Joshua Galyon
Rideshare companies are becoming increasingly popular in urban cities. For instance, Uber has 91 million active consumers on their platform every month and they have a whopping 3.9 million drivers globally as of December 2018. Unfortunately, these cars sometimes get into accidents, which cause wrongful deaths and severe injuries for drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. There needs to be a liability between who caused the accident in the first place, which can get confusing at times without the right information.
Who is liable for a rideshare accident?
If you have been involved in a rideshare car crash, then you can seek compensation from the liable parties, which may include a wide variety of people. You can seek compensation from the rideshare driver, the driver of the other vehicle, a pedestrian, a bicyclist, or a transit company. You can even seek financial compensation from the government agency or a company that manufactured a defective vehicle or faulty vehicle equipment. Therefore, you can file a lawsuit, or an injury claim against anyone whose carelessness or negligence caused you to get injured.
Can I be compensated if an Uber driver caused the collision?
If the Uber accident was caused by the rideshare driver, then the party that will be responsible for compensating you will depend on the status of the driver on the rideshare app at the time of the collision. It is important to understand these details as these can affect your case. The statuses of the drivers include:
If the driver was “Off Duty”
If your driver was not logged onto the app and was “off-duty”, then the rideshare company will not compensate you for your injuries. This means that the driver was not working during the time of your accident, therefore, the rideshare company does not have to claim the accident as its own. In such situations, you may be compensated by the driver’s insurance. In addition, if you have auto insurance coverage, then you can file a claim with your insurer and get compensation for any property damage or bodily injuries you have sustained.
If the driver was in-between fares
If the driver was logged into the app but was waiting for a ride request when the collision occurred, then you may be eligible to recover compensation from the rideshare company’s limited insurance policy. The rideshare company’s limited policy will cover bodily injury by providing $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash. In addition, the policy will cover property damage by providing $25,000 per collision. In this situation, your primary source of compensation will be the driver and his or her insurance coverage. However, if you have incurred losses that exceed what you can recover from them, then you can file a claim to get benefits from the rideshare company’s policy.
If the driver has a passenger
The rideshare company will provide an insurance policy worth $1 million, which will cover deaths, injuries, and property damage from the moment the driver accepted the ride request, up until the moment the passenger alighted from the vehicle and ended the ride. In this situation, your number one source of compensation is the driver and his or her insurance policy. However, if your losses exceed what the driver can pay you, then the rideshare company will supplement the additional amount.
Conclusion
If you want to obtain compensation after you have been involved in a rideshare car collision, then you should contact an attorney who can find out who the liable sources are and put you in the best position to receive the compensation that you deserve. Make sure to keep track of all the details necessary so you can bring a competent lawyer with a strong case. It’s important to understand how the accident happened and whose fault it was. Once your legal team has a firm understanding then they will do everything in their power to make sure that you receive financial compensation for the accident.
