If you’ve been injured in a rideshare accident, you may have legal options available. Contact the Huntsville rideshare accident lawyers at Mama Justice today.

Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft have become hugely popular during the last several years. This popularity, however, comes with a cost, as it is not uncommon for passengers to be injured in a rideshare accident. Pedestrians and other drivers have sustained injuries after they were struck by a vehicle operated by a rideshare driver.

Serious and life-altering injuries caused by rideshare accidents often pose numerous hardships for the victim and their family. These obstacles are made even more complicated when companies like Lyft and Uber refuse to take responsibility for the victim’s injuries.

Instead, these companies typically attempt to shift both legal liability and blame elsewhere. Considering the various complexities that often accompany automobile accident claims, it is essential to make sure you have the legal assistance of an experienced and reputable rideshare accident attorney.

If you or a family member have been injured in a car crash that was caused by a Lyft or Uber driver, reach out to the Huntsville rideshare accident attorneys at Mama Justice. You can contact us through our online form or by calling (833) 626-2587 to learn more about your legal rights and options.

How Does Ridesharing Work?

Ridesharing companies offer a convenient transportation option by joining drivers with passengers looking for a ride via a smartphone app. The drivers have a contract with the ridesharing company and agree to use their personal vehicles to transport passengers.

Even though these services provide customers with needed transportation, they are not without their problems. Just like other motorists, rideshare drivers can be involved in accidents, and when that happens, many questions arise regarding who is responsible for the victim’s injuries.

Distracted Driving Issues With Ridesharing

Rideshare services link drivers to patrons via smartphone apps. Anytime a potential passenger logs on to the app and requests a ride from a driver, the driver only has about 10 to 15 seconds to accept the ride before it gets passed to someone else. In most cases, it isn’t feasible for a driver to promptly pull over to a safe place before accepting the new ride.

A rideshare driver who forgoes a ride request loses out on the money for that ride. Their acceptance rate will also be negatively impacted, which will ultimately affect their pay and could even result in them being deactivated as a driver. Due to this, the very nature of the job lends itself heavily to distracted driving, which increases the chances of a rideshare accident.

Are Ridesharing Companies Required to Provide Insurance?

Lyft and Uber both have policies in place designed to protect passengers and other potential victims from injuries that could occur should one of their independent contractors be involved in an accident.

These insurance policies are the consequence of many years spent contesting lawsuits and taking various other actions in an attempt to shirk responsibility for injuries that occurred during rideshare accidents. States eventually passed laws that required these corporations to supply liability coverage.

Liability coverage serves as secondary coverage to the contracted driver’s own policy only when the driver is logged into the app and waiting for a passenger. Additionally, a much more extensive $1 million policy acts as the immediate liability insurance policy as soon as the driver accepts a passenger through the app and is headed to pick them up, as well as anytime there is a passenger in the car.

The company’s auto insurance coverage is used when:

  • The rideshare driver strikes a vehicle.
  • The rideshare driver strikes a pedestrian or cyclist.
  • The rideshare driver is the cause of an accident with a passenger in their vehicle.
  • Another driver causes an accident involving a rideshare vehicle carrying a passenger.

Here at Mama Justice, our Huntsville personal injury lawyers know how Lyft and Uber insurance policies operate and how to pursue a successful claim for recovery based on that knowledge. We can begin building your rideshare claim today.

Who Is Responsible for Injuries After an Alabama Rideshare Accident?

If you are hurt in a collision with a rideshare vehicle, the company might offer you some insurance coverage. That insurance could provide financial compensation for your accident-related injuries and other damages, but many victims quickly discover that the rideshare company plans to dispute the amount of insurance available. They might even argue that no insurance is available.

Multiple factors come into play when dealing with the company’s insurance coverage, including:

  • The driver was not signed into the rideshare app: Neither Lyft nor Uber will take responsibility for any injuries caused by the driver. Injured victims will have to file a claim with the rideshare driver’s commercial or personal car insurance policy.
  • The driver was signed in to the app but was waiting on a fare: Lyft and Uber offer liability coverage in the amount of $50,000 for each person and $100,000 for each accident, in addition to the rideshare driver’s commercial or personal auto insurance coverage.
  • The driver was on their way to pick up a customer: Both Lyft and Uber offer up to $1 million in liability coverage.
  • The driver had customers in their vehicle: Both Lyft and Uber offer coverage of up to $1 million.

It is not guaranteed that the rideshare driver or the rideshare company will take responsibility, even when they should. This makes professional legal representation of the utmost importance if you plan on pursuing economic recovery for your damages caused by an Alabama rideshare accident.

Determining Liability for a Huntsville Rideshare Accident

The situation can be made even more complicated if the accident was caused by another driver or more than two vehicles were involved. Filing claims with more than one insurance company is highly stressful, especially when you are injured.

Along with filing a claim with the rideshare company’s insurance carrier, you might also need to file a claim with the rideshare driver’s insurance provider, the other drivers involved in the accident, and use the benefits offered under your own car insurance policy.

At Mama Justice, our Huntsville rideshare accident attorneys determine exactly who is responsible for your accident, make sure you know your rights, and walk you through the claims process from start to finish.

What to Do if You’re Injured as a Rideshare Driver

If you are a driver who was hurt in a rideshare accident caused by another person, speaking with an attorney who has experience dealing with these kinds of cases is essential.

Our rideshare accident lawyers will make sure that your rights are defended and help steer you through the process of filing a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company and your rideshare company as well. We will also help you with any legal problems that arise involving customers who may have been injured in the accident.

As stated above, Lyft’s and Uber’s auto insurance policies will not cover your injuries if you were not signed in to the app, and they do not cover property damage. Making sure you have plenty of collision, liability, and uninsured driver coverage on your personal car insurance policy will guarantee that you are well protected in the event of a collision.

We can analyze your current insurance policy and advise you on the most practical course of action that will safeguard your livelihood and help you circumvent potential issues in the future.

Alabama’s Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury Accidents

Alabama has a deadline of two years from the day of your accident for filing a car accident lawsuit. Although it isn’t always necessary to file a suit to recover fair compensation in a rideshare accident claim, it is essential that your right to do so is protected by negotiating a settlement or taking legal action before the deadline passes.

It will be virtually impossible for any attorney to negotiate an honest settlement with the insurance carrier if we have missed our chance to file a personal injury suit in your case. This is just one of the many reasons why it is vital that we get to work on your claim as soon as possible.

What Compensation Is Available for a Huntsville Rideshare Accident Case?

In terms of recovering financial compensation for a rideshare lawsuit or settlement, the damages you are entitled to collect should reflect the documented damages you sustained.

For instance, a victim who was seriously injured and required hospitalization would be eligible for a considerably larger payout than a victim who broke their arm, was treated, and sent home later that same day because the first victim will have much higher medical bills.

Due to this, it isn’t possible to know exactly how much your claim may be worth until your lawyer completes their investigation and fully understands all your current and anticipated accident-related damages.

The recoverable damages in a Huntsville rideshare accident award or settlement could include:

  • Current and anticipated medical care, treatments, and therapy
  • Current and future lost income
  • Reduced earning capacity if you are unable to go back to work or unable to perform the job you had
  • Property damages, including damage to your car and any personal property you had with you
  • Pain and suffering
  • Various other non-economic losses

In cases where victims experienced the death of a family member in a rideshare accident, we can help them seek damages for wrongful death as available according to the Alabama Wrongful Death Statute.

Immediately after a Huntsville rideshare accident, there are steps victims can take to safeguard their rights. Taking the actions listed below will put you in the best possible position for collecting full and fair financial compensation for your injuries:

  • Make sure that everybody who was involved in the incident is okay. Call 911 for emergency assistance if necessary.
  • Notify the police so an accident report can be created.
  • Collect the names, contact information, insurance information, and vehicle information of the other motorists involved in the accident.
  • Take pictures or videos of the scene. The images need to include any visible damage to the vehicles and any visible injuries. Road conditions, traffic, weather conditions, obscured road signs, and anything else that may have contributed to the collision should be documented.
  • Record the contact information of anyone who witnessed the accident.
  • Seek professional medical treatment right away, even if you think you managed to escape unharmed. Many crash-related injuries, such as whiplash, can take several days to manifest.
  • Speak with an experienced rideshare accident attorney in Huntsville. Make sure that you fully understand your rights and all of your options for financial compensation.

Negotiating With Insurance Companies

As a general practice, insurance carriers typically offer unfairly small settlements or will deny a claim, even a legitimate one, outright. If you are involved in a rideshare accident, never provide a statement to anyone, sign anything, or agree to an insurance company’s settlement offer without speaking to a lawyer.

In cases where more than one insurance company is involved, they might even work together to dispute your valid claim, trivialize the degree of your injuries, or be adamant in the fact that their insured party was not liable.

Our rideshare accident attorneys are proficient at handling negotiations with multiple insurers. We are resolute in our dedication to acting as your advocate, and we will not give up until you have recovered the financial compensation you are entitled to.

How a Huntsville, AL Rideshare Accident Attorney Can Help

As of 2018, new laws enabled ridesharing businesses to operate in Alabama. Presently, the only companies allowed to conduct this type of business are Lyft and Uber.

The laws governing rideshares are fairly new and have a lot of gray areas which means they are open to interpretation by the courts. This is just another reason why it is so important for victims to reach out to an experienced Alabama rideshare accident lawyer.

The Mama Justice rideshare accident attorneys in Huntsville will make sure you are fully informed of all your legal rights and options. We will investigate your rideshare accident and determine how it happened and which driver was at fault. If we find that a rideshare vehicle was responsible for your injuries, our law firm will advocate aggressively on your behalf. We will use our considerable legal experience to bring the driver and rideshare company to account.

If you or a family member was injured in a Huntsville rideshare accident, contact the Huntsville rideshare accident attorneys at Mama Justice today by calling (888) 699-1846. We will schedule a free consultation to review your potential rideshare accident claim.