Who Would You File a Lawsuit Against if You Were in an Uber Accident in Florida?
Who you file a lawsuit against and seek compensation from after an Uber accident depends on which liability insurance covers your injuries based on cause and circumstances. Not only can our lawyers help you determine who is liable for your injuries, but we can also help you claim compensation for them.
You may seek compensation from Uber’s commercial liability insurance after an accident, provided certain conditions are met. If the Uber app is off or another driver causes the accident, Uber wouldn’t be liable. Instead, the negligent driver and their personal auto insurance would be. Uber accident victims can seek relief for any damages incurred from an accident, both economic and non-economic.
Call our Miami Uber accident lawyers at (305) 204-5369 for a free review of your Uber accident case from Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. today.
Who Would You Seek Compensation from if You Were in an Uber Accident in Florida?
Fault could lie with multiple parties after an Uber accident, depending on the specific facts of each case and crash.
Uber’s Commercial Liability Insurance
Uber maintains commercial liability insurance in case of accidents involving its drivers and passengers, with different limits for different accident scenarios. For example, for accidents that occur when a driver is completing a ride or is en route to pick up a new passenger, Uber provides up to $1 million per accident in Florida.
For accidents that occur when a driver’s Uber app is on but they are not completing a ride or en route to pick up a passenger, Uber’s liability insurance provides $50,000 for bodily injury per person, $100,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident in Florida.
Uber Driver’s Liability Insurance
If a driver’s Uber app is off and they cannot accept rides when they cause an accident, the driver alone can be held liable. You would not have a claim against Uber in this situation, but against the negligent driver’s liability insurance, which might not exceed mandatory minimums in Florida.
Another Driver’s Liability Insurance
If the Uber you were riding in were hit by another negligent driver, not your Uber driver, that driver and their liability insurance would cover your damages, not Uber’s commercial liability insurance policy. Do not assume the Uber driver was negligent, and let our lawyers investigate the accident to determine fault.
How Do You Determine Who to File a Lawsuit Against After an Uber Accident?
Most victims don’t know who to seek compensation from after Uber accidents, and if suing Uber itself is even an option, something our lawyers can help you navigate after a collision in Florida.
Identify All Involved Parties
To determine who is at fault for a recent Uber accident, our lawyers will first identify all involved parties. Involved parties include the victim, the negligent Uber driver, and Uber itself. If the accident involved another vehicle, that driver’s fault and possible contribution should also be evaluated. Bad road and weather conditions can also sometimes contribute to serious crashes, and our attorneys can assess if that is true in your case.
Interview Eyewitnesses
Not all Uber passengers witness the specific act of negligence that causes an accident, as they might be distracted by their phone or be looking out the window during the ride. If you did not see what happened, eyewitnesses can help us identify the liable party by providing detailed statements describing the Uber driver’s conduct or another driver’s conduct. An eyewitness may provide information that you previously did not know that indicates fault, such as that the Uber driver changed lanes without using their turn signal or when there was not enough space between cars.
Review Photos
Photographs are vital in reconstructing motor vehicle accidents and determining exactly what happened. Photos of impact points and visible damage can tell us how fast a specific vehicle was moving and in what direction, as well as other useful information.
Even if your personal property was not damaged in an accident as an Uber passenger, you should still take photos of any involved vehicles and the damage they sustained. These pictures allow us to work backward and reconstruct the crash to determine its cause.
Analyze Police Reports
Police reports can also be helpful to our Uber accident lawyers in determining liability. While police reports containing opinions and conclusions are generally not admissible as evidence in personal injury lawsuits, insurance companies often use them when processing claims, making them useful to our attorneys.
How Much Time Do You Have to File a Lawsuit if You Were in an Uber Accident in Florida?
Most plaintiffs have 2 years to file lawsuits for Uber accidents, unless they do not immediately discover underlying soft tissue or internal injuries that took time to appear.
If You Immediately Discovered Your Injuries
If you were immediately aware of injuries from an Uber accident because they are visible or very painful, you most likely will have 2 years from the date of injury to file your lawsuit and seek compensation.
Fractures, lacerations, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and many more are often immediately apparent.
If You Did Not Immediately Discover Your Injuries
Internal injuries, soft tissue injuries, and others can be hard to identify immediately after an accident, and may take several days or even weeks to become noticeable. In cases involving delayed discovery of an injury, plaintiffs have 2 years from the date they should have reasonably discovered their injuries to file compensation claims in Florida.
To uncover the injuries you might not feel right away, always go to the hospital after a bad Uber accident or other motor vehicle accident.
Get Compensation for Your Florida Uber Accident
Call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369 for a free case discussion with our Florida Uber accident lawyers.
