It’s difficult to deny the convenience of hiring a car and driver with the touch of an app. It’s hard to remember how we managed to get around before Lyft came along. Suppose you are injured in a Lyft accident. In that case, however, you face a challenging path forward, and you owe it to yourself to retain the skilled legal counsel of an experienced injury attorney in Marietta early in the process.
Your Lyft Driver
While you pay your Lyft driver to transport you, it’s essential to remember that they are not a professional driver in the legal sense of the word. This means they aren’t required to carry a commercial driver’s license or have any exceptional experience behind the wheel. Generally, having a driver’s license and carrying the requisite insurance is all that is needed to drive for Lyft.
This said, Lyft drivers face additional challenges, which increase the risk that Lyft accidents will happen, including:
- Interacting with the Lyft app can be distracting, and so can locating passengers awaiting pickup.
- Lyft drivers earn a living or augment their income by the number of trips they complete, and some push safety limits.
- Entering and exiting traffic often and making frequent stops make accidents more likely, and this is part of every Lyft driver’s job description.
- Lyft drivers frequently navigate areas that aren’t familiar to them, which, when added to the mix, increases the risk that accidents will happen.
Lyft accidents are all too common and tend to be quite dangerous.
Filing Your Claim
If a Lyft driver’s negligence injures you, the most significant factor regarding your claim is where the driver was in the Lyft process. If you were a Lyft passenger at the time or the driver had a passenger or was on the way to retrieve a passenger, you’ll file your claim with Lyft’s solid insurance coverage.
If, on the other hand, the Lyft driver had no passenger and was waiting for an assignment, you would file your claim with the driver’s personal insurance coverage, which they are required to carry. However, if your damages exceed their policy limits, you can pursue compensation for your additional losses through Lyft’s provider.
Finally, if the Lyft driver who leaves you injured was off the app at the time of the accident – even if it was just momentarily – you will file your claim against the driver’s policy the way you would after any other car accident.
Get the Help You Need from a Marietta Lyft Accident Lawyer
At Essa, Janho & Associates, LLC, our trusted Marietta attorneys are ready to advocate for your recovery and protect your rights. Contact us online or call 770-955-8322 today to learn how we can help.