Uber and Lyft drivers often drive for long hours during a given shift. After hours on the road, they might become tired or complacent with the rules of the road, potentially making mistakes on the road that most drivers tend to avoid.
If you or a family member were hurt as a result of a crash involving an Uber or Lyft vehicle or as a rider in one, consider working with our attorneys to help you get compensation for your injuries. Often, these accidents are indeed caused by the driver. However, many Uber and Lyft drivers are careful drivers, and the accidents you face as a passenger might actually be another driver’s fault.
For help getting compensation after an Uber or Lyft accident, call the Uber and Lyft accident lawyers at The Law Offices of David I. Fuchs, Injury & Accident Lawyer. For a complimentary and confidential review of the details of your case, call us today at (954) 866-1750.
Can You Sue for an Uber or Lyft Following an Accident in Boca Raton, FL?
Florida uses no-fault rules for car accidents, which might limit what damages you can claim in a lawsuit. In addition, Uber and Lyft’s policies and how they hire their drivers might also interfere with your legal ability to sue for an accident. In any case, our Uber and Lyft accident lawyers can help you determine who is at fault and what damages you can claim against them as well as how to file that claim.
Determining if You Have a Case
Florida’s no-fault rules require each driver to have insurance to cover themselves and their passengers after an accident. This means that if you or a family member were riding in the Uber/Lyft when the accident occurred, your driver’s insurance should cover you regardless of who caused the crash. However, these no-fault insurance policies only cover up to $10,000 in damages for normal policies, and they often cover only a percentage of lost wages and medical bills; typically, no pain and suffering damages are allowed without overcoming additional hurdles.
If you want to receive full compensation for an injury, you may need to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver, whether that is the Uber/Lyft driver or another driver. When you sue an at-fault driver, you can recover any economic damages that were not covered by the no-fault insurance. You can also claim damages for pain and suffering and other “non-economic” damages if your case involves “serious injuries.” This includes any permanent injuries, significant scarring, and other certain injuries listed under Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2).
If you or a family member were in another car as a driver or passenger, the driver of that car’s insurance should cover you first. However, you might be entitled to additional damages if you sue the driver who caused the crash.
Our Boca Raton Uber and Lyft accident lawyers can help you understand whether you meet these thresholds and help you get compensation through the appropriate means. However, with Uber and Lyft accidents, there might be additional insurance policies that can cover your injuries, potentially getting you important damages without the need to file a lawsuit.
Can You Sue Uber or Lyft?
Generally, Uber and Lyft are insulated from lawsuits because of the way they hire their drivers. Rather than hiring their drivers as employees like many trucking, busing and taxi companies do, the drivers of rideshare vehicles are hired as independent contractors. To sue a company for its employee’s mistakes, that employee has to be – legally speaking – an employee and not an independent contractor. Independent contractors are a separate type of worker, and lawsuits cannot be filed against their employers in many cases.
There might be some exceptions involving negligent hiring or other situations where the company itself did something wrong. This might involve, for example, holding the company liable for hiring a driver with an undisclosed history of DUI that they should have discovered during their vetting process.
Filing Through Insurance
In the cases where you cannot sue – and even in many cases where a lawsuit is an option – there might be enough coverage through insurance to get you the damages you need. Your driver is required to have their normal no-fault insurance, but they are also required to carry commercial driving insurance or a rideshare driver policy. On top of that, if all requirements are met, both Uber and Lyft provide additional insurance.
The first additional policy is a supplemental policy that kicks in if the driver’s coverage is too low and the accident happened while the driver was on duty but had no rider selected yet. If the operator actually had a fare or was en route a pickup, then both companies have million-dollar insurance policies that should cover any injuries in the crash.
Talk to our Uber and Lyft accident lawyers about whether the coverage through these insurance policies is enough to cover your needs or whether a lawsuit is appropriate.
Damages for Injuries in a Boca Raton Uber/Lyft Accident
If you or a family member were injured following a crash involving a rideshare vehicle, you could be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other “economic damages.” In addition, damages for pain and suffering and other “non-economic damages” might be available.
Medical bills and lost wages form the basis of most serious injury cases. The cost of medical care is something you should never have to pay for if the injuries were caused by someone else. Additionally, if the injuries leave you out of work or make it hard to return to work at your same pay rate, getting those lost wages replaced will be vital to you and your family. The at-fault driver can often be made to pay these damages above and beyond what insurance pays.
Non-economic damages and pain and suffering are also vital. These damages are hard to calculate, but our Uber and Lyft accident lawyers can help you get the damages you deserve for the injuries and discomfort you face.
Our Boca Raton Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyers Can Help
Call (954) 866-1750 to have the experienced Boca Raton Uber and Lyft accident attorneys at The Law Offices of David I. Fuchs, Injury & Accident Lawyer provide you with a free case evaluation.