Lyft Uber Lawsuit: All that You Need to Know

Know about the insurance policies and laws that may help you

source: nytimes.com





If you use the Lyft and Uber ride sharing services services then you need to read this. Whether you are the driver or the rider if you’re involved in an accident then here are the facts you should know about the ride sharing service insurance policy. These will help you in the [Lyft/Uber] lawsuit or settlement or just make you aware of the various laws pertaining to accidents involved with any ride sharing services. ~ Ed.







With ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft on the rise it’s important for passengers of these services to be aware of all the laws pertaining to what happens if you are involved in an accident while using a lift sharing service.

Any time you use any sort of transportation it could be argued that you are putting your life in someone else’s hands. You are entrusting the driver of the vehicle with safely transporting you to your destination.

Of course we all know there are more factors at play than just how safe your Uber or Lyft ride share driver is.

You also need to consider the other drivers on the road. Sometimes no matter how safe your Uber or Lyft driver is another car can crash into your Uber or Lyft driver’s vehicle.

Any time an auto accident happens you could be subject to a variety of physical, psychological or mental and emotional injuries. The question when you are using a ride sharing service is who’s to blame?

Here is the basic information about the ride-sharing accident laws that may help you if you are considering [Lyft/Uber] lawsuit or settlement for yourself or your loved ones.





Determining Fault

Normally if you are driving down the road and you get into an accident with another vehicle then lawyers insurance claim adjusters . Sometimes the court has to determine who is at fault or more at fault if you are both at fault so that any injuries can be fairly compensated for.

However, if you are the rider in a ride sharing service and say you are involved in a [Lyft/Uber] lawsuit or settlement then the situation is a bit different.

When you have been ride sharing it doesn’t matter if another vehicle hit your Uber or Lyft driver. It doesn’t really matter even whether or not your Uber or Lyft driver was at fault for the accident.

Since you were in the care of the company, the company is deemed to be responsible for your safety.

The good news is that Uber has a $1 million insurance policy that can immediately kick in to cover you if an Uber driver has an accident with a passenger in the vehicle. Lyft has a comparable policy.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that just because you are in an accident while using a ride sharing service that you will instantly get a million bucks. There are a few stipulations that could change the game.



Uber/Lyft App Activity

Before getting into what the extenuating circumstances are that eventually affect Uber or Lyft insurance payouts first it’s necessary to describe how Uber and Lyft work.

If you have never taken a ride from a company like Uber or Lyft or even if you have you might not know how the company tracks its drivers. The way that it does so is via their apps.

Ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft have apps that connect drivers with passengers.

When a ride sharing driver is on his or her way to pick up a passenger they have to have their app on and their location services turned on. This lets passengers know how far away their drive is. Besides that it provides documentation to the company that the driver is doing what he or she is getting paid to do.

Ride sharing drivers also have to have the app running while the passengers are in their vehicles too.

Where personal injury responsibility can sometimes get tricky is when it comes to determining at what stage of transport the driver was in when the accident happened.





Was the App On?

If the driver didn’t have the Uber or Lyft app on then he or she is considered off duty. Thus the ride sharing company he or she represents is not held accountable for any injuries that the driver or passenger sustain.

In such instances the driver’s insurance policy would have to kick in to pay for any medical expenses. And if he or she didn’t have sufficient insurance then the passenger’s own uninsured or under-insured motorists policy would have to suffice.

In instances where the driver actively has the app on and has a passenger in the vehicle and gets into an accident it’s usually pretty indisputable that Uber/Lyft or the other ride sharing service is deemed responsible for the accident. As such the $1 million coverage insurance policy would kick in.





What About the Driver?

If you are the driver for Uber or Lyft, then you can cash into the company’s insurance policy in certain situations.

For example if you had the Uber or Lyft app turned on because you were waiting for a ride request and you are involved in an accident Uber insurance kicks in because you were considered on duty when the accident occurred.

In instances such as these when you didn’t have a passenger yet drivers will receive limited liability coverage in this instance. It would consist of $50,000 injury per person up to $100,000 and $25,000 in property damage per Uber’s insurance policy . However for any other types of coverage it would revert back to the driver’s own insurance policy.

If the driver is in route to pick up a passenger then he or she could be entitled to Uber’s massive $1 million insurance policy.

The driver will have to prove that he or she was on the way to pick up a passenger. But that’s usually easy to do because if the app is on in the background then it tracks the driver’s movements and where he or she is headed.



