More people than ever use ridesharing services. Although this is good for the environment, rideshare vehicle-related automobile accidents might be trickier than they seem. Do you, for instance, know when a ride-sharing firm will insure its drivers and when it will not? What happens if you collide with a ride-sharing car as a result of this? Here is what to do if an Uber or Lyft accident occurs.
Remember that the first step is to contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to talk to an experienced personal injury attorney.
Rideshare Mishaps
Four main categories might be used to group rideshare injury claims: an interaction with a passenger results in the injury of a ride-sharing driver, a passenger sustains harm while riding, in a collision with a ridesharing car, passengers in another vehicle suffer injuries, and when a ridesharing car collides with another vehicle, the other driver sustains injuries.
Any experienced auto accident attorney will speak to the fact that several lawsuits have been brought against rideshare drivers, accusing them of being negligent because they collided with another vehicle while using the ridesharing app to arrange a new pickup or drop-off.
Shared-ride drivers’ liability
Drivers for ride-sharing services are regarded as independent contractors rather than employees. This provides rideshare businesses some leeway when it comes to offering workers’ compensation insurance to their drivers. However, the state of California now mandates that ride-sharing businesses offer insurance to its drivers.
According to Californian law, the ridesharing-related insurance must start working as soon as the driver launches the rideshare app. This indicates that anytime the driver is not operating in the role as a rideshare driver, they are still subject to their own insurance policies and personal liability restrictions.
Being a passenger in a rideshare accident
You would respond to a collision as you would any other auto accident if you were a passenger in a ridesharing car. This also applies to drivers of other vehicles involved in collisions with rideshare cars. In order to have complete information about the driver’s whereabouts before and during the accident, rideshare businesses track all of its drivers’ geolocations in real-time.
Despite the above, you should nevertheless ask the driver for the following details to support your claim: first and last name, contact details, license plate details and information about insurance and vehicle registration. If there were any witnesses to the collision, be sure to also get their contact details. Additionally, as they can be useful later on, you should take pictures of all the cars and the surroundings.
Then contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to request a free legal consultation from an experienced attorney who is standing by to help you.
