Being injured in an Uber accident can involve many challenges, including the issue of liability. Several parties may be liable after an Uber accident, and it may take time to investigate all possibilities. You need an experienced rideshare accident lawyer to handle your case. Schedule a free consultation to understand your legal rights, including the right to financial compensation.
Table of contents
Who Is Liable After Being Injured in an Uber Accident?
Again, several parties may be liable for injuries in an Uber accident, and multiple liability is also a common occurrence. Examples of people who may be liable after you've suffered an injury in an Uber accident include:
- Uber Drivers: When Uber drivers are inactive or offline, the Uber driver's personal auto insurance company is generally liable for your losses after a motor vehicle collision.
- Uber Company: Uber's third-party liability insurance might be responsible for paying for your injuries and damages if the Uber driver was on duty, en route, or on a trip with a passenger. Or if you are the passenger.
- Third-Party Drivers: If you are a passenger in an Uber when another motorist or third-party driver causes an accident, the at-fault driver's insurer becomes liable for economic losses and pain and suffering.
- Municipalities: Though less common, municipalities or local government entities may be liable when dangerous road conditions, such as giant potholes or inadequate lighting, cause an Uber accident.
While all Uber cases can be more challenging, liable municipalities are usually the most difficult to recover damages from. If you believe or know that local municipalities are responsible for your Uber accident and subsequent damages, contact an Uber accident attorney immediately. The longer they have to work on your strategy, the better.
Uber’s Third-Party Liability Insurance Limits
Uber maintains commercial third-party liability insurance to cover its drivers. The damages covered in an accident depend on factors, including whether a driver is offline, online, en route, or on a trip with a passenger. Coverage for when Uber drivers are online and available for a trip is as follows:
- $50,000 in bodily injury per person
- $100,000 in bodily injury per accident
- $25,000 in property damage per accident
Uber maintains comprehensive insurance for ridesharing and deliveries. When drivers are en route or on a trip with a passenger, third-party liability coverage may pay upward of $1,000,000 for property damages and bodily injury.
Typically, vicarious liability holds an employer accountable when an employee (driver) is responsible for an accident. However, Uber drivers are independent contractors, not technical employees, so vicarious liability does not hold Uber responsible in the traditional sense. To address this loophole, many states enforce rideshare insurance laws holding Uber liable in certain situations, which is why the company provides liability insurance while drivers are working.
Further, suppose Uber's negligence caused the accident, such as failing to conduct proper driver background checks, neglecting to handle prior complaints concerning the Uber driver, or system glitches within the Uber app responsible for the crash. In that case, Uber can be liable for its own negligence.
What to Do After Being Injured in an Uber Accident
In addition to processing shock and adrenaline after an accident, injured parties must report the accident, get a medical evaluation or treatment for injuries, document the accident, injuries, and damages, and hire a rideshare lawyer to handle their claim.
Report the Uber Accident
Uber and third-party drivers should report the accident to Uber. However, reporting it yourself is the best way to ensure Uber's third-party liability goes into effect to cover your losses. You should also report all motor vehicle accidents with injuries to the police. State jurisdictions impose different requirements and timeframes for mandatory reporting. Your attorney can clarify deadlines.
Get a Medical Evaluation or Treatment for Injuries
If you are injured at the scene, you should take an ambulance or drive to the hospital for immediate medical treatment. Accident victims with less severe, hidden, or delayed injuries should get an immediate medical evaluation to assess the potential for injuries.
A licensed medical professional is more qualified than your family or Facebook friends at assessing and diagnosing possible injuries. Even if you do not feel injured, it's best to have common hidden injuries associated with car accidents ruled out.
For accident victims who experience delayed injuries, having a medical evaluation already on file helps doctors understand when symptoms begin to develop. It also bodes well legally as a first step in documenting injuries.
Document the Accident, Injuries, and Damages
Proper documentation is key to establishing your accident, injuries, and damages. Getting medical evaluations or treatment is the first step in adequately documenting injuries. Injured parties should write down the details of their accident while they are as fresh in their head as possible. Pain and suffering damages are most evident in medical records, expert testimony, and your detailed post-accident journal detailing them.
Hire an Uber Accident Attorney
Having an experienced rideshare accident lawyer can mean the difference between denied or undervalued claims and substantial settlement payouts. Do not delay seeking legal counsel. Most Uber accident lawyers work on contingency. So, they do not require money upfront or for ongoing costs for their services and only get paid if they win your case.
Contingency allows them to offer their services to anyone who needs legal representation after being injured in an Uber accident. Schedule your free initial consultation to outline the specifics of your claim and explore the possibility of securing a financial settlement.
What Not to Do After Being Injured in an Uber Accident
First and foremost, don't be in a hurry to settle your Uber accident claim. Most importantly, you must hit your medical maximum improvement (MMI) before settling. Your MMI is a treatment plateau, or the point at which your injuries have reached a state where they can not be improved. Additionally, you should refrain from giving recorded statements to insurers, posting to social media, or accepting quick settlement offers.
Give Recorded Statements to Insurers
While you should report your accident to Uber, do not give them a recorded statement. You are not obligated to answer questions about your injuries or how you feel or provide a recording. The purpose of a recorded statement is to get you to say something incriminating or that they can use to undervalue or deny your claim. You can politely decline to answer questions or to be recorded.
A significant benefit of retaining a rideshare accident attorney is that they will handle all insurance company communications immediately after you leave the office. Insurers will no longer be permitted to contact you after hiring legal counsel.
Post to Social Media
Posting to social media after being injured in an Uber accident is a big no-no, especially on public accounts accessible to anyone. From making posts about your accident and injuries to sharing a photo of you laughing at a child's birthday party, insurers will use anything they can to downplay the severity of your injuries and the need for medical treatments. Injured parties should refrain from posting to social media until their claim settles.
Accept Quick Settlement Offers
As tempting as it may be to accept a quick settlement offer to get out from under medical bills and other financial hardships caused by income losses, don't take it. Quick settlement offers are always lowball offers. Insurance companies start with lowball offers to protect profits. They know that most accident victims without legal representation won't negotiate and will accept the first offer presented.
Insurers start low for injured parties with legal counsel as a negotiating starting point and strategy. Take the time to achieve your MMI before you take any settlement offers. You don't want any future surprises or regrets that cost you, possibly, substantial compensation for your losses.
How a Rideshare Accident Lawyer Will Help
Understanding the common issues involved in an Uber accident regarding liability, third-party liability, and other challenges makes having a rideshare accident attorney extremely valuable to your case. They know the law and have experience navigating the legal system and Uber accident claims like yours. Their many services include reviewing your policy, gathering and analyzing evidence, determining liability, calculating losses and damages, and negotiating reasonable settlements.
Review Your Insurance Policy
The healthcare costs after being injured in an Uber accident can add up quickly with severe injuries and disabilities. In addition to pursuing compensation for your economic damages and pain and suffering, attorneys will review your insurance policy to find alternative methods to alleviate your crash's financial burden, such as personal injury protection (PIP).
Gather and Analyze Evidence
Solid evidence is the foundation of demonstrating liability, proving negligence and damages, and securing substantial compensation for your losses. Evidence your attorney will collect after you've been injured in an Uber accident is as follows:
- Reports and Records—police report with witness contact information and statements and driver cell phone records at the time of the Uber accident.
- Photographic Evidence—documenting the accident scene, vehicle damages, road conditions, and injuries immediately following the collision
- Video Evidence—capturing the accident and collected from traffic cameras, vehicle dashcams, and nearby commercial or residential security or doorbell cameras.
- Uber-Related Evidence—data from the Uber app, including the driver's speed, location, trip details, and screenshots you captured of your Uber trip details immediately following the crash.
- Medical Records—documentation of injuries sustained in the Uber accident, including assessment and diagnosis, treatments, referrals, pain management, and any limitations or restrictions caused by your injuries.
Evidence you'll provide your rideshare accident lawyer includes paperwork documenting any financial losses, such as vehicle-repair invoices, medical bills, income loss statements, and receipts for out-of-pocket costs. You should also keep a journal documenting your pain and suffering after being injured in an Uber accident.
Determine Liability
Determining liability involves thoroughly investigating several possible parties to your Uber accident. Your attorney will work with accident reconstruction specialists to help recreate the circumstances of your collision. Evidence from accident reconstruction helps prove negligence and liability. Expert testimony from accident reconstructionists lends significant weight to your claim.
Calculate Losses and Determine Damages
Determining the value of your damages can be a complicated process, especially when injuries are severe. Your Uber accident attorney will calculate all economic losses and non-economic damages, such as:
- Healthcare Expenses: All costs relating to medical treatments and services, including emergency, surgical, rehabilitation, general practitioner, and pharmaceutical.
- Disability: Compensation for pain and suffering due to permanent injuries, including spinal cord injuries, paralysis, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and vision or hearing impairments.
- Lost Earnings: All income losses due to injury, such as lost income, bonuses, benefits, and diminished earning capacity or future earnings.
- Property Damages: Vehicle-related expenses, such as repairs, replacements, rental cars, and rideshare services, and any other property damaged in the Uber accident, like smartphones, glasses, and laptops.
- Pain and Suffering: Intangible losses, including chronic pain, mental suffering, psychological trauma, sleep disturbances, inability or limited ability to perform daily tasks, permanent impairment, and loss of society and companionship.
- Wrongful Death: Costs associated with losing a loved one, including final medical expenses, final arrangement costs, loss of consortium, loss of financial support, loss of household services, and loss of parental guidance.
Many attorneys use the multiplier method to determine the value of your pain and suffering. It involves taking the total of your economic damages and multiplying it by a number between 1.5 and five. Your multiplier number is determined by the severity of your injuries, length of treatment and recovery time, and the need to calculate for long-term care.
Negotiate Reasonable Settlements
After receiving your rideshare accident attorney's demand letter for damages, liable insurers will counteroffer. This serves as the starting point of negotiations. Every case is different. However, it's highly uncommon for insurance companies to pay what the demand letter outlines.
Negotiations may take time, depending on the severity of your injuries and the complexity of your case. Some circumstances enable your lawyer to expedite a claim. Ask them to clarify their estimated timeline outcomes.
Contact an Uber Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one have been injured in an Uber accident, consult a rideshare accident lawyer immediately. Schedule a free case evaluation to determine a plan for securing a settlement. Bring as much evidence as you can to your case evaluation so they can best assess your Uber accident and injuries.