Atlanta Rideshare Injury Accident Attorney

Here are some tips to protect your rights after you have been in an accident with a rideshare vehicle:

1. Seek Professional Medical Help

If you’re hurt in a crash, medical care is the priority – even if you don’t think you’re seriously hurt. Car accident injuries are often far more severe than they initially seem. Whiplash or a major concussion may not be immediately apparent. Note that if you do not take this important step, it may be difficult to prevail in an Atlanta rideshare injury lawsuit because your injuries – and their connection to the crash – will not be independently and professionally verified.

2. Report the Accident to State or Local Police

State law requires crashes to be reported to state or local law enforcement officers if there are injuries or $500 in total property damage. Technically, the drivers who were involved in the crash have the legal duty to report the accident to the police. However, as an Uber/Lyft passenger, you have a strong interest in ensuring that an independent investigator arrives. Even though accident reports aren’t typically admissible in trials, they can be used in negotiations with insurers. If the case does end up going to trial, responding officers can provide testimony.

3. Report the Crash to Uber or Lyft

If you were involved in an accident as an Uber or Lyft passenger, report your collision to the corporate office. This can be done by calling the ridesharing company or filling out an accident form through your ridesharing application. In the event that you have any difficulty reporting your accident or if your injuries were serious, it is imperative to involve a personal injury lawyer who will advocate on your behalf.

4. Consult With an Atlanta Car Accident Attorney

You should never go through the accident claims process on your own following a serious crash. This is especially important for ridesharing passengers. Uber and Lyft are major companies that are represented by large insurance providers. You need to be sure that your claim is being handled fairly. Our top-rated Atlanta car accident lawyers can help.

By law, all drivers in Georgia are required to carry a minimum of $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person and $50,000 per crash. They must also carry at least $25,000 in property damage insurance. If a driver chooses to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (which protects the insured in the event an at-fault driver lacks adequate coverage), it must not exceed the amount of their bodily injury liability coverage.

Taxi companies have the same insurance requirements as non-commercial drivers (more on that later). But rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber must go above and beyond the typical liability insurance. So too must limousine carriers.

Limousine carriers, per O.C.G.A. 40-1-166, are required to carry at least $300,000 for bodily injury or death of all persons in any one accident, with a maximum of $100,000 in coverage for bodily injuries/death of one person, and $50,000 for damage to property of others (excluding cargo). That applies only if the vehicle carries 12 passengers or less. If they are carrying more than a dozen people, they must carry at least $500,000 for bodily injury or death of all persons in any one accident, but still no more than $100,000 per person.

Rideshare operators are also required to carry more. As noted in a For-Hire Transport FAQ generated by the Georgia Department of Public Safety, rideshare drivers who are logged on to the transportation network company’s digital network as available to accept rides are required to carry up to $100,000 for bodily injuries/death of any all persons in any one crash, with a maximum of $50,000 for any one person. However, if they accept a ride on the transportation company’s network, from that time until they complete the fare, they must carry a $1 million limit for bodily injury or death of one person.

This is precisely what the policies of Uber and Lyft extend, and it too is based on the activity of the driver at the time of the crash.

Although taxi drivers in Georgia (unlike in many other states) are not required to maintain higher insurance coverage amounts, they are held to some higher standards compared to other motorists.

They must:

• Take all necessary steps to determine whether each driver (whether an employee or independent contractor) has, possesses, and maintains any required permits or licensing required by the federal government.
• Ensure each driver has a current for-hire license endorsement OR private background check.
• Establish a zero-tolerance policy for the use of alcohol or drugs while on duty.

They are also required to maintain valid bodily injury liability insurance at all times. Although they are not required to carry anything above the standard, many taxi companies do pay more for higher coverage to protect their business and their fleet.

Typically, employers in Georgia can be held vicariously liable for the negligent actions of employees who are acting in the course and scope of employment. The catch, however, is that rideshare companies don’t consider their drivers “employees.” The companies’ stance is that they are merely a digital platform that connects drivers and passengers, unlike a taxi service that has its own fleet of vehicles and employs drivers (who are often unionized). Conversely, rideshare drivers are considered independent contractors. They drive their own vehicles, which are covered by their own insurance carrier. It is only when the driver is actively responding to a ride request or transporting a customer that the larger rideshare companies’ insurance policies will (at least in theory) cover the damages.

Because of a history of controversy over rideshare crash liability (plus statutory insurance requirements, like those in Georgia), both Uber and Lyft (the largest rideshare companies in Atlanta), have insurance policies that offer up to $1 million in coverage if “their” driver is at-fault. However, it’s highly dependent on the activity of the driver at the time of the crash.

So if you’re a passenger in an Uber or Lyft and that driver was at-fault for a crash, you may be able to access up to $1 million in damages (This is not to say it will be easy, but it is a possibility). However, if you are in another vehicle and are struck by an Uber or Lyft driver in Atlanta, the amount to which you may be entitled will depend on whether the driver had a fare, was picking up a fare, or was simply active on the app but not responding to a ride request.

It should be noted that Uber and Lyft also carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage if you are a passenger and the other driver was at-fault, yet their insurance is inadequate to cover your losses.

In cases where more than one driver was involved and fault was shared, Georgia’s modified comparative negligence with a 50 percent bar will come into play. If you’re the other driver, it means you could have your damage award proportionately reduced by your determined share of the fault.

However, if you are more than 49 percent at-fault for the crash, you won’t be able to recover anything at all. On the other hand, if you are one of the passengers (of the rideshare or another vehicle), each driver could be named a defendant and he/she would be liable to cover their percentage of the fault.

If the driver was not carrying a fare at the time of the crash, there may still be a rideshare insurance policy implicated, so it is best to reach out to an Atlanta car accident attorney who can review the specific circumstances of your case.

If there is evidence the rideshare company was in some way directly negligent (failing to fully vet drivers, ensuring their vehicles met minimum standards, allowing drivers to continue on their platforms despite egregious road and/or policy violations) and these played a role in the crash, there may be grounds for additional claims.

If you were injured in an Uber accident or Lyft accident, our team of dedicated Atlanta car accident lawyers will assess your right to compensation for things like:

• Emergency room fees.
• Hospital bills.
• Rehabilitative treatment.
• Required medication.
• Required medical equipment.
• Long-term disability.
• Lost income, including diminished earning ability.
• Pain and suffering.
• Disfigurement.
• Loss of limb.
• Loss of life enjoyment.
• Wrongful death.

If you’re involved in an Atlanta crash with the driver of an Uber, Lyft, taxi, or limousine service, you should promptly speak to an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can review the circumstances of your case and help you assess what to do next.

If you were involved in a crash with an Uber or Lyft driver, and you were not a passenger at the time of the accident, whether you were in another vehicle or you were a pedestrian, you can still bring a legal claim. However, it should be noted that these types of claims become more complex. The standard commercial insurance policies that are carried by Uber and Lyft may not be implicated in this type of claim.

That being said, ridesharing businesses also generally carry contingent policies that may be implicated. As such, you may still have a legal claim against Uber or Lyft. Alternatively, depending on the specific circumstances of the case, you may have a claim against the individual Uber or Lyft driver’s personal insurance policy. You should speak to an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can evaluate the specific circumstances of your case and help you decide what to do next.

The statute of limitations essentially means the amount of time an individual has from when the rideshare vehicle injury occurs until the victim can no longer file a lawsuit. The case does not have to conclude by the end of the statute, it just has to be filed before.

Under GA Code § 9-3-33, the statute of limitations holds that injured parties in Georgia have just two years to bring personal injury claims forward. After those two years, a court will dismiss the claim.

When dealing with insurance companies, as is often the case in rideshare vehicle accident injury cases, It is important to remember that often insurance companies will engage in techniques to stall proceedings, run out the clock, and ultimately avoid paying anything.

Due to this and a number of other complex factors that go into the statute of limitations in any individual case, if victims want to pursue a civil claim, they should contact a personal injury lawyer experienced in rideshare vehicle accident injury cases to build your case.