Ride share programs are becoming more and more popular throughout the United States, including California. While they can help reduce car accidents by getting drunk drivers off the road and giving otherwise distracted drivers the chance to be a passenger instead of a driver, Uber accidents are not unheard of.
If you are in the unenviable position of being involved in a car accident in a ride-sharing vehicle, do you know what to do? Keep reading to find out what may or may not cover your injuries and then contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation on your specific case.
Insurance and Uber accidents
Due in part to the fact that ride share programs are still relatively new, it is common for a person to be unclear on how insurance covers them if involved in an accident in one of these vehicles. The truth is that the way Uber and the way Lyft handles these accidents are very different, which is why we are discussing just one: Uber.
The most important thing to know is that Uber requires that anyone who drivers for them has liability car insurance. Additionally, Uber covers supplement insurance coverage for their drivers with one caveat: The Uber app has to be on for it to kick in. This means that when a person books a ride through an Uber app, they are covered by liability insurance for third party accidents (in which the Uber driver is at fault) and for any injuries caused by another drive without enough insurance to cover injuries.
The complications of dual-fault accidents involving an Uber driver
Of course, in most accidents there is not just one at-fault party – two or more parties often share the blame. In other cases, it is likely that both insurance companies would attempt to say that the other company covers your injuries. The truth is that you can likely recover money from both Uber and the other at-fault party’s insurance.
This means that the personal injury attorney you work with will likely need to make two claims for the same accident. Uber generally has at least $1,000,000 in supplemental liability insurance for each driver and the other driver’s policy may not go nearly as high. As a result, it may be that your claim would go to Uber.
In fact, if the other driver is not insured or is underinsured, Uber’s UIM insurance should cover you. It is designed specifically to help in the event that your injuries are caused by another driver but that driver’s insurance is not enough to cover your costs.
These cases can get very complicated very quickly. The good news is that in most cases Uber does not want a lot of attention paid to accidents involving their drivers and are therefore often willing to make reasonable settlement offers. Just make sure you have an attorney to negotiate on your behalf. You can get a free legal consultation by contacting Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707.
