Today many people rely on rideshare services like Lyft or Uber to get around. Rideshares can save time and money and are helpful in situations such as when you’ve been drinking and need a safe way home. However, if you’re a passenger in a rideshare and the driver gets in an accident, you could be seriously injured. These injuries could leave you overwhelmed with medical bills and possibly out of work as well. If this happens, you need an experienced Atlanta rideshare lawyer on your side.
Ali Awad fights for clients in the courtroom and mediation talks, but he can also be found offering no-nonsense legal advice on Instagram. More than 1 million followers make the CEO lawyer one of the first Atlanta personal injury attorneys to bring simple solutions to the people.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a rideshare car accident, call Ali Awad right away for a no-obligation consultation about your case. The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm injury and accident attorney team works for you on a contingency basis – that means they only get paid when you do. The sooner you call (404) 777-8800 to discuss your case, the sooner the CEO lawyer can get to work securing the compensation you deserve for your accident.
Can You Sue the Rideshare Company If You Are Injured While Riding In a Rideshare?
In most cases, no, but there are usually other parties you may make a claim against. It’s important to understand that there are often multiple parties involved from which you may seek compensation with any car accident claim. The other thing you should know is that rideshare drivers are independent contractors, not employees of the rideshare company. Hence, the company is not responsible if a rideshare driver causes an accident.
However, both Uber and Lyft maintain broad liability coverage for drivers when they are driving for the company. If the driver causes an accident, this insurance will cover the other party’s injuries and property damage up to the policy’s limits. If your expenses exceed the policy limits, you may discuss the possibility of suing the driver or another party with your attorney.
It’s recommended that rideshare drivers don’t drive with only liability insurance for several reasons. For one thing, liability insurance only covers injuries and damages sustained by other parties. Drivers who purchase rideshare insurance can get the benefits of their personal auto insurance policy applied in the event of an accident as well. This allows coverage for their own injuries or damages and gives you a second insurance policy to seek compensation. However, since purchasing rideshare insurance is encouraged but not required, some rideshare drivers don’t have it.
There are also different “periods” when a driver is working, such as one period for having the app turned on but not having any ride requests, being on the way to pick up a ride request, and driving a rider to their destination. These periods can affect which insurance policy is used if an accident happens. For example, Uber provides limited coverage when a driver is on their way to a pickup but full coverage when the rider gets in the car. Occasionally there can be some disagreement about which period applies when an accident or injury happens, such as when a rider gets hurt getting in or out of a rideshare. However, in most cases where a rider is in the vehicle when an accident occurs, the rules regarding what policy applies are pretty clear.
How an Atlanta Rideshare Accident Attorney Can Help You
So far, we’ve talked about situations where the rideshare driver causes an accident, and a passenger is injured. However, rideshare drivers undergo a review of their driving records before being approved and are often careful drivers. If you’re in an accident while riding in a rideshare, it may very well be the other driver’s fault. In this case, you may make a claim against the at-fault driver or their insurance.
Unfortunately, the other driver may not have the broad liability insurance Uber or Lyft uses for independent contractors. Under Georgia law, drivers are only required to carry a policy with $25,000 in liability insurance per person and $50,000 per accident. In some situations where people suffer severe injuries, this may only cover a small percentage of your medical bills and lost income, to say nothing of your pain and suffering and other damages. If you’ve collected the policy limit but are still in the red, your Atlanta rideshare attorney may have a plan to sue the other driver directly.
Another layer of confusion may happen if both drivers share some fault in the accident. Georgia is a “modified comparative fault” state, which means if both drivers contributed to the accident, they or their policies may both have some liability for damages. But if one driver is found to be more than 49 percent at fault in the accident, they won’t be able to collect any damages from the other driver.
How does this affect you as a passenger? You could make claims against both drivers with the help of an Atlanta car accident lawyer. When this happens, one or both parties may try to claim you are at fault. This is difficult to prove and unlikely to be successful in most situations. However, there are a few situations where drivers can prove the passenger caused or contributed to an accident or their injuries. For example, passengers who grab the wheel or get into a physical fight with the driver may be found liable, but these situations often don’t happen.
More commonly, the driver or their insurance company may claim the passenger contributed to their own injuries by not wearing a seatbelt. If they can demonstrate your injuries wouldn’t have happened or would have been milder had you worn a seatbelt, your damages may be reduced, or you may get nothing at all, depending on how much fault you’re found to have in the situation. For example, they might say that regardless of who caused the accident, you wouldn’t have been thrown out the window and injured if you’d had been wearing a seatbelt. The safest way to avoid this situation is to always wear a seatbelt.
Common Injuries in Rideshare Accidents
You can suffer many kinds of injuries when your rideshare vehicle is involved in a collision. While this is not an exhaustive list, here are some injuries we see a lot of in these cases:
- Whiplash or other soft tissue injuries. These frequently occur if a rideshare vehicle is rear-ended. The impact can cause the neck muscles to tighten and, in some cases, can also damage your spinal discs.
- Back and neck injuries. Aside from soft tissue injuries, you may also have damage to the bones and other structures in the neck and back, which can lead to surgery and chronic pain. Spinal cord injuries may result in pain and permanent paralysis or disability.
- Head and Traumatic Brain Injuries. It’s easy to hit your head during a car crash. Even if you’re wearing a seatbelt during an accident, your head can still strike the window or another part of the car. Sometimes this leads to bruising, bleeding, or tearing in the brain, otherwise known as Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI. You may recover from a TBI, but some people have long-term difficulties afterward, including headaches, memory loss, mental impairment, mental health effects, and various neurological issues.
- Broken bones or joint injuries. These can also happen in many different ways. Even a “simple” fracture can be expensive to treat and, depending on the type of job you do, may leave you unable to work for weeks or months.
Other Rideshare Situations Where You May Want to Make a Claim
Car accidents are the most common cause for litigation against rideshare drivers or their insurance, but not the only one. Sometimes passengers contact us when they have been sexually assaulted or stalked by a rideshare driver. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. In 2018, Uber alone averaged four reports of rape a week. They also received more than 6,000 reports of sexual assault for the years 2017 and 2018 combined. Both Uber and Lyft run background checks on potential drivers, but no screening process is perfect, and unfortunately, sexual assaults still happen. These traumatic experiences can leave the victim with anxiety, PTSD, other mental health issues, and physical injuries that require costly treatment.
Victims may question whether what happened to them was an assault in many situations. Sexual assault can include actions like groping or unwanted kissing or touching. If you feel uncomfortable about something that happened in a rideshare, it’s a good idea to speak with a rideshare attorney in Atlanta for a free and confidential consultation.
Other types of assaults may also occur, such as a driver punching a customer or mugging them. In some cases, riders are injured or killed in assaults during rideshares. If you or a loved one have experienced any type of assault or injury in a rideshare, an attorney can help you understand your options for seeking compensation.
Call our Experienced Atlanta Rideshare Accident Law Firm Today
Experiencing an accident or assault in a rideshare can leave you physically and mentally stressed and unsure of what to do next. Attorney Ali Awad, the CEO lawyer, is ready to stand up for your legal rights. Contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm team online or call (404) 777-8800 to learn more about how to get a fair chance at the settlement you deserve.
