Hurt In An Uber In NYC

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Recognized as a Super Lawyer and American Institute of Trial Lawyers Litigator of the Year, is Committed to Providing Unparalleled Personal Injury Service. If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in an Uber, Lyft, or Other Rideshare, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Could Help You Assert Your Rights to a Fair Recovery.

New York City is Uber’s golden goose.

Over the course of the past decade, rideshare services like Uber have slowly supplanted New York’s yellow taxis as one of the easiest and most convenient ways to travel the Five Boroughs. Uber is not always the cheapest option, but it saves the hassle of having to find and flag down a cab. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers use Uber and related services every day, often but not always without incident.

Taking an Uber anywhere should be as risk-free as hailing a cab or riding the subway. However, accidents still happen, and they happen more frequently than rideshare companies admit. Even though companies like Uber have liability coverage designed to protect passengers after a crash, actually obtaining benefits could prove challenging.

You do not have to take chances with your right to a fair recovery.

A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades standing up to some of the country’s biggest companies. Since our founding in 2005, we have helped our clients across the state secure more than $300 million in damages money that they have used to eliminate medical debt, seek superior care, and reclaim their financial independence after a serious rideshare accident. We could help you, too, but you have to act fast. Send us a message online or call us today at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to an NYC Uber injury lawyer and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation.

At least at first glance, fault in an Uber crash looks much like fault in any other motor vehicle accident.

In general, the person who caused the accident is responsible for it. This could be:

1. Your Uber driver;
2. Another motorist;
3. A property owner or city agency that failed to maintain a road surface; and
4. The rideshare company itself.

Since New York is a no-fault state, you can typically apply for personal injury protection benefits without having to name a defendant or establish their liability.

Personal injury protection, or PIP, can help cover certain accident-related expenses, but it is subject to the policyholder’s coverage limits as well as a statutory cap. Uber passengers who have suffered serious injuries are typically entitled to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver if they cannot meet their needs through an insurance claim.

Establishing fault is critically important when serious injuries are involved. If there are any unanswered questions about your crash, you may need an Uber injury lawyer to help investigate.

If you take a traditional yellow taxi and are hurt by a negligent driver, you can often take action against the taxi company. This is an example of a legal principle called vicarious liability.

In the past, other Uber customers have tried to sue the app for ride-related injuries.

More often than not, these prospective plaintiffs have failed. Uber has repeatedly gone to great lengths to shield itself from passenger claims, arguing that it is a technology platform rather than a transportation service. Its drivers are classified as independent contractors, not employees.

The distinction matters. In New York, employers can sometimes be held liable for the negligent actions of their employees. But Uber drivers are not employees; they are independent contractors. This means that Uber cannot usually be sued under theories of vicarious liability.

However, while you cannot always sue Uber for a driver’s mistake, the company is not always immune to claims.

You may be able to file a lawsuit directly against Uber if you can show that its negligence played a role in your accident. This could include situations where Uber:

1. Failed to conduct an adequate background check on a driver;
2. Ignored red flags in a driver’s past, like a history of serious traffic citations or a criminal conviction; and
3. Allowed a driver to continue using Uber after receiving multiple safety complaints.

Proving these types of claims is rarely easy. Evidence of corporate negligence is not publicly accessible. If you need to prove that a driver’s record should have disqualified them from Uber, you will need to ask the company to share its data with you. Without a court order, they would not comply.

Uber injury cases can be complicated.

If you are injured in a crash while riding as a passenger in an Uber, you have to deal with a lot of conflicting information. Unless the police have already investigated the accident and assigned blame to one driver or another, you may not even know who should be held liable for your injuries. Preparing to file a claim with the insurance company or in court means dealing with multiple drivers and multiple insurance agencies, all with their own motives and biases.

Your Uber injury lawyer will help you chart the best course of action. If you have been seriously injured, this means thinking strategically. You might be able to sue your Uber driver, for instance, but that is not always the best use of resources. Even if your Uber driver was found at fault, they might not have enough assets to make litigation worthwhile. In such a case, it may make more sense to turn to Uber’s commercial liability insurance. This coverage is automatically applied whenever you are a passenger on an active trip and can provide up to $1.25 million in combined damages for bodily injury, death, and property damage.

Instead of investing too much in a single claim, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. could help you seek multiple forms of relief, potentially combining a personal injury lawsuit with targeted insurance claims.

Filing a claim is one thing, but negotiating a fair settlement is another.

The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades fighting for our clients’ rights.

Our attorneys know what to expect from Uber. Instead of putting our faith in the rideshare company, we take a proactive approach that is designed to protect your rights and maximize your potential compensation. This usually involves:

1. Investigating the circumstances of your accident;
2. Identifying the right defendants for your case;
3. Immediately contacting Uber to ensure that data and records related to your claim are preserved;
4. Assessing your damages, accounting for your immediate and long-term needs; and
5. Handling negotiations with Uber, the insurance company, and their lawyers.

Call Jed Dietrich, Esq., today at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to an NYC Uber injury lawyer and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 1-866-529-5334 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in New York, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!