Mountain View commuters get started early and can get back home late. In between, they can log a lot of road miles. Or perhaps they let Lyft drivers worry about the traffic. Rideshares take the guesswork out of finding a driver, but services like Lyft can also increase the number of distracted drivers on your route dramatically. And distracted drivers are a proven threat to other motorists’ safety.
If a Lyft driver lands you in a serious accident, make sure you’re completely protected as you recover physically and financially. Lyft can allow victims to stand alone without support unless they are forced to help. That’s why you should contact rideshare lawyers who are experienced in holding large corporations accountable.
We offer a free evaluation of your case when you call. We can give you a confidential rundown of your options when dealing with Lyft and its drivers.
Does Lyft Provide Insurance Coverage in Accidents?
Your day may include a trip to the North Shoreline Neighborhood for a meeting or a jaunt over to the Permanente Creek Trail for some exercise. On your journey, there’s a good chance you may see a Lyft driver on the road, trying to do a dozen things at once while zipping along with traffic.
Rideshare duties can distract drivers, especially when their cellphone apps beep to signify a new customer or message. Lyft employees can also be drawn into a race to try to keep customers on-time and happy.
If you do end up getting hit and injured by a careless or reckless Lyft driver you will have to call upon the driver and his or her employer for help. You could have to try three different insurance providers before finding assistance.
Here are three of the possible steps you’ll have to complete to find support:
- Lyft Driver’s Insurance: All Lyft employees supply their own car insurance. You’ll begin with a claim against their coverage. Insurance companies can decide they don’t want to cover their policyholder while they drive for Lyft and in that case, you’ll be out of luck. If your claim is rejected or not enough compensation is provided to cover your medical costs, you can move on to file a claim with Lyft and their provider.
- Lyft Coverage: Lyft does maintain up to a million dollars in liability insurance for drivers and their victims. The hitch is that it’s only available to victims if the driver was logged into the Lyft app when the crash happened. Even then, the driver must have had a passenger in the car or have been on the way to a pick-up. If they didn’t have a ride request at the time of the accident the maximum insurance payout will be less. Your claim may also be challenged by Lyft’s legal team. These lawyers may try to cast doubt on your injuries and your account of the accident to save money for their company.
- Your Car Insurance: If nothing else works, you can file a claim against your own insurance provider targeting your uninsured/underinsured motorist protection.
Dealing with Insurance Companies after a Lyft Accident
After the pain and treatment of your injury, dealing with insurance agents and adjusters may be the worst part of a vehicle accident. Facing off against representatives of a major corporation like Lyft can only multiply this aggravation.
Insurance companies, even your own provider, can delay responding to your claim while you get more and more pressure from debt collectors. This can come as you miss more and more time at work and start to miss car and mortgage payments. Insurance adjusters can also investigate your driving and injury history to raise questions about your account of a crash.
These and other tricks are meant to get you desperate enough to sign-off on any lowball offer they float your way. This is where your attorney can make a big difference. A lawyer working for you can call out insurance companies and corporations like Lyft on their bad faith practices. Your attorney can also spot these tactics and unfair offers and help you demand better treatment.
Contact a Mountain View Rideshare Accident Lawyer
After an accident involving Lyft, a representative may contact you for a statement. Speak to an attorney before giving a recorded statement of any kind. This is another way for agents and lawyers to call your case into question. They can take your words and twist them into an admission of fault.
If you or a loved one sustained a serious injury and the accident involved a Lyft car, contact us for a free and confidential consultation. Whether you were hit by a Lyft driver, injured as a passenger, or injured as a Lyft employee we can help you focus on recovery while leaving hospital bills in the laps of those responsible for your accident.
