For those without access to their vehicle or readily-available public transportation, rideshare services like Lyft can be a convenient way of transportation. They can also provide a service to those looking to get home after a night of drinking with friends. However, drivers for Lyft can make the same mistakes as any other driver and cause car accidents.
Following a Lyft car accident, you can suffer catastrophic injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI), spinal cord injuries, and bone fractures, that can cause damages you require compensation to cover. If you were involved in a Lyft rideshare accident, a car accident attorney could help you assess liability and file a claim to pursue compensation. Russo Law Firm’s experienced Lyft rideshare accident lawyers have decades of experience in car accident claims and have recently handled claims involving Lyft drivers.
Why Choose Russo Law Firm for Help With Your Lyft Accident Claim?
You trusted your Lyft driver when you entered their car and paid them to transport you home safely. That trust was broken, and now you have to deal with the impact of debilitating car accident damages. To recover compensation for these damages, you must search for a Lyft rideshare accident lawyer that can effectively and efficiently handle your car accident claim.
At Russo Law Firm, our experienced Lyft rideshare accident attorneys will constantly communicate with you to address your thoughts and concerns. Our number one goal is to represent your interests. We will communicate to keep you at ease and update you on how your claim is progressing.
We believe in quality over quantity when it comes to helping personal injury victims, which means we will take on only so many clients to ensure each one gets the most dedicated legal counsel they can. Contact Russo Law Firm today to see how our dedicated team of car accident attorneys can help you pursue compensation for a Lyft rideshare accident.
Russo Law Firm Case Results
At Russo Law Firm, we have a history of earning compensation for our clients to pay for their damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. We aim to get you the fair compensation you deserve, with the settlement or award covering the full cost of your physical and emotional damage.
Some personal injury lawyers will accept the first settlement offer they receive from the at-fault party’s insurance company. However, we understand this first offer will likely be too low. Our Lyft rideshare accident attorneys will proceed with the claim until you get fair compensation, even if that means going to court.
The following are some of the case results Russo Law Firm has earned for clients:
- 3.3 Million for Automobile Accident Against a Drunk Driver
- $2.4 Million for Medical Malpractice Misdiagnosis
- $2 Million for Wrongful Death Trucking Accident
- $1.75 Million Product Liability Jury Award for Crushed Hand
- $650 Thousand Automobile Accident Jury Award for Reconstructed Knee
What is Lyft?
Lyft is a rideshare service that allows people to order rides to come to pick them up, with the fee based on the length of the drive, the projected time the drive is expected to take, and what option you select. You can get a general ride for a single person or use their Lyft XL feature for a luxury ride for up to five passengers.
In 2021, Lyft had 18.7 million active riders, a 49% increase over their active riders in 2020. Despite its pervasiveness in the rideshare marketplace, there are still instances of Lyft drivers causing accidents that can result in catastrophic damages for passengers.
What Can Cause a Lyft Accident?
Lyft drivers can cause car accidents through negligent driving behavior. They do have additional stress that other drivers do not have, as their livelihood depends on impressing their passengers to get high tips. This can cause them to focus more on the passenger than the road or drive in a way that increases the chance that they reach their destination quickly, both of which can lead to a car accident.
The following are some of the types of negligent driving behavior from a Lyft drier that can cause a car accident:
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Speeding
- Drowsy driving
- Reckless driving (ignoring road rules)
- Not using turn signals
- Road rage
Types of Lyft Car Accidents
If a Lyft driver is distracted for a second, either by talking to the passenger or checking their Lyft or GPS apps, they can cause a car collision. Passengers can hold their Lyft driver liable for damages caused by a car accident they were at fault for. What type of car collision occurs can change the severity of damage caused to the passenger, as different types of collisions can put the passenger more at risk of suffering harm.
The following are some of the types of car collisions that Lyft drivers can be involved in:
- Rear-end collision
- Sideswipe accident
- T-bone accident
- Head-on collision
- Multi-car crash
- Single car accident
Severe Injuries Caused by a Lyft Accident
Car accident injuries are caused by trauma during the impact of a collision. A Lyft passenger can suffer from blunt force trauma by receiving direct impact from another car, colliding with a hard object in the vehicle, or pressing up against a hard object outside of the vehicle.
Lyft car accidents can also cause penetrating trauma if sharp objects enter the vehicle during the accident. Car accidents can also result in whiplash, which is when the collision causes your neck to make a rapid back-and-forth movement that can result in a severe neck injury.
The following are some of the severe injuries Lyft car accident victims can suffer:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Internal injuries
- Broken bones
- Back and neck injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Facial injuries
- Knee injuries
What Should You Do After a Lyft Accident?
If you want to put yourself in the best position to receive compensation for Lyft car accident damages, there are certain steps you should take following the accident. These steps can address your health condition and help you gather evidence to prove your Lyft rideshare accident case.
The following are the steps you should take following a Lyft car accident:
- Receive medical attention: A car accident victim should always prioritize their health. Seeing a doctor following a car accident can allow them to treat any severe injuries and detect any injuries without obvious symptoms. It also establishes the severity of your injury and protects your claim from insurance companies suggesting you were not seriously injured.
- Gather evidence at the accident scene: If you are healthy enough, you should try to gather evidence at the scene of the accident with your smartphone. Photos of the damage, any traffic signals around the accident, and possible debris on the road can help to prove your case later on. You should also try to get the contact information of everyone involved in the accident, including the Lyft driver and the people in the other car(s).
- Collect vital records: Traffic crash reports, medical records, and police reports are all helpful in establishing the facts of a case. By collecting these records, you can start to develop a plan for proving your received damage from the negligent actions of the at-fault party.
- Contact a car accident lawyer: You need someone in your corner with experience in Lyft rideshare and car accident law to help process your car accident claim correctly. Reach out to car accident lawyers with Lyft rideshare accident experience to see what your next steps should be in pursuing compensation for damages.
Who is At-Fault for a Lyft Accident Claim?
Ridesharing apps like Lyft are still relatively new, so laws regarding liability are still developing. Due to the lack of solidified precedent in these cases, it can be a complex process to determine who shares liability for a Lyft car accident.
Depending on the case, there can be multiple parties that share liability. The drivers that caused the accident can share liability if it can be proven that they behaved negligently and caused the accident as a result. This can be the Lyft driver themself or one of the other drivers involved in the accident.
Lyft as a company is very unlikely to be the at-fault party for a Lyft rideshare accident claim. Lyft’s drivers are independent contractors, meaning they are not employees and do not fall under vicarious liability. The only reason Lyft would be liable is if they specifically had something to do with the auto accident, which is extremely unlikely.
Can a Lyft Driver Be Liable for a Lyft Accident Claim Filed By a Passenger?
A Lyft driver can be held liable for damages if their actions resulted in the car accident. If the Lyft driver behaved negligently behind the wheel, such as driving distracted, drunk, or with rage, they are the at-fault party in the car accident. The law indicates any passenger or other driver that receives damages due to the Lyft driver’s actions can file a car accident claim to attempt to pursue compensation.
Lyft Driver Insurance Coverage
Lyft has third-party liability insurance that can cover their drivers for any auto accident that occurs during rides. If the Lyft driver has the app turned off and caused an accident, this insurance does not kick in, and the driver’s personal auto insurance will have to cover the damages.
Lyft’s third-party liability insurance is designed to cover damages caused between the time a driver accepts a ride and the ride is over. This insurance can cover up to $1,000,000 worth of damages caused during a Lyft ride.
Filing a Lyft Accident Claim
If you were involved in a car accident during a Lyft ride, whether as a passenger or as a driver, you can file a car accident claim to attempt to pursue damages. To receive compensation for injuries in a car accident claim, you must prove the following:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty of care
- The at-fault party breached that duty of care
- The breach of duty of care caused your injuries
- You received damages because of the breach of duty of care
To begin this process of receiving compensation for damages, you must file a car accident claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. A car accident lawyer can help you establish liability, assess damages, and send out the demand letter to begin your process of pursuing compensation.
What Damages Can You Pursue for a Lyft Accident Claim?
Damages are losses caused by a personal injury accident that you can pursue with a claim filed with the at-fault party’s insurance company. Even without permanent injuries, you can pursue compensation to pay for the cost of your injuries caused by the Lyft driver’s negligence.
There are two common types of damages in a personal injury claim: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are those with a monetary value or bill attached to them, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages are intangible damages that reflect how your life has changed following the Lyft car accident, which can include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of consortium.
The following are some of the damages a Lyft rideshare accident lawyer can help you pursue:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Disability costs
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help With Your Lyft Accident Claim?
Lyft rideshare accident claims can be daunting, as the at-fault party can have a powerful insurance company with lawyers, insurance adjusters, and vast resources they can use to limit your settlement. A Lyft rideshare accident attorney can help relieve the stress of the claims process and handle the complicated steps to help you pursue compensation for your car accident damages.
The following are some of the ways a car accident lawyer can help you with a Lyft rideshare accident:
- Assess your damages
- Determine the liable party
- Draft and send out the demand letter
- Collect evidence to prove your case
- Interview expert witnesses
- Look over Lyft’s policies to find ways to help your case
- Collect records to provide a timeline of your accident and injuries
- Negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company
- Represent you in court
Contact Russo Law Firm for Help With Your Lyft Accident Claim
Russo Law Firm has taken to helping victims of Lyft rideshare accidents as clients have come in after suffering damages as a passenger in a Lyft vehicle. These drivers have a duty of care they own to passengers to follow safety rules and protect their passengers with safe driving. If you were involved in a Lyft rideshare accident, our car accident attorneys could help you pursue compensation for this breach of duty of care.
At Russo Law Firm, we offer free consultations to personal injury victims to learn how we can help with your case. If you suffered damages from a Lyft rideshare car accident, contact us at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.