Uber/Lyft Accidents

Uber/Lyft Accident Attorney in Denver

Uber and Lyft are increasingly popular options for traveling around the Denver metro area.  

Young people and seniors are among those most likely to choose rideshare as a routine way to get around. The environmentally friendly, convenient, low cost option of ridesharing has many advantages. However, when an accident or injury occurs, these types of cases quickly become among the most complex a Denver personal injury law firm can handle.  

Because these services rely on independent contractors operating private vehicles, multiple insurance companies and their defense lawyers are typically involved in damage claims, making early consultation with an experienced Denver car accident attorney vital when it comes to protecting the rights of victims.  

Injury claims against Uber of Lyft are the most common, as they are by far the two most popular ridesharing services in Colorado. In addition to traffic collisions, worrisome reports of physical and sexual assaults by drivers with criminal records continue to make the news on a weekly basis.  

Uber and Lyft Injury Accidents 

Claims against Uber and Lyft have included:  

• Hiring drivers with criminal backgrounds. 

• Hiring drivers who use unsafe vehicles, and even homeless drivers living in their vehicles.  
• Wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits after serious and fatal auto accidents.  
• Uber paid a $25 million settlement in connection with its “safest ride on the road” marketing campaign after it was alleged drivers in California underwent inferior screening to those of taxi drivers.  
• Lawsuits over categorizing drivers as independent contracts to limit the cost of employee benefits and limit accident liability.  
• Uber’s own data reveals more than 1,000 sexual assaults, including kidnapping, rape, stalking and false imprisonment.  

Identifying all of the insurance policies responsible for compensating victims can be complicated in traffic collisions involving Uber of Lyft because of competing insurance carriers. Most carriers prohibit driving for hire. So unless a driver has disclosed he or she is working as a rideshare for hire, an insurance company may attempt to deny a claim in the wake of a traffic collision.  

While both Uber and Lyft provide third-party liability coverage, such coverage is subordinate to a driver’s own insurance policy and is also dependent upon the app status at the time of a collision - whether a driver is off duty, available and waiting for a fare, enroute to pickup a fair, or has a collision with a passenger on board can all impact a claim. Victims are always best served by early consultation with a ridesharing injury lawyer in Denver. Ken Fiedler Injury Law offers free and confidential consultations to discuss your rights.  

• Rideshare driver’s Insurance: Even if a driver’s insurance does not exclude coverage when driving for hire,dDrivers who carry only the minimum required coverage in Colorado of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability may not have enough coverage to compensate victims for damages.  
• Corporate insurance: Both Unber and Lyft carry additional insurance. Lyft, for example, maintains third-party liability insurance of $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident, but indicates it is only available if a driver does not have insurance with similar limits.  
• Ride Status: Both Uber and Lyft carry $1 million in third-party liability coverage if a driver is in an accident while en route to pick up a passenger, or while a passenger is in the vehicle.  
• At-Fault driver: When the other driver is at fault, his or her insurance carrier may be partly or completely responsible for damages. That does not mean coverage should not be available through the rideshare company, particularly if the at-fault driver’s insurance is exhausted.  
• Victim’s insurance coverage: A victim may also have a claim through optional uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on his or her own policy.  

It’s easy to see why these cases typically involve multiple insurance carriers with some degree of liability. However, it’s common for the insurance companies to wage protracted arguments about which company is responsible for paying damages, and in what order. It is the job of your Denver rideshare injury lawyer to hold each of them accountable and to obtain all of the damages to which you are entitled under the law.  

Ken Fiedler Injury Law provides passionate, principled and proven representation to victims and families looking for an experienced personal injury lawyer in Denver or the surrounding areas, including Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Ken Caryl, Columbine, Golden, Lakewood, Broomfield, and Arvada.