22 Aug

What is the average settlement for an Uber/Lyft accident claim in Florida?

Florida Law Group Car Accidents, In the News, Tips

If you were injured in an accident involving Uber or Lyft, you could win up to $1 million in damages! 

When you take an Uber or Lyft, your safety is something you may take for granted. But Uber and Lyft drivers aren’t professionals, and even if they drive flawlessly, there is the chance that you can be involved in a serious collision with another driver, pedestrian, or motorcyclist. Injuries that result from a car accident can cost you thousands of dollars or change the course of your life forever; if you were the victim of the ridesharing accident, you should not have to pay for a traumatic event that wasn’t your fault. 

What you may not know is that Uber and Lyft both carry insurance policies up to $1 million, and this may be accessible to you if you make a legal personal injury claim. However, the amount you can expect to receive varies depending on your specific case, and there are a few factors that may influence the size of your settlement! 

How much have other plaintiffs received, and just how common are these cases?

Because Uber and Lyft are private companies, they don’t have to divulge all of their information publicly. It is impossible to say with certainty how many Uber and Lyft drivers are using the roads daily in the Tampa Bay Area, how many passengers are transported, how many accidents occur regularly, and how much these ridesharing giants have awarded in damages to injured pedestrians/motorists/passengers/drivers, but the information that is available may surprise you. 

Here are some facts we do know:

• University researchers associate Uber and Lyft with a 2-3% increase in the number of motor vehicle fatalities and accidents 
• Uber’s co-founder Garrett Camp wrote in a blog post in 2017 that Uber provided roughly 15 million rides per day
• 10 fatal accidents that involved Ubers were reported in 2016
• Cases vary, but plaintiffs have received amounts between $500,000 and $1.25 million in personal injury cases involving Uber/Lyft collisions

Clearly, with the amount of these vehicles on the road, especially in a growing and populated area like the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater metropolis, ridesharing accidents do happen frequently, and cause injuries serious enough to necessitate litigation. 

How do I know how much my case is worth, or what damages I can recover? 

Every individual Uber and Lyft accident case is different. Especially because of the complex legal nature of ridesharing, it is impossible to estimate a general settlement amount until the details of the case have been discussed with an experienced Uber/Lyft car accident attorney. If you’ve been injured in an accident involving either of these companies, you should contact a lawyer right away to make sure you understand all of the options available to you! 

However, even though an exact award cannot be approximated before speaking with an attorney, you can get a better idea of how much you may be able to receive by determining two factors: the extent of your injuries and the driver’s activity at the time of the accident. 

How badly were you injured?

The more severe the injury, the higher the settlement is likely to be. The loss of income and/or earning capacity (“lost wages/future lost wages”), the cost of medical expenses, and the cost of “pain and suffering” will all be taken into account by an insurance company or by legal professionals on your case. 

If you were a passenger in a Lyft vehicle accident and only incurred fast-healing injuries (bruises, cuts, etc.), and were able to return to work as normal, for example, you will likely not be awarded much compensation, because the impact on your life was small. But if you suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of that accident that left you unable to return to your career and cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in surgeries and rehab therapy, and you are represented by a skilled personal injury lawyer, you have a much better chance of recovering up to $1 million in damages. 

Damages commonly awarded in a settlement involving Uber and Lyft include ambulance costs, prescription medications, doctors visits, vehicle repair or replacement, counseling for PTSD or anxiety, loss of income or future lost wages, and more. 

What was the status of the driver?

Uber and Lyft drivers are not technically employees of the company, only “independent contractors”, which means that they can and will try to deny liability when an accident occurs. Yet these companies do have insurance policies in place to protect themselves, their drivers, and their passengers if certain conditions are met. The coverage that applies depends on what the driver’s activity was at the time of the accident. 

• If the driver was available to pick up riders but was not yet carrying a passenger when the accident happened, the driver’s own insurance policy would be the primary insurance. In this situation, though, Uber and Lyft provide additional injury coverage, up to $100,000 (with a maximum of $250,000 in property damage). This will be eligible in a settlement if the driver’s personal liability insurance does not fully cover the injured party’s expenses. 
• If the driver was carrying a passenger when the accident happened, the driver, the passenger, and another injured party may be covered by Uber/Lyft’s $1 million liability insurance policy.
• If the accident was caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, the driver and passenger may be covered by Uber and Lyft’s $1 million uninsured motorist policy.

Any liability coverage from Uber and Lyft will be secondary to the driver/at-fault party’s insurance, but in many cases, the $1 million dollar policy may be accessible to you if you were injured in an accident. 

Ridesharing uses ordinary drivers in ordinary vehicles on ordinary roads, but handling insurance claims in accidents involving Uber and Lyft can be anything but ordinary legal paperwork. While you heal, you need an advocate who has extensive experience with Florida law to help you file a claim and fight for the justice you deserve. Whether you were a driver, a passenger, or an innocent bystander who was hit by an Uber or Lyft driver, the Florida Law Group has a winning track record and nationally acclaimed attorneys who will help you get maximum compensation. 

If you were injured in an accident involving Uber or Lyft, you could win up to $1 million in damages! 

When you take an Uber or Lyft, your safety is something you may take for granted. But Uber and Lyft drivers aren’t professionals, and even if they drive flawlessly, there is the chance that you can be involved in a serious collision with another driver, pedestrian, or motorcyclist. Injuries that result from a car accident can cost you thousands of dollars or change the course of your life forever; if you were the victim of the ridesharing accident, you should not have to pay for a traumatic event that wasn’t your fault. 

What you may not know is that Uber and Lyft both carry insurance policies up to $1 million, and this may be accessible to you if you make a legal personal injury claim. However, the amount you can expect to receive varies depending on your specific case, and there are a few factors that may influence the size of your settlement! 

How much have other plaintiffs received, and just how common are these cases?

Because Uber and Lyft are private companies, they don’t have to divulge all of their information publicly. It is impossible to say with certainty how many Uber and Lyft drivers are using the roads daily in the Tampa Bay Area, how many passengers are transported, how many accidents occur regularly, and how much these ridesharing giants have awarded in damages to injured pedestrians/motorists/passengers/drivers, but the information that is available may surprise you. 

Here are some facts we do know:

• University researchers associate Uber and Lyft with a 2-3% increase in the number of motor vehicle fatalities and accidents 
• Uber’s co-founder Garrett Camp wrote in a blog post in 2017 that Uber provided roughly 15 million rides per day
• 10 fatal accidents that involved Ubers were reported in 2016
• Cases vary, but plaintiffs have received amounts between $500,000 and $1.25 million in personal injury cases involving Uber/Lyft collisions

Clearly, with the amount of these vehicles on the road, especially in a growing and populated area like the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater metropolis, ridesharing accidents do happen frequently, and cause injuries serious enough to necessitate litigation. 

How do I know how much my case is worth, or what damages I can recover? 

Every individual Uber and Lyft accident case is different. Especially because of the complex legal nature of ridesharing, it is impossible to estimate a general settlement amount until the details of the case have been discussed with an experienced Uber/Lyft car accident attorney. If you’ve been injured in an accident involving either of these companies, you should contact a lawyer right away to make sure you understand all of the options available to you! 

However, even though an exact award cannot be approximated before speaking with an attorney, you can get a better idea of how much you may be able to receive by determining two factors: the extent of your injuries and the driver’s activity at the time of the accident. 

How badly were you injured?

The more severe the injury, the higher the settlement is likely to be. The loss of income and/or earning capacity (“lost wages/future lost wages”), the cost of medical expenses, and the cost of “pain and suffering” will all be taken into account by an insurance company or by legal professionals on your case. 

If you were a passenger in a Lyft vehicle accident and only incurred fast-healing injuries (bruises, cuts, etc.), and were able to return to work as normal, for example, you will likely not be awarded much compensation, because the impact on your life was small. But if you suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of that accident that left you unable to return to your career and cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in surgeries and rehab therapy, and you are represented by a skilled personal injury lawyer, you have a much better chance of recovering up to $1 million in damages. 

Damages commonly awarded in a settlement involving Uber and Lyft include ambulance costs, prescription medications, doctors visits, vehicle repair or replacement, counseling for PTSD or anxiety, loss of income or future lost wages, and more. 

What was the status of the driver?

Uber and Lyft drivers are not technically employees of the company, only “independent contractors”, which means that they can and will try to deny liability when an accident occurs. Yet these companies do have insurance policies in place to protect themselves, their drivers, and their passengers if certain conditions are met. The coverage that applies depends on what the driver’s activity was at the time of the accident. 

• If the driver was available to pick up riders but was not yet carrying a passenger when the accident happened, the driver’s own insurance policy would be the primary insurance. In this situation, though, Uber and Lyft provide additional injury coverage, up to $100,000 (with a maximum of $250,000 in property damage). This will be eligible in a settlement if the driver’s personal liability insurance does not fully cover the injured party’s expenses. 
• If the driver was carrying a passenger when the accident happened, the driver, the passenger, and another injured party may be covered by Uber/Lyft’s $1 million liability insurance policy.
• If the accident was caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, the driver and passenger may be covered by Uber and Lyft’s $1 million uninsured motorist policy.

Any liability coverage from Uber and Lyft will be secondary to the driver/at-fault party’s insurance, but in many cases, the $1 million dollar policy may be accessible to you if you were injured in an accident. 

Ridesharing uses ordinary drivers in ordinary vehicles on ordinary roads, but handling insurance claims in accidents involving Uber and Lyft can be anything but ordinary legal paperwork. While you heal, you need an advocate who has extensive experience with Florida law to help you file a claim and fight for the justice you deserve. Whether you were a driver, a passenger, or an innocent bystander who was hit by an Uber or Lyft driver, the Florida Law Group has a winning track record and nationally acclaimed attorneys who will help you get maximum compensation.