Michael A. Shammas is an experienced rideshare accident attorney that has recovered millions in damages for his clients. He has extensive experience handling cases against Uber and Lyft. He also has a significant amount of experience handling cases involving taxi accidents. Injuries sustained during Uber and Lyft accidents can leave victims facing long recovery times, expensive medical treatment, and loss of income due to an inability to work. Shammas Law Office works aggressively and diligently to help victims recover all damages and regain control of their lives.
Causes of Rideshare Accidents
Ridesharing attributes to a 2-3% increase in auto accident fatalities. Rideshare drivers, such as those driving for Uber and Lyft, may be more likely to drive carelessly or drive while distracted. Searching for passengers, using navigation devices, driver fatigue, parking in unsafe areas, poor vehicle maintenance, and reckless driving all contribute to rideshare accidents.
Ridesharing drivers have limits on how many hours they can work per day. Many programs institute a rest period, however, drivers do not always honor this. Drivers may work for multiple ridesharing services or other companies during the required rest time. For example, somebody may drive for Uber during a certain portion of the day, then begin driving for Lyft during the remaining part of the day. Overwork can lead to fatigued driving, which impairs judgment, motor skills, and cognitive functioning.
In addition, rideshare drivers may feel pressured to speed or drive recklessly to get passengers to their destination more quickly. This can lead to increased tips and allows drivers to transport more passengers in a given amount of time.
Who Pays Damages in a Rideshare Accident?
Typically, drivers are not considered direct employees of the ridesharing company. However, Uber and Lyft have large insurance policies that still provide insurance coverage depending on the situation.
Coverage is determined as follows:
- If the driver is not logged into the ridesharing app, there is no coverage from the rideshare company. In this case, the driver is not considered to be working and the driver’s personal insurance provides coverage.
- If the driver is logged in, has accepted a trip, and is on the way to the pickup location, the rideshare company provides coverage.
- If the driver is logged in but has not yet accepted a passenger, the rideshare company still typically provides coverage.
- If the rideshare driver or any passengers are injured by another driver without insurance, or without enough insurance, the rideshare company provides uninsured and underinsured coverage to the driver and the passengers.
- A rideshare passenger may have a case against the rideshare driver and the other car involved in the accident if both drivers share responsibility for the crash.
Injuries sustained in rideshare accidents can leave victims facing physical and financial hardship. Pursuing an accident claim to recover damages can help reduce the financial impact of the injury so victims can focus on healing.