You and your spouse have a date night. You have dinner reservations in the city. You don’t want to deal with finding a parking spot. Additionally, you know it’s not a great idea to drive home after a few drinks. So, you call an Uber. As you and your spouse make your way to the restaurant, the Uber driver enters an intersection. Your attention is on your spouse, and you don’t see the oncoming vehicle that also enters the intersection. Your spouse’s eyes grow wide just before the other vehicle and your Uber crash into one another.
What follows is a cascade of feelings, emotions, people, actions, and decisions.
Shock Spouse Ambulance Ride home
Disorientation Driver ER Calls to family
Confusion Bystanders Doctors Missed date night
Panic Police Nurses
Fear Fire/rescue CT scan
Concern EMTs
Pain
Extrication
Your date night ends with the two of you lying in bed wondering what the hell just happened and why. More importantly, you’re just happy to be alive. The following morning, you and your spouse feel like you’ve been hit by a fully loaded dump truck. Everything hurts. In addition, you now have a host of questions.
Questions:
Are our injuries serious?
Will we recover from our injuries, and how long will it take?
Do I need time off from work?
Who do I call?
Who was at fault?
Did someone run a red light? A stop sign?
Was the Uber driver at fault or the other driver?
Who is responsible for our medical bills?
Do I call my health insurance? My auto insurance?
Is the auto insurance of the person who hit us responsible? How do I contact them?
Is the auto insurance of the Uber driver responsible?
Is Uber responsible? Should I contact Uber? How do I contact Uber?
With whom do I make a claim?
These are all good questions and justified. I’m not going to beat around the bush. While there will be a host of calls you’ll make in the coming days, there are two very important calls you need to make first.
The first is to a doctor.
Your health is paramount. Serious injuries need to be addressed immediately. Seemingly minor injuries can become much worse if left unchecked. And typically, in an accident, there are injuries that don’t manifest themselves until days, sometimes weeks later.
The second is to an attorney.
The causes of motor vehicle accidents involving rideshare vehicles are the same for private motor vehicles. The injuries we see in accidents involving rideshare vehicles are also the same as private motor vehicles. But that is where the similarities end. Rideshare liability can be complicated. In an accident involving an Uber/Lyft, depending on the circumstances of the accident, you could be dealing with multiple insurance companies trying to decide who is liable.
Rideshare popularity
The use of rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft has increased over the last five years and is projected to increase. The increased popularity of Uber and Lyft has led to the inevitable increase in the amount of motor vehicle accidents involving rideshares.
Talk to an attorney.
I can’t stress enough the need to speak with an attorney who is experienced in navigating the complex field of rideshare law.
A law passed in 2017 in NJ, mandated that rideshare companies must carry insurance policies. Insurance for ride share companies is tiered and dependent upon the status of the driver. Once a driver turns on the app, but before they have accepted a rider request, they are covered under a certain level of liability coverage. This amounts to a minimum of $50,000 for death and injury per person, $100,000 for death and injury per incident, and $25,000 for property damage. Once the driver has accepted a request and continuing until the passenger exits the vehicle, the coverage must provide a combined single limit of $1.5 million for death/personal injuries/property damage. Additionally, they must also provide at least $1.5 million of uninsured/underinsured coverage.
If you’re in a rideshare accident.
If you’re in a motor vehicle accident involving a rideshare vehicle, it’s important to call the police so they can provide a police report – an objective account of the accident. If the police report is not complete, you’ll need to investigate to get more information and it’s best to have an attorney do it.
It’s also important to notify the rideshare company that you’ve been involved in an accident. This can be done directly through the app for Uber or Lyft.
These factors and more make it all that more important that you contact an attorney.
What ifs and other scenarios:
What if the Uber driver was not at fault? What if the other driver ran into the Uber driver? If there is a third party at fault, do we still go through Uber or does NJ no-fault insurance kick in? And if so, do I go through my own auto insurance policy? If I use my own auto insurance, can I submit the deductible and copay amounts to Uber for payment?
What if the crash involves your Uber ride and a commercial truck?
What if there is no other vehicle? What if the Uber driver struck something? What if the Uber driver was texting at the time of the accident?
What if you’re a pedestrian or a bicyclist and get struck by an Uber?
What if I catch an Uber in NJ, cross the bridge into Philadelphia, and then get into an accident? Or vice versa – I catch an Uber in Philly but get into an accident in Jersey?
Again – with emphasis – even more reason to contact an attorney skilled in navigating rideshare law in NJ. You’ll need an advocate. Many insurance companies make quick offers, hoping you’ll accept them without asking too many questions. An attorney will make sure you receive the maximum settlement while helping you avoid paying out of pocket accident-related expenses.
