Rideshare Transportation Poses Unique Liability Risks To Many Passengers

As major metropolitan cities and smaller towns try to reduce passenger car traffic, more Americans are requesting rides with Uber, Lyft, and taxi companies. Yet while these vehicles can offer some added convenience and fee savings, rideshare transportation poses unique liability risks to many passengers who suffer serious injuries or die in accidents.

Taxi company handling of rider safety & liability issues – compared to Uber & Lyft

Although taxis are usually inspected and maintained regularly by reputable company owners, the same cannot always be said about the privately-owned vehicles used by Lyft and Uber drivers. Furthermore, many taxi companies have decades of experience carefully screening their drivers and running reliable background (and substance abuse) checks on them.

Sadly, the same cannot be said about most Lyft and Uber drivers (although some do behave responsibly). In addition, taxi companies and their insurers have well-established ways of responding to accident claims filed against their drivers. Unfortunately, many Lyft and Uber passengers are often shocked by the added difficulties they face in getting their valid injury claims accepted and then full paid by the web of insurance companies they must battle.

Only a highly experienced rideshare law firm like ours fully understands how to win proper compensation for their client’s medical expenses, lost wages, and other valid accident claims.

Here is a closer look at other key factors that threaten the safety of rideshare passengers, especially those who suffer major injuries and must file a personal injury or third-party lawsuits.

Proving negligence to rideshare insurance companies may still not produce fair results

Uber and Lyft have both fought hard to get courts and legislatures to classify their drivers as independent contractors. This makes it far harder for any seriously injured passengers to recover directly from these rideshare companies when one of their drivers is underinsured or has somehow allowed a required insurance policy to lapse.

While your first challenge as an injured passenger is to have your New York City rideshare accident lawyer prove the negligence of your driver (or the driver of the other vehicle), your insurance challenges are often just beginning. Since all insurance companies fight hard to first refute all arguments that a viable claim exists, as your lawyers we will not give up and will fully investigate the facts of your case to document what happened.

We will obtain copies of all existing police or other accident reports and carefully determine the financial limits of the negligent party’s insurance policy. If necessary, we will also file a lawsuit directly against the taxi company, Uber, or Lyft to greatly increase the chances that all your medical expenses are fully compensated, along with all lost earnings, and other accident-related costs you have had to pay.

Should both drivers be found partially at fault and offer minimal liability sums, we will only accept a settlement amount that is fair and acceptable to you. We always remain ready to fight your case in court so that full and complete justice can be obtained. We want you to feel free to contact us at any time with questions while we are trying to settle your case – or pursuing it in court.

Legal challenges as to how Uber (and Lyft) drivers should be classified (as either “employees” or “independent contractors”) continue; it will not be surprising if this issue one day reaches the U. S. Supreme Court. Although accident liability issues remain a key concern, many drivers want to be permanently recognized as employees — so they can unionize and fully expand their rights, benefits, and protections.

Added dangers of riding with Lyft, and Uber drivers

Individuals driving for taxi companies, Uber, and Lyft are keenly aware that calls are constantly being placed by new people needing a ride. Since most employees need to generate a living wage for themselves, they may work unusually long hours and violate traffic laws – just to hurry and drop you off and go pick up other riders. This means that all passengers must always be ready to exit any vehicle driven haphazardly to preserve their own safety — and to look for a few regular local drivers who demonstrate reliable driving behavior.

Driver fatigue is common among rideshare employees who work extremely long hours. And since many Uber and Lyft employees are earning too little to pay all their bills, they may not be investing enough money in keeping their vehicles in safe running order. Always be sure to inquire how often all vehicles are inspected before accepting a ride from an Uber or Lyft driver.

Paying slightly more to ride in a taxi may also be wise since these vehicles are normally inspected and repaired under strict maintenance schedules designed to minimize the taxi company’s liabilities. Furthermore, taxi companies are arguably more likely to intervene when individual drivers are using company vehicles for too many hours on most driving days – which can help prevent driver fatigue.

While Uber safety blogs may urge proper time management, no one knows how strictly all company rules are monitored and if some drivers have found secret ways to circumvent them. Once Uber and Lyft have operated responsibly in most cities for many years — establishing safe driving records — they may begin posing fewer risks to their passengers.

Make a claim after an accident caused by the negligence of a taxi, Uber, or Lyft driver

If you have suffered serious bodily injuries after an accident caused by the negligence of a taxi, Uber, or Lyft driver, you need to contact our New York City Taxi, Lyft, and Uber accident law firm. We will carefully investigate all the facts of your case, review all your medical records, and then fight hard to win the maximum compensation available to you. We want every client to fully recover for all lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other losses.