Johnsonville Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyer
Uber and Lyft are a necessity for many people. Commuters, disabled people, and people who simply cannot drive rely on Uber and Lyft potentially every day. The importance of this service does not give Uber drivers or Lyft drivers leeway to cause accidents without repercussions.
If you were hit by an Uber/Lyft driver or involved in a crash while riding in an Uber/Lyft, our attorneys can help. Often, you cannot sue the company these drivers work for, but these drivers need to have insurance that can cover the accidents they cause. This could ultimately pay you high-dollar settlements.
For a free case assessment, call the Uber and Lyft accident lawyers at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers today at (803) 451-4000.
Process for Suing an Uber or Lyft Driver for a Car Accident in Johnsonville
If you were hurt in a crash, our lawyers can help you sue – or at least file an insurance claim – to get damages. In many cases, these drivers and their insurance companies will put up a strong defense, potentially meaning our Uber and Lyft accident lawyers need to turn to a lawsuit to get the damages paid in full. In any case, the process starts with an insurance claim and potential settlement, which might be successful without going to court.
Filing with Insurance
South Carolina uses an at-fault insurance system. This means that victims file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance for compensation. Our lawyers can help you gather the necessary evidence and help you understand what you should and should not say to insurance companies. The goal of this is to defeat any claims that you might actually be at fault and to otherwise protect your case from insurance companies claiming insufficient details or confusing facts.
When it comes to insurance coverage for these rideshare accidents, there are often many overlapping insurance policies. The driver will need to have their own private driver’s insurance as well as a commercial or rideshare policy to cover them when they drive for Uber/Lyft. From there, both rideshare companies also provide additional coverage when the driver’s insurance is not enough, and the accident happens while they were on duty. If a rider is in the car or the driver was en route to a pickup, then the rideshare company’s $1 million insurance policy should cover the accident first.
Negotiating a Settlement
Once the insurance company has the claim, they can decide whether they want to pay it and how much they are willing to settle for. Often, their initial offer will be either wrong or simply an attempt to get you to take the settlement and stop the case quickly. In either case, our lawyers should be able to respond to their offer and start negotiations to try to reach a fair offer that actually covers your needs.
Filing a Lawsuit
We might file a lawsuit sooner in the process to help show the insurance company we are serious about getting you damages. Otherwise, we can always turn to a lawsuit if the insurance negotiations are not getting the results we need.
Once the case is filed in court, it is not up to the insurance company anymore but rather up to the rules and procedures of civil court in South Carolina. A lot will also be up to the judge.
As the case progresses, we can get discovery – i.e., we can take depositions and have the defense share any evidence they have with us – to help make sure both sides have all the facts of the case. If we cannot settle at that point, we can take the case to trial before a judge and jury. The jury will make the final decision about damages.
Final Settlement
At any point throughout this process, we can settle the case. It is up to you when to settle; we can only advise you on whether or not to take the settlement. Most cases settle before trial starts – or at least before a jury verdict is ever rendered.
Is Uber Involved in Uber Accident Claims in Johnsonville?
Generally, Uber is not actually involved in these cases. Uber and Lyft insist that their drivers are independent contractors. You cannot sue someone’s boss for accidents they cause on the job unless they are an “employee,” which does not include contractors or “gig workers” in most cases. This means that we usually cannot sue the rideshare company for their driver’s mistakes in the way we would be able to sue a building for its janitor’s slip and fall risks or a manufacturing company for its assembler’s mistakes with a defective product.
Despite this, the rideshare company still provides two insurance policies that might cover your case. In this respect, they are involved in the case, but you are not going to sue them as part of the claim.
There is one rare exception where you can sometimes sue the rideshare company directly: negligent hiring. If the rideshare company should have known that their driver was a danger on the road but failed to perform a proper background check, you might have a case against them for putting your safety at risk.
Despite this lack of involvement, these rideshare companies will often send out representatives to talk to you about the accident or otherwise ask you questions about what happened and try to get you to drop any cases against them or their drivers. These representatives do not work for you and do not have your interests in mind, so let our lawyers talk to them on your behalf instead of saying anything to them that might be used against you.
Contact Our Rideshare Accident Lawyers in Johnsonville Today
Call Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers at (803) 451-4000 for a free case evaluation with our experienced Uber and Lyft accident attorneys today.