Ridesharing services are nearly as common as traditional taxi services nowadays. As apps like Lyft or Uber have become more popular, accidents involving these vehicles have become more common.
As with any car accident, injured victims usually turn to insurance help. Depending on the situation, you might be covered by your own insurance, the driver’s insurance, or insurance through the ridesharing company. Often, insurance does not work out as we would hope. In that case, a lawyer can help you sue the responsible parties for damages. To prepare your case, we must evaluate your damages, including medical bills, property damage, emotional distress, and other costs or painful experiences. Contacting an attorney for help as quickly as possible would be best. The deadline to file personal injury claims for cases such as vehicle accidents is only 2 years.
Contact our Uber and Lyft accident attorneys to set up a free, confidential assessment of your claims by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
Insurance Claims for Uber and Lyft Accidents in Prattville, AL
All drivers, including those driving for a ridesharing service like Lyft, must be insured. As such, accident victims often file claims with insurance after accidents to recover damages. In Alabama, drivers typically file third-party claims with the other driver’s insurance company. When you file, you must present evidence that the other driver is at fault for the crash.
Unfortunately, drivers are not always insured. If the Uber driver in your case lacked insurance, you might instead file with your own insurance provider. Many drivers carry uninsured motorist coverage or have policies like MedPay to help them with certain costs after a crash.
Even if the Uber or Lyft driver did not have insurance, the accident might still be covered by insurance carried by the ridesharing company. Policies carried by Lyft and Uber are very similar and may apply to accidents under similar circumstances.
If the rideshare driver was offline when the accident happened, meaning they were not logged into the ridesharing app, they are not covered by insurance through Lyft or Uber. In such cases, they must rely on their personal insurance.
If the other driver is logged into the driving app but has yet to accept a rider through the app, a certain level of coverage may apply to the accident. Your accident might be covered up to $50,000 for physical injuries, $100,000 for injuries for the whole accident, and $25,000 for damage to property. This might apply if you are driving your own car when you are hit by an Uber driver waiting to be matched with a rider.
The greatest level of coverage applies when the ridesharing driver has accepted a passenger through the app. For example, if a Lyft driver is logged into the app and is headed to pick up a rider or has a rider in the car, the accident may be covered up to $1,000,000.
What to Do When Insurance is Insufficient in Uber or Lyft Accidents in Prattville, AL
As you can no doubt tell, insurance is complicated. Injured drivers often have damages that exceed policy limits, or their claims are flat-out denied. If insurance does not pan out for you, there is still hope for compensation. Our Lyft and Uber accident lawyers can help you sue the driver and possibly other parties responsible for the collision and get you the compensation you deserve.
A lawsuit can help you claim damages that insurance might not cover. For example, insurance policies often set maximum coverage limits. Claimants with high damages often exceed these limits and are left with various unpaid bills. Lawsuits are not restricted by policy limits, and plaintiffs may recover the full extent of their damages.
On top of that, lawsuits often allow plaintiffs to recover damages not normally covered by insurance policies. For example, it is common for insurance policies to exclude non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress. In a lawsuit, non-economic damages are on the table, and you may recover such damages if the jury allows it.
How to Assess Your Damages After an Accident Involving Lyft or Uber in Prattville, AL
Assessing your damages is key to maximizing potential financial compensation. In short, you and your lawyer must identify and evaluate all your damages before filing the lawsuit. If certain damages are left unaccounted for, the jury will not be permitted to consider them, and you might lose valuable compensation.
A big portion of damages after accidents with Uber vehicles or Lyft cars is monetary expenses. For example, you should have gotten to a hospital soon after the crash for treatment. You likely have medical bills that need to be paid. Even minor treatment tends to be expensive. Even people with health insurance can still claim the costs of high deductibles.
Additionally, you should claim the value of your damaged vehicle if you were driving your car when an Uber or Lyft driver hit you. Repairs can be very expensive, especially in severe accidents with extensive damage. In some cases, plaintiffs must completely replace their cars.
Our Lyft and Uber accident attorneys will not leave out damages for psychological distress, physical pain, and emotional suffering. Accidents can be traumatic, and victims often live with the trauma and psychological scars for many years. The Lyft or Uber driver should be held liable for those experiences and made to pay fair compensation.
When You Should Call an Attorney for Help with Your Prattville, AL Uber or Lyft Crash
Auto accidents are chaotic, hectic events. You must simultaneously deal with medical treatment, hospital bills, vehicle repairs, insurance claims, and angry drivers. Speaking with an attorney about taking legal action as soon as you can is a good idea.
Under Ala. Code § 6-2-38, you only have 2 years after the crash to submit a lawsuit. Considering the amount of time required to obtain evidence, evaluate damages, and track down possible witnesses, this deadline is very tight. To sooner you contact a lawyer, the sooner they can get to work, and the better odds you might have of getting full and fair compensation.
Call Our Prattville, AL Iber and Lyft Accident Lawyers Right Away
Contact our Montgomery, AL Uber and Lyft accident lawyers to make an appointment for a free, confidential assessment of your case by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
