My Uber Was In An Accident, What Do I Do?
What If I Was In An Accident In An Uber?
If your Uber is in an accident, assuming you are an Uber passenger and you were injured, it’s possible that there is up to $1 million dollars in coverage and you should contact an attorney who has expertise and the know-how to handle your claim. A personal injury attorney can help you navigate dealing with insurance companies and any damages arising from bodily injury associated with the accident.
As a passenger, Uber accepts liability and underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage to you from the moment the driver accepts your ride until the conclusion of the ride. 1 It is also important to note that Uber is a primary carrier as far as coverage for the accident.2 That means you do not have to exhaust any insurance coverage that you might carry personally before making the claim against Uber. However, if your Uber driver is at fault for the accident and they insure their vehicle under a commercial auto insurance policy, you must exhaust those limits before making the claim against Uber.
Uber’s Promise To Riders
It may sound too good to be true – but, that is Uber’s promise that regardless of who is a fault for the accident, even if you may have a significant auto insurance policy available to you. However, it should be said that Uber will not pay out willingly if the accident is caused while the Uber driver is not engaged in the app or if the accident is caused due to the intentional or reckless acts of your Uber driver.3
You should know, however, that Uber’s promise to cover up to $1 million in damages for any accident does not extend to any UberBLACK, UberSUV, or UberTaxi ride. Those rides are covered by their own commercial carrier policies, which should leave you with at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident in coverage for your damages.
Insurance Policy of Taxi vs. Uber in Louisiana
If you’re deciding whether you should take a taxi cab versus an Uber, you should know that Louisiana only required taxi cab services to carry a policy of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in liability coverage, according to the Louisiana Public Service Commission.4 So, even if you’re thinking that Uber is a huge corporation that will try to get out of paying for your damages, you’re still better off taking that bet instead of taking a cab.
Get An Uber Attorney
While you may not end up a millionaire after getting in an accident while taking an Uber ride, you should still feel somewhat reassured that, as a passenger, you will at least be able to make a claim against Uber for your damages.
If you’ve been in an accident during an Uber ride, and it has been less than a year since the date of that accident, contact a car accident attorney in Baton Rouge to ensure that your claim is being handled with the utmost care so that you can feel at ease that you’re getting what you deserve.
Links to references:
[1] https://newsroom.uber.com/insurance-for-uberx-with-ridesharing/
[2] Id.
[3] Jennie Davis, Drive at Your Own Risk: Uber Violates Unfair Competition Laws by Misleading Uberx Drivers About Their Insurance Coverage, 56 B.C. L. Rev. 1097, 1097 (2015)
[4] http://www.lpsc.org/_docs/_Trans/LPSC-T-71%20Taxi%20Passenger%20Packet%20Oct%202012(2).pdf
Content provided by Morris Bart.