Ride Share Accident

Ride share accidents are becoming highly frequent in areas of Murrieta, Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Sun City, Canyon Lake, and Hemet. With a high number of people travelling to Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego etc. the demand for ride sharing cab companies like Uber, Lyft, SideCar has been on a high. The idea behind “ride sharing” is simple wherein drivers “volunteer” to take along different passengers looking for transportation to a similar location, by using an App to do the booking. However the concept is not as simple as it seems, in event of an accident or injury, handling a ride share accident and its claim for compensation is a tricky situation.

Claims And Insurance issues with Rideshare Companies

The concept of ride sharing is new and the industry is still unregulated, this can result in high chances that a ride share driver is underinsured as compared to a regular cab driver. In most cases the cabdrivers are employees of taxicab or limousine companies and have company and insurance benefits. Whereas the rideshare drivers are independent contractors who are self-insured and don’t fall under the company insurance scheme. Hence in event of an accident or injury due to the negligence of a rideshare driver, there are chances that the rideshare drivers insurance is insufficient and the company may refuse to pay for the expected compensation. The insurance policy may also include a “driving for profit” clause.

Many rideshare companies’ claim of taking around $1 million in supplemental coverage, however most insurance companies have warned many clients that the “additional coverage” may not cover payment for medical bills. The coverage also does not cover an off duty driver.

In a ride sharing accident in California, a driver for enrolling with a taxicab company is required to have liability insurance of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident. Drivers working with Uber and Lyft are required to maintain an additional coverage of $200,000. Drivers taking request or picking up passengers are required to have a liability insurance coverage of $1 million and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of $1 million.

Though this looks like a huge amount, one million dollars is just a small amount as compared to the total medical bills and future costs of medical treatment and care of a person involved in a tragic ride share accident, who has undergone immense pain and ability to earn. And if the number of victims involved or vehicles involved are more, then million dollars is a small amount to cover everyone.

Need for Contacting a Rideshare Accident Attorney:

If you have been a victim of a ride share accident or injury it is important that you take legal consultation at the earliest. Because a delay in taking the right consultation can result in important evidence disappearing or you may end up taking a wrong decision which an attorney could have avoided. The legal issues related to a Rideshare accident are complex, and a delay in getting legal representation in time may lead to the victim losing his/her legal rights to demand compensation.

We at Khashan Law firm have a lot of experience in handling such Rideshare accidents. Our expert team will handle the complete logistics of your case and undertake an immediate investigation to collect all the relevant evidence before it is no longer available.

We counsel our clients and explain to the steps they need to take and the mistakes they need to avoid to receive the best compensation. If you have been a victim of Rideshare accident, call us at (951) 461-2387for a free, confidential consultation. Our entire legal team will ensure that you are able to obtain full compensation for your present and future damages.