When you use a ridesharing service like Lyft, you trust your driver to get you to your destination safely. However, when drivers act negligently or engage in risky behavior, they are not only breaking your trust, they are putting your life at risk.
Being injured by a Lyft driver can have serious consequences on your health, happiness, and livelihood. Fortunately, Lyft does provide liability insurance coverage of up to $1 million and additional uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance. Unfortunately, these policies may not cover all your losses after an accident, including lost wages or your ability to earn a living.
Lyft accidents often involve many different parties: you, your driver, and any other passengers in the Lyft at the time, along with the other driver(s) and their vehicle occupants. When there are multiple parties involved in an accident, it can limit the amount of compensation you can receive from an insurance claim as well as complicate your case.
Despite these potential obstacles, it is possible to recover the full amount of compensation you need to recover and care for yourself after an accident. Here’s how you should respond to a Lyft accident — including how to file a claim.
What to Do Immediately After a Lyft Accident
Protecting your rights begins immediately after an accident. In order to safeguard yourself — both legally and healthwise — it’s important that you take the following actions after an accident.
- If you are able, check on all parties involved in the accident.
- Call the police to the scene. This will create a police report, which could be useful as evidence if you decide to file a lawsuit.
- Get the names and contact information of both drivers and any other passengers or witnesses.
- Take pictures of the damage.
- If you or anyone else is seriously injured, call 911. Note that regardless of whether you need emergency attention or not, you should plan to see a doctor as soon as possible after the accident. Many serious injuries do not show symptoms right away, and seeing a doctor will help you understand if and how badly you may be hurt, as well as document your injuries and strengthen your case.
Report Your Accident to Lyft
Lyft provides an online accident reporting tool that you can use to document your accident. This will connect you to their claims center representatives. It’s very important to be careful when you speak to this representative, as it’s possible that you could damage your case for compensation. Specifically, try to avoid discussing the cause of the accident, who you feel is responsible, and how badly you are injured until after you have contacted an attorney for a consultation.
If you decide to move forward with legal action, your lawyer can speak to Lyft and its insurance providers on your behalf.
Speak to a Lyft Accident Lawyer
Before you begin the claims process with Lyft, you should speak to an attorney. A lawyer can help you estimate the true cost of your injuries and their impact on your life. They can also evaluate how likely you are to receive compensation from your claim and whether that money will be sufficient to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other tangible and intangible harms and losses.
Most Lyft accident lawyers offer free consultations to help you sort through these issues. They’ll work with you to decide whether or not you should file a claim with Lyft or pursue legal action.
If you and an attorney do decide to work together, they will be able to help communicate with Lyft and other parties, document your injuries, gather evidence, and estimate the total cost — financial and otherwise — of your injury. Most Lyft accident lawyers take cases on contingency, which means they will not require payment from you unless you receive compensation.
If you have been recently involved in a Lyft accident, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at FVF. We can help answer any questions you have and provide case-specific information. Schedule your free consultation with our Lyft accident attorneys now.
