California Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer

It depends on what the driver’s app was doing. With the app off, the driver’s personal policy is generally the starting point. Logged in and waiting for a request brings the Period 1 requirements into play. Once a ride has been accepted and until it ends, a $1,000,000 primary commercial liability layer applies. Another motorist’s policy and first-party coverage can also be relevant.

You were not operating either vehicle, so the question is which driver caused the collision. If it was the rideshare driver, commercial liability coverage may respond. If it was another motorist, that motorist’s insurance comes into play, and applicable uninsured or underinsured coverage should be looked at. Keep your ride receipt.

Your claim is different from a passenger’s, because coverage for your own injuries is a separate question from the liability coverage that protects other people. Another driver’s liability insurance, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, occupational accident benefits and lost driving income can all be part of it.

Then you are a third-party claimant, and the rideshare driver’s app status at the moment of impact can change which policy applies to your claim. That single fact is worth establishing early.

The same framework applies as for any third party. You had no connection to the platform, but the driver’s app status still affects which insurance responds. Injuries in these collisions tend to be more serious because there is no vehicle absorbing the impact.

No. That figure is a coverage limit during qualifying active-ride periods, not a valuation. What a claim is worth depends on the injuries, the treatment, the losses and the evidence. Plenty of claims covered by that policy are worth a small fraction of it.

That is Period 1. California requires primary coverage of at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident and $30,000 for property damage, plus excess coverage of at least $200,000 per occurrence above those limits.

The commercial framework takes over. From acceptance until the trip ends, a $1,000,000 primary commercial liability layer applies. That covers the drive to the pickup as well as the trip itself.

Then that driver’s liability insurance is the starting point, regardless of the fact that a rideshare vehicle was involved. Other coverage may also apply depending on who you are in the claim.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage becomes central. What is available depends on the platform, the policy, the date and your role in the collision. California requires a platform to carry UM and UIM cover of at least $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident while a passenger is in the vehicle, and other coverage may apply beyond that.

Sometimes, but it is not automatic and it is not the same question as whether their insurance applies. Rideshare insurance can respond to a driver’s negligence without a separate direct-liability claim against the company existing at all. Whether direct platform liability is available is fact-specific.

From a combination of trip records, platform information, the driver’s own account, passenger information, ride receipts, timestamps, police information, dashcam or surveillance footage, and platform communications. Some of that is already in your hands. Some has to be formally requested, which is our job rather than yours.

Yes. California allocates fault comparatively, so responsibility can be shared between several parties, and it is not unusual in multi-vehicle rideshare collisions.

Many California personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years, but that is not a universal deadline. Claims involving a government entity can carry much shorter requirements, and insurance policies impose their own notice obligations that run separately. Do not assume you have two full years for every step.

We work on a contingency basis. There is no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you, and the consultation is free. Case costs and expenses are explained in your written fee agreement.