Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services are a boon to those who do not own vehicles or prefer not to drive. Unsurprisingly, nearly 40% of Americans say they have used at least one of these services recently. Like with any other motor vehicle, you have some risk of sustaining a serious injury in an accident when riding in a ride-hailing vehicle.
Fortunately, both ride-hailing services and independent drivers have insurance that provides financial compensation for accident-related injuries and other damages. Still, multiple insurers and insurance policies are likely to complicate your claim considerably.
When the ride-hailing driver is responsible
Typically, the ride-hailing driver’s insurance provider covers the cost of injuries to passengers. If the ride-hailing driver is responsible for the accident, his or her insurer should pay pursuant to the policy’s terms.
If that is not sufficient, the ride-hailing company’s insurance probably covers damages up a million dollars. You may also have the right to sue either the driver or the service for damages over that amount.
When another driver is responsible
Of course, the ride-hailing driver may bear little or no responsibility for the crash. In that case, you may need to file a claim with responsible driver’s insurer. If the responsible driver’s policy does not provide sufficient compensation for your damages, you may have to file a personal injury lawsuit. The same may be true if the responsible driver does not have insurance or has insufficient coverage.
Either way, determining fault in a car accident is not always a straightforward endeavor. Because more than one individual may bear responsibility for the crash, you may need to bring legal causes of action against more than one party to recover what you deserve.