Ride Share Accident Attorney in Sacramento

Ride Share Accident Attorney in Sacramento

It was a novel idea at the start, get drivers who wanted to make some money on the side to drive people around. Nobody needs cash and the cars will be nice, unlike many cabs in busy cities around the country. Uber, then Lyft were born and people came on board with the services in droves. 

Uber and Lyft have been highly successful. Customers like the convenience, the contract drivers make money, it seems like a win-win situation for all. Until a rideshare vehicle is in an accident, then it’s complicated. 

Then you need a rideshare accident attorney to help you sort out who’s at fault and what insurance company is responsible. What obligation does the rideshare company have if there is an accident?

With so many taking advantage of rideshare services, these questions are bound to come up. Read on to learn what you should do if you are in an accident while using a rideshare service. 

Ridesharing Accident Types of Fault

If you are driving your own car and in an accident, you are either at fault or the other guy is at fault, in simple terms. Yet, with rideshare vehicles, there are more parties involved. There are a variety of accident scenarios where someone could be injured with in a rideshare. These include:

• Being a passenger who is riding with a rideshare driver
• Rideshare driver contracted by the rideshare company to pick up, carry or drop off passengers
• Driver or passenger from another vehicle involved in an accident with rideshare driver who is contracted to pick up, carry or drop off passengers
• Being a pedestrian who has been hit by a rideshare driver who is contracted to pick up, carry or drop off passengers
• Being a pedestrian or driver hit by a rideshare driver who is not in service for the rideshare company

Each of these potential types of accidents offers its own unique set of circumstances for liability. There could be one driver at fault. There could be multiple drivers at fault. It could even be a situation where no one is at fault because of unforeseen circumstances. For this reason, you need a rideshare attorney who can work with all parties to sort out the intricacies of the case.

Liability for Ridesharing Company

The fact that the rideshare driver is in the employment of a rideshare company makes these types of accidents more complicated. The rideshare company may share in some of the liability. Depending on the status of the driver at the time of the accident, there are different levels of liability.

Uber breaks those down this way:

• The driver is offline so their third party insurance is responsible
• The driver is waiting for a ride request and is active on the app
• The driver is en route to pick up a rider or is in the process of a ride 

The rideshare company obviously considers its liability differently depending on the status of the driver at the time of the accident.