Can I Sue Lyft After an Injury Accident?

Can I Sue Lyft After an Injury Accident?

With the increasing use of rideshare services, more people are asking, "Can I sue Lyft after an injury accident?" The answer is not a universal yes or no—depending significantly on the circumstances of your collision. Speak to an experienced rideshare accident lawyer to determine if you can sue Lyft after being injured in an accident. They can better assess the possibility once they hear the details of your case and examine any evidence you bring to your consultation. Schedule a free initial consultation today.

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Lyft’s Third-Party Liability Insurance Coverage 

Most personal auto insurance policies do not cover drivers using their vehicles while driving for Lyft unless they have a business use endorsement or commercial auto policy. Lyft maintains third-party liability insurance coverage for their drivers during three distinct periods, all of which stipulate—when the Lyft app is on:

• And Drivers Can Receive Ride Requests: The coverage for bodily injury is $50,000/person or $100,000/accident, and the coverage for property/accident damages is $25,000. 
• And Drivers Are En Route to Pick up Passengers or During Rides: At least $1,000,000 for third-party auto liability coverage. 
• And When a Ride is in Progress: At least $1,000,000 for third-party auto liability coverage.

There are some exceptions to the amounts on Lyft's third-party liability insurance for countrywide rides with livery and TCP drivers, as well as for the five boroughs of New York and a few other states. You can review those in Lyft's driver insurance coverages. Your rideshare accident attorney can also better clarify the coverage relevant to your case. If the Lyft driver was offline or using the platform without a passenger, liability likely solely rests with the driver.

Determining Liability After A Lyft Injury Accident

Determining liability after a Lyft injury accident means determining who is at fault and responsible for your injuries and subsequent damages. This process can be complex and involves investigating your case, examining evidence, interviewing witnesses, and working with accident reconstruction specialists to pinpoint negligence.

Who Is Liable After a Lyft Accident?

Your Lyft accident attorney will explore all possibilities to ensure justice and maximize your claim. If there are multiple liable parties, your attorney will file all necessary claims to hold all parties accountable. Parties who may be liable in a Lyft injury accident are as follows:

• Lyft Drivers: Lyft drivers are liable when their negligence causes an accident. Common driver negligence includes speeding, violating traffic laws, distracted driving (being on a cell phone), and driving drowsy, drunk, or drug-impaired. If the driver's negligence is the determined cause of your Lyft injury accident, you may file a claim with Lyft's $1 million third-party liability insurance policy.
• Lyft Company: Lyft may be directly liable for accidents resulting from issues such as failing to run proper driver background checks, ignoring red flags in a driver's history (aggressive driving and driving while under the influence), and allowing drivers to continue to work after getting a DUI.
• Third-Party Drivers: Third-party drivers are other motorists on the road who may be liable for causing a Lyft injury accident. In these cases, your lawyer may file against their insurance company or through your own uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage. 

Other parties may sometimes be liable for your Lyft injury accident. For example, if a hazardous road condition, such as a massive pothole, caused the accident, government entities may be responsible. Or, if a mechanic missed something or performed shotty repairs leading to the collision, they may be liable. Your attorney will investigate all possibilities.

Proving Negligence After a Lyft Accident

Once your lawyer determines liability, they must prove it to liable insurers for your Lyft injury accident claim or to the judge and jury for your lawsuit. To do this, they must demonstrate the four elements of negligence required by tort law:

• Owed Duty of Care: The driver or Lyft owed you a duty of care to keep you from harm, for example, by obeying traffic laws and properly conducting background checks before hiring drivers.
• Breach of Duty: The driver of Lyft breached that duty.
• Causation: The breach of duty is directly responsible for your injuries.
• Damages: The Lyft accident caused actual harm and damages

The strength of your evidence is what proves negligence in a Lyft injury accident case. Rideshare accident victims should provide their attorneys with evidence, such as photos of their injuries, medical records and bills, and a post-accident journal documenting their pain and suffering.

Compensation You Can Sue Lyft for After an Injury Accident

The severity of your injuries, length of recovery, the extent of your economic losses, and other circumstantial factors influence what compensation you can file a claim or sue Lyft for after an injury accident. Common damages Lyft injury accident victims recover include:

• Healthcare Costs: Depending on the severity of your injuries after a Lyft accident, healthcare costs may include ambulance transport, ER visits, surgeries, primary care, physical therapy, rehabilitation services, medical assistive devices, imaging and diagnostics, prescription medications, and future healthcare expenses. 
• Lost Earnings: Income losses can range from recouping payment for a few weeks of missed work to determining long-term lost earning capacity if someone cannot return to work due to disability. Typical lost earnings you may recover include salary, wages, non-salary compensation (tips and commissions), overtime, paid time off, sick and vacation days, and lost benefits, such as medical and retirement. 
• Property Damages: Rideshare accident victims may recover compensation for any property destroyed in the Lyft accident. These damages include vehicle-related repairs, replacements, and rental cars for other motorists hit by Lyft drivers. However, for Lyft passengers, property damages often include cell phones, glasses/sunglasses, clothing, and other personal belongings.
• Pain and Suffering: Your non-economic or intangible losses are your pain and suffering. These damages may include chronic pain, mental suffering, and psychological trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also compensate for long-term suffering and care for spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and permanent impairments such as loss of limb, hearing, or vision.
• Wrongful Death: Families filing a wrongful death claim after losing a loved one in a Lyft accident may recover compensation for final medical bills, funeral and burial costs, and the pain and suffering of the decedent before their passing. Claimants may also secure compensation for loss of companionship, guidance, parental guidance, and financial support.

To ensure a comprehensive valuation of your damages, you must provide your attorney with documentation demonstrating financial loss and debts, such as medical bills, vehicle-repair invoices, and receipts for out-of-pocket costs. Your lawyer will determine pain and suffering based on your medical records, physician notes, expert testimony, and the contents of your post-accident journal.

Why You Need a Lyft Accident Lawyer After an Injury Accident

After being injured in a Lyft accident, your top priority should be recovery. Depending on the severity of your injuries, recovery may include making and maintaining appointments with primary care physicians, surgeons, orthopedics, physical therapists, and other rehabilitation specialists. Attempting to file a Lyft insurance claim or lawsuit and focus on recovering from your injuries is too much. It's also not necessary.

Offering Contingent Fee Arrangements

Lyft accident lawyers offer contingent fee arrangements to ensure anyone can obtain legal counsel. These arrangements require no money upfront or ongoing out-of-pocket costs. Instead, they collect a disclosed percentage of compensation.

They also stipulate that clients only pay the contingent fee percentage if their attorney wins their claim or lawsuit. Contingency allows injured parties to prioritize recovery while a lawyer handles the legal aspects of your claim.

Handling the Challenges of Lyft Accident Claims

Due to the nature of their cases, Lyft injury accident claims and lawsuits may involve many challenges. Typically, when an employee's negligent actions cause harm to another, the employer is vicariously liable for damages.

However, Lyft drivers aren't classified as employees. Instead, they are independent contractors, which negates Lyft from being vicariously liable. An experienced rideshare accident attorney will (and does) address these legal challenges to ensure optimal outcomes.

Dealing With Insurance Companies

Insurance dealings can prove dangerous for parties without legal representation. Insurance companies work hard to deny and undervalue claims to maximize profits and minimize losses. They employ various strategies to get injured parties to say or do something they can use to dismiss liability or significantly reduce the claim.

You must have an experienced attorney shielding you from their tactics. Once you hire a Lyft accident lawyer, communications between you and insurers will cease. They will no longer be permitted to contact, pressure, harass, or intimidate you into settling too soon and before recovery from injuries.

Building a Strong Case

Building a strong case requires a thorough investigation into your Lyft accident. The foundation of your claim is the evidence gathered, processed, preserved, and analyzed. Evidence your attorney will collect after a Lyft accident includes:

• Police Report: Officially documenting your Lyft accident, including details regarding contributing factors, witness statements, and citations issued. 
• Photographic Evidence: Visually documenting dangerous road conditions and the severity of your accident, vehicle damages, and injuries. 
• Video Evidence: Visually demonstrating the sequence of events leading up to the accident and the collision, and video documentation showing how your injuries affect your daily life.
• Lyft Ride Details: Accessing and assessing the ride information from the Lyft app, including the driver's information, like name, license plate number, time of the accident, and trip details.

After gathering evidence, your rideshare accident attorney works with accident reconstruction specialists to prove negligence in your crash. Accident reconstructionists use computer simulations, 3D models, and 3D animation to demonstrate liability. Their expert witness testimony is invaluable to Lyft injury accident cases.

Reviewing Your Damages

Lawyers may consult additional experts when reviewing the damages of your Lyft injury accident claim or lawsuit. Injured parties who missed substantial work, are returning to work at a limited capacity, or cannot return to work at all may require consultation with economists and vocational and occupational therapists. These consultations ensure maximizing compensation for your claim.

Negotiating Your Settlement and Disbursing Funds

After valuing your damages, your attorney will send a demand letter to all liable insurance companies. Insurers typically counteroffer with a lowball figure, thus starting the negotiation process. Negotiations can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with Lyft's insurance company. However, your lawyer will confidently handle negotiations and demand a reasonable settlement for your damages and pain and suffering.

Once all parties agree on terms, the insurance company will send your attorney a check. They will collect their contingency fee, negotiate medical bills on your behalf, pay medical liens, and issue a final settlement check.

Filing a Civil Lawsuit

If negotiations fail, you can sue Lyft after an injury accident. Your attorney will advise you on additional costs, extended timelines, and possible outcomes. To litigate your case, attorneys:

• The Discovery Phase: This is when both parties collect additional information and evidence to present at trial. This includes depositions and interrogatories.
• Perform Pre-Trial Motions: Determining the admissibility of additional evidence, testimony from witnesses, and expert testimony.
• Trial: Presenting the evidence of your Lyft injury accident to a judge and jury who decides whether to award compensation for the damages on your case.

During this time, parties will continue negotiating for a reasonable settlement agreement, and most of the time, they settle without ever going to trial. However, when cases require the court, juries may also award punitive damages—though rare in Lyft accidents, these punish the defendant when their actions are especially heinous.

Schedule a Free Consultation With a Rideshare Accident Attorney

Consult an experienced Lyft accident lawyer to determine if you should file a claim or sue Lyft after an injury accident that resulted in financial losses and other damages. Schedule your free case evaluation today.

Schedule A Free Consultation