Rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft have become an everyday part of many people’s lives, serving as a popular and effective alternative to taxi services for when someone has somewhere to go but don’t have a set of wheels of their own available to get there.

That being said, it’s important to know what your legal rights are when you are a rideshare driver, especially when it comes to automobile accidents that might occur and the degree of coverage that your employer may provide. There are many complexities in such instances, and it is critical to be aware of the potential risks that may impact you when you are ferrying passengers around in your own personal vehicle.

First of all, rideshare drivers are not direct employees of the companies they work for; in reality, they are considered independent contractors, and this distinction can have a direct effect upon determining liability as well as your ability to seek compensation for injuries and damages if an accident should take place while you are in their employ.

Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft provide insurance coverage for their drivers while they are actively working for them, but the degree of coverage can change depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident, which, in turn, would affect the amount of coverage available to compensate you for any losses you may experience.

For example, a rideshare driver who is actively on a call will have more coverage than one that is parked with their rideshare app switched on, waiting for a customer to request a pickup; however, if a driver switches their app off – indicating that they are not accepting any new rides at that moment – they will not be covered by the company at all if an accident occurs, in which case they must rely on their own personal insurance.

With this being the case, it is of paramount importance that you understand exactly how you are covered in any given situation when you begin to work for a given rideshare company so that, if the worst should happen, you will know how to proceed to have your losses made whole.

There are some instances where a rideshare company may purport that a driver was not actively working for their service at the time of an accident in order to reduce any liability that they may be facing; but if a driver can prove that they were indeed actively working and transporting a passenger – for example, by producing timestamped camera footage of the vehicle’s interior – the rideshare company may then be held responsible for any damages or injuries that have occurred.

Rideshare accident injury claims can often be far more complex when compared to regular car accidents due to the very specific insurance policies and procedures that Uber and Lyft have in place for dealing with such issues involving their drivers. And even in instances where an independently-contracted rideshare driver is fully covered for an accident, insurance adjusters may nonetheless attempt to minimize the amount of any settlement or deny liability outright.

In these instances, negotiations must be held, and it’s vital to make sure that you have all of the documentation needed in order to do so effectively, including medical bills, repair estimates, and the statements covering income loss. The assistance of an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer can help you gather this information and present it to the insurance company in a manner that is both organized and clear; they can also advocate on your behalf and make sure that your best interests are served during the proceedings, ensuring that you are not taken advantage of in your time of need.

Are you or someone you know a rideshare driver that has recently been in an accident? Contact the accident attorneys at the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP at 866-878-6774 now or fill out our simple form for a free consultation.