2 Questions About Liability After A Car Accident When You Are A Rideshare Passenger
After being picked up by a driver working for a rideshare company, you may have been involved in an accident with another vehicle and were injured. Because you were a passenger of a rideshare company, you may be confused as to who is liable and needs to compensate you for your injuries. Below are answers to a couple of questions you may have about the liability issues.
1. Whose Insurance Company Do You Need to Contact?
When you are involved in a car accident involving a rideshare company, your first reaction may be to contact the company itself since it happened while you were utilizing their service. However, unfortunately, it is not so cut and dry.
While the rideshare company does carry liability insurance to help cover passengers who are hurt while riding along with one of their drivers, this insurance usually does not cover accidents where the damages were caused by the third-party driver. In this instance, you would also need to contact their insurance company along with the rideshare service.
However, since rideshare drivers work as independent contractors, the service may try to make them liable if the accident was clearly due to negligence on the driver's fault. In this instance, the driver's insurance would be contacted. Since it can become complicated quickly, have a lawyer help to sort out who is liable and who is not.
2. What Do You Need to Do After the Accident?
Just as with any accident, you will need to do certain tasks afterward to ensure that all evidence is collected that will support your case. You will need detailed medical records, the police report, and any eyewitness accounts who saw the accident.
Along with the collecting evidence, you will also need to gather the insurance information of your rideshare driver and the third-party driver. The rideshare service should be contacted so that their insurance information and any necessary filing forms can be obtained as well as make sure that they receive the police report. However, contact the service is best left up to your attorney to handle.
Especially since the laws regarding rideshare accidents are fairly new and may vary from state to state, do not try to go it alone. As soon as possible after the accident, contact a car accident lawyer to help determine who should be held responsible for your injuries so that you can receive the compensation you deserve.