the above evidence as well.
Hire a Florida Rideshare Accident Lawyer Right Away
Clients are often overwhelmed at the amount of phone calls and mail they receive following their car accident. They start getting calls from various adjusters with their own insurance company and then the at-fault driver’s insurance company wants to speak with them. Then comes the mail, as those insurance companies and your medical providers start sending you bills and various forms to fill out. It all can be overwhelming.
Once you hire Law Office of Arye P. Corbett, P.A. as your personal injury law firm, we will immediately send the insurance companies letters informing them that we represent you and directing them to no longer contact you. This way, you can focus on recovering from your injuries, and returning back to life as normal.
Insurance companies, even your own, do not have your best interest in mind. After your crash, they have teams of people working to pay you the least amount possible. They are a business and profits are their number one concern. Never accept money from the insurance company without first talking with a Florida rideshare accident attorney.
No Fees Unless Get Your Compensation for Your Rideshare Accident
The Law Office of Arye P. Corbett represent injured victims in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and all over Florida.
Contact our rideshare accident law firm today to discuss with a personal injury lawyer how we can help you pursue your injury claim. The Law Office of Arye P. Corbett is always here for you and will gladly come to you to meet in-person. Our consultations are completely free and require no commitment. We will discuss your options and rights, and decide together, what to do next.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Contact our office today by calling us at 561-948-3700 or by sending an email to arye@yourbocalawyer.com.