Euless Uber Accident Lawyers
Representing Ridesharing Victims
Ridesharing is a popular business model at the moment. Of all the ridesharing companies, Uber is perhaps the most well-known. “To Uber” is often used as a synonym for travel via any ridesharing company, not just Uber itself.
There’s a lot of interest in how a company like Uber will shake up the current market. There is a much lower bar to become an Uber driver than there is to become a taxi driver. This allows for more people to work as Uber drivers, but it also means that these drivers are often less familiar with the areas in which they work, and they may not have the same level of cover that a taxi driver does.
If you have suffered an injury during a rideshare with Uber, then you may have grounds for legal action.
How Is an Uber Accident Different From Automobile Accidents?
Uber accidents aren’t any different from other automobile accidents at the moment they are happening. They are just as scary, chaotic, and dangerous as any other car accident. The injuries that can be suffered from them are just as bad.
Small injuries like broken bones may prevent you from working for months, while more serious injuries may cause you medical problems for the rest of your life. Either way, that’s money you’re losing out. If you were the reckless driver, then there’s little chance of recovering those damages. But if another driver’s recklessness caused the accident, then you may be able to get compensation from them through legal action.
However, Uber accidents function fairly differently after the fact. There are different liabilities for Uber drivers depending on some pretty specific circumstances in regards to the Uber app on their phone.
When you have the app open and are waiting to pick up a request, the company will insure you for liability coverage if your own insurance doesn’t. If you have accepted a request in the app and are on your way to the location, the company will insure you. Finally, if there is a passenger in the car and you are taking them to their destination, then you’ll have Uber’s insurance.
This is important because it means the company doesn’t cover their drivers at all times. If you were filling up on gas after dropping off a customer but before picking up another, you wouldn’t have coverage the same way a taxi company employee would. It may be up to you to take the negligent party to court yourself to get compensation in this example.
What Happens When an Uber Driver Causes an Accident?
So what happens when you decide to play it safe, catch an Uber instead of driving home from the bar, and then you get into an accident anyway? Thankfully, the procedure in this situation would be fairly straightforward. Uber provides passengers who suffer injuries in a crash that one of their drivers caused with million-dollar third-party liability coverage.
This means if the Uber driver caused the accident, you are pretty much covered if you’re a passenger. So what happens if the other driver caused the accident in this scenario? In that situation, if the other driver’s insurance didn’t cover your medical costs, Uber would provide uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance to assist in paying your bills.
If you are a pedestrian or you and another driver are struck by an Uber driver, then it may take a little longer to figure out coverage issues. If the Uber driver has a passenger at the time of the collision, then they will have that million-dollar coverage in place. But if they had the app open and waiting for a request, then the coverage would drop down to the state minimum. This is $100,000 in bodily injury per accident, a maximum of $50,000 per person, and $25,000 for property damage.
Now, if an Uber driver strikes you when they aren’t working, then you won’t be covered by the company in any way. However, if the accident is caused by the driver’s negligence, then you should be able to build a solid case against them should their insurance not be enough to cover your damages. This is always a strong possibility when you consider that Uber doesn’t require their drivers to have more than the minimum liability insurance that the state requires.
What Damages Can Be Recovered Following an Uber Accident?
If you have been injured due to an Uber accident, then you may qualify for compensation for damages you suffered like:
- The medical expenses you incurred treating your injuries
- The wages you lost because of your inability to work while recovering and the wages you are still going to lose while you wait to recover
- All the pain and suffering you were put through
- The physical, emotional, and mental distress that the accident caused
- The loss of a loved one in cases where a victim didn’t survive their injuries
How Can an Uber Accident Lawyer Help?
An Uber accident lawyer can help by filing third-party liability claims on your behalf, connecting you with medical resources, establishing the wages you lost, and predicting those still to be lost. But this is assuming that your accident is straightforward.
It is often the case that Uber accidents are more complicated than they seem. Famous cases against the company have seen them push the blame onto their drivers rather than themselves, despite evidence pointing towards them. What this means is that accessing the funds you deserve may require an investigation into the accident to determine and lock down the facts with evidence.
It sounds complicated because it is. But it’s also what a good lawyer brings to the table. If you’ve been injured in an Uber accident and are looking for a good attorney to represent you, then you can contact The Wolf of Law Street at (972) 573-4532. Our dedicated and fierce attorneys are ready to fight to get you the outcome you deserve.