Ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft are being used by more and more people. In fact, these ride-sharing services are often attributed with lowering the drunk driving rates to putting taxi services out of business in towns where ride-sharing is very common. Many people think that these ride-sharing services are convenient—after all, a click of the button on your phone screen, you’ve ordered a car to drive you places. There’s no need to handle cash or deal with a dispatcher, or trying to find an ATM machine.
But the one thing that app services cannot change is vehicle accidents! A lot of people do not know what to do if they’re in an accident while on a Lyft ride, or another ride-sharing ride. Not only do the passengers in these instances not know what to do, but neither do the other drivers involved. This causes a lot of issues, because you should feel secure in your ability to file a claim—without worrying that you’ve filed a claim against the wrong person or business.
If you are confused about whom to file against, reach out to a car accident lawyer that specializes in Lyft or ride-sharing applications—try searching for a lawyer for a Lyft accident case.
What Happens If You’re Injured as A Passenger?
If you are taking a Lyft or another ride-sharing service, you are expecting to receive transportation that gets you from point A to point B safely. But sometimes the vehicle you are riding in is involved in an accident, and you, as the passenger, may not know what happened. You could be injured and require medical care, and you won’t know who was responsible for the accident and who is responsible for your injuries.
Even a minor injury can have an expensive treatment plan, not to mention days missed from your job, and you may have pain and suffering on top of continuing medical care. Insurance companies are never easy to deal with, especially not if you’re handling multiple insurance companies to try to get coverage for the damages caused to your person.
Insurance companies are bad at convincing people who are injured to sign papers that will sign their right to pursue charges away, or otherwise make the insurance company not responsible for paying you. This is because insurance companies don’t like to pay people—they want to get out of paying for the damages caused to your person.
Therefore, always speak to an attorney. They’ll be able to tell you who is at fault, and they’ll help you field insurance companies. When a Lyft or other ride-sharing car is picking a passenger up and dropping them off, they are supposed to be under the company’s insurance policy. This means that the company covers any accidents. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t have to deal with the driver’s insurance as well.
Reach out to a qualified attorney, such as the ones available at Cohen & Cohen so that they can help you through the insurance claim process if you are in an accident while in a ride-sharing vehicle.
