Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyers in Macon

Macon fills up with rideshare where the crowds are: around Mercer University, along the Cherry Street entertainment district on weekend nights, and out to the interstates that cross here. Students, downtown visitors, and travelers passing through all lean on Uber and Lyft, and in that mix rideshare crashes are common. When one leaves you hurt, the case comes down to which policy applies and how fast you act. At Howe.Law Injury & Accident Lawyers, we handle these claims.

The two-year deadline in a Georgia rideshare case

Georgia gives you two years from the date of the collision to file a lawsuit under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. That clock matters early in a rideshare case, because the most important proof is digital and controlled by the rideshare company. The driver's app status, GPS data, and trip records sit on Uber's or Lyft's servers, and getting them takes formal legal demands. We start that process quickly so the record of what the driver was doing is preserved.

Which insurance policy actually pays

The coverage available after a rideshare crash turns on what the driver's app was doing at the moment of impact. If the app was off, only the driver's personal policy applies. Once the app is on and the driver is waiting for a request, a limited contingent policy applies, and from the moment a ride is accepted until the passenger is dropped off, a much larger commercial policy is in force. Uber and Lyft do not volunteer which one was active. We obtain the driver's dispatch logs and app timestamps to establish the driver's status and unlock the correct coverage.

How Georgia's fifty percent rule affects your recovery

Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, you recover nothing if you are found fifty percent or more at fault, and below that line your recovery is reduced by your share. In a rideshare crash the fault may involve the rideshare driver, another motorist, or a pedestrian downtown, and each insurer works to push blame onto the other party or onto you. Passengers are almost never at fault, which gives an injured passenger a strong claim, and we build the case on the physical evidence and the app data so fault is assigned accurately. The most seriously injured are treated at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, the region's Level I trauma center.

Downtown pickups and the Cherry Street crowds

On a busy night downtown, rideshare drivers hunting for a passenger stop suddenly, block lanes, and load and unload in traffic, and intoxicated pedestrians step off the curb between the bars. A crash that grows out of an unsafe pickup is rarely the passenger's fault, and we document exactly where and why the vehicle stopped so the blame is placed correctly.

Serving rideshare passengers and drivers across Middle Georgia

Rideshare injury claims are handled from our Macon office at 544 Mulberry St, Suite 314, and we represent clients across Bibb, Houston, Monroe, Jones, Crawford, Peach, and Twiggs counties. We serve people injured in Macon, Warner Robins, Centerville, Perry, Forsyth, Gray, Milledgeville, Fort Valley, Byron, Gordon, and Thomaston.

Reporting and filing your rideshare claim

Because Macon and Bibb County share a consolidated government, a rideshare crash in the city is reported to the Macon-Bibb County Sheriff's Office rather than a city police department, while a wreck on I-75, I-16, or the I-475 bypass is investigated by the Georgia State Patrol. We obtain the correct report and your records from Atrium Health Navicent, and we file in Bibb County State Court, with high-value claims heard in Bibb County Superior Court.

Speak with a Macon rideshare accident attorney

Dealing with a rideshare company's insurer takes experienced local counsel. Call (478) 449-0037 for a free evaluation of your case. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Common questions