Uber Accident Lawyer in Madera

Madera residents have plenty of connections to make each week for work, school, or just for hanging out. Sometimes they need a quick, reliable pick-up to meet those obligations and Uber is usually the first choice.

Uber drivers provide a great service around Madera and rarely leave anyone waiting, but they also take to the roads at all hours, even rush hours, to add to traffic levels. They can also drive a bit distracted while performing their daily runs. It all adds up to an elevated chance for an accident and in serious cases, an injury, on Madera streets and highways.

If you find yourself suddenly the victim of a crash involving an Uber driver or if you are an Uber driver who has been injured in an accident, make sure you have someone on your side protecting your rights. Contact a rideshare accident lawyer serving Madera County. Uber should take responsibility for the victims of its drivers and its business model, but finding help with medical bills and missed time from work will not be an easy process when dealing with the lawyers that work to help Uber avoid blame.

Uber Driver Distractions in Madera

You might be prepping for a trip to Cleveland Avenue for some lunch or a shopping outing when you pull up the Uber app to signal for an Uber driver. It’s also an easy, reliable, and affordable option to get you to your job or to class on time.

What people may not have considered is all of the things Uber drivers have to pay attention to other than driving. They can lose focus on the road and put other motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and their passengers at risk of a collision. You may not know you’re traveling near rideshare drivers until they’ve caused a dangerous impact with their inattention.

This is just a brief look at some of the distractions they face during a shift:

  • Hoping for a Customer: Uber drivers can wait minutes or hours between ride requests. They can be cruising the roads along busy sections of Madera in hopes they’ll be closer to any potential passengers. That’s more time on the streets and more chance of causing an accident. To cut down on dead time, they may also work for several rideshare companies at once. This can lead to double the distraction during high traffic times.
  • Notification Distraction: Drivers get an audio alert when they receive a ride request. It means an immediate glance at their phones to check out the location of the request. They have a limited time to decide if they’ll accept the rider. If they aren’t fast enough the request goes to another Uber employee. All of these decisions and interactions on a cellphone can happen while they may have traveled hundreds of feet without really looking at the road.
  • Locating the Rider: Even with mapping help from their cellphones, locating a customer can take full attention when street names start to get confusing and passengers aren’t waiting where they said they’d be. While they’re hitting the brakes and weaving while they look for a street sign, Uber drivers can fail to see your brake lights or might even blast through a stop sign.
  • Passenger Distraction: Riders can jump in the backseat like a tornado, full of questions or even looking to start an argument. This can pull the rideshare worker’s attention from the road. The driver may even be tempted to speed or drive recklessly to get a passenger to their destination on time.

Does Uber Have Insurance Coverage for Madera Accidents?

Uber does carry extensive coverage but injured victims often have a frustrating time trying to access the policy for help.

The first roadblock you’ll encounter on the path to compensation will be Uber holding up their driver as a shield. All Uber drivers are required to carry their own car insurance policy and you’ll have to start there. You will file a claim with their insurance provider and wait. Often the answer you get won’t be positive. Drivers’ insurance agents can deny a claim outright when they find out their driver was working for Uber when the accident took place.

If you are rejected or the driver’s insurance doesn’t cover enough of your damages, you can then turn your focus to Uber. Uber offers up to one million dollars in coverage to victims of their drivers, but only in two situations. The driver must have been on the way to pick up a passenger when the crash happened or had a passenger in the car at the time.

If a driver was simply cruising around waiting for a request, didn’t have a passenger, but was on-the-clock when he or she caused a collision, then Uber can offer up to $100,000 in coverage.

If neither option pans out, injured victims can file against their own uninsured/underinsured policy coverage to try to get help. A lawyer working on your side can be a big help even when you’re dealing with your own insurance provider. Your agent can still treat you like the enemy and work to limit how much compensation you receive.

In some cases, an attorney can take a case back to Uber and point out certain safety and hiring violations that made their driver unsafe. Sometimes this is enough to force Uber to accept some liability.

Contact a Rideshare Accident Lawyer in Madera

If you or a loved one sustained a serious injury and the crash involved an Uber vehicle, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation and case evaluation. After you tell us what happened, we will let you know all of your legal options.

Whether you were hit by an Uber driver, injured as an Uber passenger, or hurt as an Uber driver, call us today. Our goal is to help you get the maximum amount of compensation available to you for your injuries.