If you are injured while riding in a rideshare vehicle like an Uber or Lyft, you can be left wondering how you’re going to recover from your injuries and pay for all those medical expenses. Thankfully, depending on the situation, you may have a couple different ways to gain compensation for your injuries and receive the money you need to make yourself whole again.
Rideshare companies have policies in place to cover passengers in the event of an accident while they are being taken to their destination. This means that regardless of who is at fault, passengers are typically covered for the injuries and losses that they sustain.
Options For Compensation
Uber and Lyft have protections in place for riders, but also require all drivers to have insurance up to the state mandated minimum on their personal vehicle This means that if the Uber or Lyft driver was involved in an accident, the driver’s insurance policy would kick in to cover their vehicle and everyone inside it.
In this case, you would contact the driver and get their insurance information so that you could file a claim on behalf of yourself for injuries suffered during the accident if the driver had not done so already. In most cases you can be paid compensation for medical bills and expenses such as lost wages up to the limit of the driver’s policy. If, for some reason, the driver’s policy denies the accident claim, it is possible to contact Uber or Lyft and request compensation through them specifically. This will depend on the status of the ride and some other factors.
If the Uber or Lyft driver was not at fault for the accident, then you may also be able to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver for the full damages that you suffered as a result of the accident. This can be a long process and requires the experience and knowledge of a personal injury attorney, but is the best way to get the compensation you deserve.
You may be covered by Uber or Lyft’s protection policy if you were injured en route to your destination, however these policies have specific guidelines in order to qualify for the protection.
- First, the driver must have agreed to the trip and already picked you up. You must also be in motion at the time of the accident. A stopped vehicle is not generally protected. The protection also ends automatically once the driver reaches the destination even if you remain in the vehicle for a moment before exiting.
- Lastly, if you are involved in an accident with an Uber or Lyft vehicle and it is the driver of your rideshare’s fault, then you may have receive some coverage through their insurance, but it is possible as a rider that you may need to file a personal injury claim against your driver to recover full damages, particularly if Uber or Lyft denies compensation from their side of things.
Keep all these factors in mind the next time you order a ride and remember your rights in the event of an accident. It’s always a good idea to consult with a personal injury attorney regardless of the circumstances of your accident so that you know what kind of compensation you should be entitled to.
