Aside from Uber, Lyft is the leading transportation network company (TNC) in the State of California. California. Lyft is efficient, convenient, and inexpensive for its customers. If a customer wants to travel across town, he or she will merely enter the starting point and ending point of a trip on Lyft’s app, and a Lyft driver will be there in minutes to pick up that customer. With that availability comes vulnerability though.
If an accident involving a Lyft vehicle occurs, and you were injured as a passenger in that vehicle or as another driver, a motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian, you have the right to pursue the maximum compensation that’s available for your injuries and damages.
Who Can I Sue?
When you decide to file a lawsuit after a Lyft accident, the entity you sue depends on the circumstances surrounding the accident. If you were injured as a passenger in a single-car accident, your cause of action would most likely be against the driver of the Lyft vehicle. If the Lyft vehicle driver and another person both contributed to your accident and injuries, you could file against both of them.
Note that pursuant to a driver’s agreement with Lyft, he or she is designated as an independent contractor. By virtue of that agreement, it’s difficult for you to seek compensation directly from Lyft. As the law only allows you one recovery for an injury, it shouldn’t really matter to you whether any settlement or verdict proceeds come from the driver, Lyft, or an insurance company. In nearly all accident cases, Lyft has more than sufficient insurance coverage to compensate an accident victim for his or her injuries and damages.
Lyft Driver Insurance
Anybody who drives for Lyft is required to have their own personal insurance on their vehicle. What comes to issue is that the legal minimum liability coverage limit in California is only $15,000. Serious injuries from serious crashes result in damages far in excess of $15,000. California’s legislature recognized that issue early on into the existence of Lyft. Now, if a Lyft driver is actively on the TNC’s app, a minimum of $50,000 of liability coverage per occurrence and $100,000 per occurrence applies.
If the driver is on the way to pick up a customer or is transporting a customer to a destination, $1 million of liability, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage applies. If the driver is in an accident while the Lyft app is turned off, his or her personal auto insurance applies.
Contact a California Lyft Accident Driver Today
Complicated liability, damages, and insurance issues arise in just about any Lyft personal injury accident. If you were injured in a Lyft accident, you’re probably unable to work through all of those issues without hurting your case. Rather than doing that, contact us at the Rideshare Law Office to arrange for a free confidential consultation and case evaluation.
