If you were injured in an Uber or Lyft accident in Oklahoma City, you might be confused about your legal rights and options for pursuing compensation for your losses. An experienced Oklahoma City Uber & Lyft accident lawyer from Oklahoma Injury Law can help you demand justice and financial accountability. Contact us for a free case review.
Why Do I Need a Rideshare Accident Lawyer?
Rideshare accident cases are more complex than most people realize. They may involve multi-billion dollar corporations that have taken pain-staking measures to minimize their liability by lobbying for laws to protect their financial interests and classifying drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. When you are dealing with such legal complexities, you need a lawyer experienced at handling these types of claims.
The OKC personal injury attorneys with Oklahoma Injury Law have years of experience handling all types of car accident claims. We understand Oklahoma personal injury law and how to build a successful claim for maximum compensation. We can guide you through the legal process with confidence and advise you of your legal options at each juncture, so you’ll always be in charge of the direction of your case. When you hire us, we handle every aspect of your legal claim from start to finish, including the investigation, evidence gathering, insurance claim filings, and negotiations. Contact us today to get started with your free case review.
Injuries Rideshare Accident Victims Commonly Suffer
Many rideshare believers mistakenly believe that rideshares are inherently safer. However, becoming a rideshare driver does not typically require much more than it takes to become a licensed driver. Therefore, a passenger could suffer catastrophic injuries if the driver causes a wreck. Moreover, some rideshare passengers don’t wear seatbelts, which can lead to more serious injuries.
Some of the common injuries that rideshare accident victims suffer include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Neck and back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fractures
- Internal injuries
- Burns
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Soft tissue injuries
Common Causes of Rideshare Accidents in Oklahoma City
Rideshare accidents can occur for the same reasons as other types of motor vehicle accidents, such as the failure to yield, disobeying a traffic signal, or ignoring traffic signs. Additional factors that contribute to making rideshare accidents more common include:
- Distracted driving from the app, GPS instructions, chatting with passengers, looking at the next booking, and other causes
- Driver fatigue, caused by working long hours or rideshare driving as a second job
- Speeding, to increase the number of trips drivers perform in a day
- Driver inexperience, as many drivers are newly licensed or young
- Vehicle maintenance issues caused by deferred maintenance
An experienced OKC rideshare accident lawyer can investigate your case to determine the factors that contributed to it and who is responsible.
How to Prove Liability in OKC Uber or Lyft Accident
Oklahoma is an at-fault state for car accidents, so the driver found at fault for the accident is responsible for paying for the resulting damages. Just because an accident involves a rideshare driver, does not necessarily mean they were at fault. You could have been at fault (if you were another driver hit by the rideshare vehicle), another driver could have been at fault, or another party could be at fault.
Proving fault in a rideshare accident case generally requires showing that someone else was negligent, meaning:
- The rideshare driver or other party owed you a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent an accident.
- The party at fault for the accident breached this duty of care.
- The party’s breach of duty caused the accident.
- You suffered damages as a result of the accident.
Proving fault generally comes down to having evidence that shows how the accident happened, such as:
- Accident reports
- Videos from dashcams, traffic cameras, or surveillance cameras
- Photos of the accident scene
- Witness statements
- Electronic data from the vehicle’s event data recorder
- Reports from accident reconstruction experts
Who Pays for the Damages in an Uber or Lyft Accident in Oklahoma City?
Even though Uber and Lyft are generally able to avoid liability by classifying their drivers as independent contractors, they provide insurance policies for their drivers that may come into play in the event of an accident. If the driver is found at fault, the following insurance may apply, depending on when the accident occurred during the rideshare transaction:
- While the app is off: The driver’s own liability insurance policy would apply. Oklahoma law requires all drivers to insure their vehicles with a minimum of $25,000 for bodily injury liability for one person, $50,000 for bodily injury liability for more than one person, and $25,000 for property damage.
- While the driver has the app on: The same minimum insurance limits apply in Oklahoma during this time, but the rideshare company’s policy would typically cover accidents during this period.
- After the driver has accepted a ride request: After the driver has accepted a ride request until they drop off the passenger, Uber and Lyft provide insurance of up to $1 million.
Because greater policy limits apply when the driver has accepted a ride request, it’s critical that you be able to prove the driver was at this stage of the transaction during the crash. An experienced lawyer can demand the logs to show the crash occurred during this time or participate in discovery after filing a lawsuit on your behalf.
Compensation in Rideshare Accident Claims
Whether you were a passenger in the Uber vehicle or a Lyft driver hit you while you were in another vehicle, you can seek compensation for your accident-related injuries and losses, such as:
- Past, present, and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Personal property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
Let our legal team determine what you’re entitled to and fight to recover it.
Hurt in a Car Wreck with an Uber or Lyft Driver? Contact Oklahoma Injury Law for Legal Assistance
If you were injured in an Uber or Lyft accident in Oklahoma City, contact Oklahoma Injury Law today. We keep abreast of the latest changes in the law and can confidently guide you through the legal process of filing an Uber or Lyft accident claim. Call us at (405) 310-8800 to arrange your free consultation.