What To Do if Your Lyft Gets in an Accident: 4 Crucial Steps

The advent of ridesharing apps like Lyft and Uber has changed transportation, making it simple to get a ride just by navigating an app. Lyft is now extremely common. But Lyft drivers aren’t immune from car accidents, and it’s very possible a driver you find yourself involved in an accident with is driving for Lyft.

Any car accident claim can be complicated, but when a huge corporation is involved as well as the two parties involved in the accident, things can get even more complex. Legal representation can help you navigate this situation effectively and make a big difference in the success of your car accident claim. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident involving a Lyft, contact Zinda Law Group today for a free case consultation.

1. Contact Police and Medical Attention

The most important thing in any auto accident is the safety of those involved. Make sure that you and any other occupants in your vehicle are not in need of immediate medical attention. If anyone is, call 911 and explain the situation to the dispatcher, following their instructions until help arrives. Get out of the car if it is safe to do so, and make sure that everyone is in a safe area away from passing cars or other dangerous situations.

If no one is injured, you should still call the police to request an officer come to the scene. Have the officer create a report of the crash. The observations of a police officer can be a valuable resource in pursuing a claim later, because he will document his impression of the scene and get information from the individuals involved.

2. Document the Accident

While a police officer will make a report, you should not rely on the police to document the accident for you. You can still document the accident yourself by taking pictures of the damage to both cars, the scene of the accident, and any environmental factors that might have influenced what happened. Be sure to also get the contact information of anyone around who was a witness to the accident.

Remember that documenting the accident does not just extend to the immediate aftermath of it. Be sure to have records of any of the ways your life is impacted by the accident, such as any medical treatments you have to receive, repair bills from vehicle damage, or lost wages from time off of work. Having records of all of these things will be helpful when calculating your damages to pursue compensation for them.

3. Seek Medical Care

Even if you did not need medical attention at the scene of the accident, it is important to visit the doctor afterwards to make sure you are not injured. This is important firstly for health reasons: there are some very serious injuries, such as concussions, which can be overlooked when they first occur but which can be life-threatening if allowed to persist without treatment.

There is also a practical reason to see a doctor as soon as possible after you are in a car accident—it gives you a better chance of pursuing any bills for medical treatment with a personal injury claim. In a personal injury claim seeking compensation for injuries incurred in a car accident, the plaintiff must prove that their injuries were caused by the accident (which was caused by the actions of the defendant). The longer you wait to be diagnosed with any possible injuries, the more difficult it is to prove that your injuries were caused by the car accident and not anything else that happened in the time between the accident and your doctor’s visit—something the opposing party’s attorney is likely to argue.

4. Consult An Attorney

It is always a good idea to contact an attorney if you are considering pursuing a damages claim after a car accident, but it becomes even more important when you have gotten into a car accident with a Lyft driver. Lyft has different policies and interacts with the law differently than a more straightforward accident between two individuals.

For example, Lyft classifies their drivers as independent contractors, not as employees, and so Lyft is unlikely to be held liable for a car accident in the same way a company might be if their employee got into an accident driving a company truck. In addition, Lyft does provide supplemental insurance to their drivers, provided the driver had his app in drive mode when the accident occurred, but the company has different practices depending on the circumstances of the accident. If the accident occurred with drive mode on but no passengers were in the Lyft and the Lyft was not en route to pick one up, up to $100,000 per accident could be authorized for injuries; if there was a passenger in the Lyft or the driver was heading to pick one up, insurance could cover up to $1,000,000.

In addition, Lyft has extensive legal representation. In order to begin the recovery process, you will have to report the accident to Lyft, but you should be careful when you do so—you do not want to damage your claim by saying something detrimental to it, but speaking with Lyft is like speaking with a third party insurance investigator: the employee will be trained to encourage you to admit fault and say things that could be used against you.

When you talk to a lawyer, they will be able to navigate the complexities of dealing with Lyft so you don’t have to figure out the nuances of their terms and conditions alone. Speaking to a lawyer will also allow you to begin your claim as soon as possible, which is very important because car accident claims are subject to statutes of limitation, which can be as short as one year in some states.  

Need Help? Contact Zinda Law Group Today

Trying to pursue compensation after a car accident involving Lyft can seem like a daunting task. Instead of just dealing with an individual, you are dealing with an individual as well as a multi-million dollar company and all of their complex policies. But you do not have to take this on alone: the experienced lawyers at Zinda Law Group have obtained compensation for numerous car accident victims.

At Zinda Law Group, you don’t need to worry about the uncertainty or expense of great legal representation. Zinda Law Group has a No-Win, No-Fee Guarantee, meaning that you pay nothing unless you receive a settlement in your case. Contact Zinda Law Group today for a free case consultation.