LONG BEACH Ridesharing
Accident Lawyer

The actual cause of an Uber, Lyft, or other ridesharing vehicle accident can vary depending on the situation. People may be injured while they are passengers in ridesharing vehicles, but victims could also be occupants of other vehicles involved in crashes or pedestrians or bicyclists outside of vehicles.

In general, common causes of accidents include, but are not limited to:

• Inclement Weather
• Speeding
• Reckless Driving
• Construction Zone Violations
• Driver Fatigue
• Improper or Illegal Turns
• Failure to Obey Traffic Signs or Lights
• Distracted Driving
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of Alcohol or Drugs
• Other Traffic Violations

In drunk driving cases, it is important to remember that California Vehicle Code § 23152(e) establishes that is unlawful for a person who has 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a motor vehicle when a passenger for hire is a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the offense. In other words, ridesharing drivers may be charged with DUI when they have a blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) that is only half the legal limit for other drivers.

Not all ridesharing injuries are necessarily motor vehicle accidents. Some people may actually be physically or sexually assaulted by ridesharing drivers.

Insurance policies for most ridesharing companies such that it works as follows:

• Driver Not Logged Into TNC’s Digital Network — Driver’s personal automobile insurance covers all damages.
• Driver Logged Into TNC’s Digital Network, But No Passenger Requests — TNC may provide excess coverage for damages exceeding driver’s personal limits. Uber provides $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident and Lyft offers $50,000 per person for bodily injury, $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 per accident for property damage.
• Driver Picking Up Passenger or Transporting Passenger — The TNC may have a larger liability policy, as both Lyft and Uber have $1 million liability and $1 million uninsured policies.

The California Utilities Public Commission (CUPC) regulates privately owned public utilities in California and the state became the first in the nation to regulate TNCs in September 2013. TNCs often try to deny liability for accidents by claiming their drivers were independent contractors, but the California Assembly passed a “gig work bill” in May 2019 that re-classify ridesharing drivers as employees and allow them numerous rights and benefits not provided to contractors.