Murfreesboro Uber Accident Lawyers
An accident involving an Uber driver can look like an ordinary car crash, but the insurance issues can be very different. The amount of liability coverage potentially available may depend on exactly what the Uber driver was doing when the collision occurred.
Was the driver using the vehicle personally with the Uber app offline? Was the driver logged into the app and waiting for someone to request a ride? Had the driver already accepted a passenger’s request? Was a passenger inside the vehicle? Those distinctions can dramatically change the liability insurance available after a crash.
The Murfreesboro Uber Accident Lawyers at Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers help injured passengers, motorists, pedestrians, and others pursue compensation after rideshare accidents. We determine which insurance coverage applies and work to secure a recovery that reflects the full effect of our client’s injuries. Every client receives a dedicated case manager and access to a lawyer from the beginning. You should not have to decipher rideshare insurance policies on your own while recovering from an accident.
Uber Liability Insurance Changes With the Driver’s Status
It is misleading to simply say that an Uber driver has “Uber insurance.” Different liability coverage applies at different stages of rideshare activity. For rideshare trips, Uber currently describes its liability structure in three primary stages.
1) Driver Is Offline
When the Uber driver is offline and not using the app for rideshare activity, Uber does not provide the rideshare liability coverage that applies while the driver is working through the platform. Instead, the driver’s personal automobile insurance applies, which could be as low as $25,000 as the maximum payout for medical bills or death of a single person hurt in a crash.
If someone who happens to drive for Uber is taking a personal trip with the app turned off and causes an accident, the fact that the person is an Uber driver does not transform that personal trip into an Uber-covered rideshare accident.
2) Driver Is Online and Waiting for a Ride Request
The situation changes once the driver is logged into the Uber app and available to receive a trip but has not yet accepted a passenger’s request. For an at-fault accident during this period, Uber maintains third-party liability insurance with limits of at least:
- $50,000 in bodily injury liability per injured person
- $100,000 in bodily injury liability per accident
- $25,000 in property damage liability per accident
This is sometimes referred to as the waiting or available period. The distinction can be extremely important in a serious injury case. A person injured by an Uber driver who is merely waiting for a request may be dealing with substantially different liability limits than someone injured after the driver has accepted a passenger.
3) Driver Has Accepted a Ride or Is Transporting a Passenger
Uber’s higher liability tier begins once the driver accepts a rideshare request. It applies while the driver is traveling to pick up the passenger and continues while the passenger is being transported on the trip. During this period, Uber maintains insurance with up to $1 million in liability coverage for injuries and property damage to riders and third parties when the Uber driver is at fault.
That means the $1 million liability tier does not begin only when the passenger physically gets into the vehicle. It begins as soon as the driver has accepted the ride and is en route to the pickup. This distinction can be particularly significant when an accident causes catastrophic injuries.
A Simple Timeline Can Make an Enormous Difference
Consider three accidents involving the same Uber driver.
In the first, the driver has finished working, turned off the app, and is driving home. Personal auto insurance would be the starting point.
In the second, the driver is logged into Uber and waiting for a ride request. Uber’s third-party liability limits during that period are at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage.
In the third, the driver has accepted a passenger’s request and is traveling toward the pickup location. The passenger is not yet in the vehicle, but Uber’s higher liability tier has already begun. As much as $1 million in liability insurance applies during this stage and while the passenger is on the trip.
The vehicles involved could be identical. The injuries could be identical. The accidents could even happen on the same road. Yet the potentially available liability coverage could be very different because of the driver’s status in the Uber app.
Uber Passengers Can Be Injured by Their Driver
Uber passengers place their safety in the hands of the person driving them. A passenger may be injured when an Uber driver speeds, follows another vehicle too closely, runs a traffic signal, makes an unsafe turn, becomes distracted by the app, or otherwise causes a collision. Because the passenger is already on the trip, the accident occurs during the stage when Uber maintains its higher rideshare liability coverage. Passengers also occupy a different position from the drivers involved in the collision. Typically, the passenger had nothing whatsoever to do with causing the accident.
If another motorist caused the collision rather than the Uber driver, that driver’s liability insurance may become an important source of compensation. Other coverage may also need to be considered depending on the circumstances.
People Outside the Uber Vehicle Can Also Have Claims
You do not have to be an Uber passenger to have a claim arising from an Uber driver’s negligence. An Uber driver can cause an accident with another car, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian. For someone outside the Uber vehicle, determining the driver’s app status can be crucial because it may determine which liability tier applies. A driver who causes an accident while waiting for a passenger request presents one insurance situation. A driver who causes the same accident two minutes later after accepting a request may present another. That is why the rideshare status at the time of the collision should not be overlooked.
App Use Can Contribute to Uber Accidents
Uber drivers depend on smartphones to perform their work. They use the app to receive ride requests and navigate to pickup and drop-off locations. That technology can also compete for a driver’s attention. An accident may occur while a driver is checking information, following navigation instructions, looking for a passenger, searching for an unfamiliar pickup point, or making a sudden maneuver after nearly missing a turn. Driving for Uber does not reduce the driver’s responsibility to operate the vehicle safely.
The $1 Million Liability Limit Is Not a Guaranteed $1 Million Recovery
The existence of a $1 million liability policy does not mean every person injured in an Uber accident receives $1 million. Insurance coverage establishes the amount potentially available under the policy. The value of an individual injury claim depends on the losses caused by the accident and other circumstances of the case.
A person who suffers a catastrophic brain or spinal cord injury may face enormous future medical expenses, permanent disability, and lost earning capacity. Another person may recover fully after a much shorter period of treatment. Compensation may include medical expenses, future healthcare needs, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, permanent impairment, and other legally recoverable losses.
Our job is to pursue the amount justified by what the accident actually did to our client’s life.
Serious Injuries Make Coverage Especially Important
The distinction between insurance tiers becomes particularly important when injuries are severe. A $50,000 per-person bodily injury limit can be exhausted quickly by hospitalization, surgery, and extensive medical treatment. Catastrophic injuries can result in losses far exceeding that amount. When we handle a serious Uber accident, we look at the available avenues for compensation rather than assuming one policy is necessarily the end of the matter.
Both partners at Weir & Kestner began their careers representing insurance companies. That experience helps us understand how insurers approach coverage and high-value injury claims. Today, we use that knowledge on behalf of injured people.
Personal Service Through a Complicated Rideshare Claim
Rideshare insurance terminology can make a straightforward question such as “Who pays for my injuries?” feel unnecessarily complicated. Our clients do not have to handle that process themselves. Every Weir & Kestner client has a dedicated case manager and access to an attorney from the beginning. We address the applicable insurance coverage and pursue the claim while keeping you informed about what is happening. Our goal is not merely to identify an insurance policy. It is to use the coverage available to pursue the financial recovery you need after a serious injury.
Frequently Asked Questions About Murfreesboro Uber Accidents
How much liability insurance does Uber provide when the driver is waiting for a ride request?
When a rideshare driver is online and available for a trip but has not yet accepted one, Uber maintains third-party liability insurance of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 per accident for property damage.
When does Uber’s $1 million liability coverage begin?
For rideshare activity, Uber’s liability coverage of at least $1 million applies once the driver has accepted a ride request. That includes the period when the driver is traveling to pick up the passenger as well as the passenger’s trip.
What insurance applies if the Uber driver is offline?
If the driver is offline and using the vehicle personally, the driver’s personal automobile insurance generally applies rather than Uber’s rideshare liability coverage.
Does an Uber passenger have a claim if another driver caused the accident?
In this situation, the at-fault motorist’s liability insurance should provide compensation. Depending on the circumstances and applicable policies, other insurance coverage may also be relevant.
Does Uber’s $1 million policy mean my claim is worth $1 million?
No. A policy limit is not a statement of what an individual claim is worth. The appropriate compensation depends on the injuries, medical expenses, lost income, future needs, pain and suffering, permanent impairment, and other losses resulting from the accident.
Contact a Murfreesboro Uber Accident Lawyer
After an Uber accident, knowing whether the driver was offline, waiting for a request, heading to a pickup, or transporting a passenger can make a major difference in the liability insurance available. You should not have to sort through those distinctions while dealing with an injury.
Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers helps Uber accident victims identify the applicable coverage and pursue the compensation they deserve. You will have a dedicated case manager, access to an attorney, and a team focused on obtaining the best possible result for you.
Contact Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers for a free consultation with a Murfreesboro Uber accident lawyer. There is no attorney’s fee unless we obtain a recovery on your behalf.