Can You Sue a Lyft Driver?
Ridesharing apps like Lyft have become very popular in the Los Angeles area in the past few years. Lyft offers convenience, discounted prices, and can even be considered environmentally friendly. However, Lyft’s ridesharing system does have its dark side, especially when it comes to car accidents.
If you are injured in a car accident involving a Lyft driver, you have a legal right to seek compensation for your losses and injuries through a personal injury lawsuit. Whether you suffered personal injuries, property damage, lost wages, or even a combination, you deserve to be compensated.
You can sue a Lyft driver for these and any other losses you suffered because of that driver’s negligence. Unfortunately, because of complicated relationships between Lyft drivers and the company itself, personal injury lawsuits involving Lyft and its drivers can be very complex. As such, it’s important that you have experienced legal representation to guide you through personal injury lawsuits with Lyft drivers.
You can sue a Lyft driver
You can pursue a personal injury lawsuit against a Lyft driver if the driver caused the accident that led to your injuries. Just like in any other kind of personal injury lawsuit, in order to be successful, you must be able to prove that:
- The driver owed you a duty of care to protect you
- The driver failed to uphold said duty of care
- That failure was the direct cause of your injuries or losses
The potential difficulties that may arise in a case involving Lyft have to do with the complicated relationship between Lyft and its drivers.
Who is liable for Lyft accidents?
According to California state law, the “at-fault” party is held liable for damages in a personal injury case. Liability can be sticky, however, when it comes to Lyft and other rideshare companies.
Lyft works hard to make sure that its drivers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, so it isn’t responsible for paying driver insurance. However, a recently passed bill prevents Lyft from evading liability based on the semantic difference between “employee” and “independent contractor.”
In an accident involving a Lyft vehicle, the question of liability is broken into three different periods:
- Personal Driving – This is when the driver is offline, not logged into the app, and not taking Lyft passengers. The driver’s personal insurance applies.
- Waiting for Request – This is the period in which the driver is logged into the app and waiting for a ride request. In this period, Lyft’s insurance covers up to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for damaged property.
- Ride in Progress – Once a driver accepts a ride request and picks up a passenger, Lyft covers up to $1 million per accident. This coverage even applies if you were hit by another driver, or the other driver in the accident was at fault.
Liability in an accident involving a Lyft driver is all about if the driver was “on the clock” for Lyft at the time of the accident. If the driver was in the second or third period, you can seek compensation from Lyft as well as the driver. But if the driver was in the first period of personal driving, you would seek compensation from only the driver.
Let Ellis help you
The laws surrounding Lyft and other rideshare businesses are quite complex, so any lawsuits that deal with these laws require a deft hand. An Ellis Injury Law Lyft lawyer has not only the experience but also the resources and tenacity necessary to help you get maximum possible compensation. We will guide you through every step of the case, from investigation and examining the evidence to filing paperwork, negotiations, and litigation.
It’s vital that you have experienced legal representation when pursuing legal action in these cases. A personal injury lawyer from Ellis Injury Law can offer you the expertise and guidance you need to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Contact Ellis today to schedule a 100% free consultation.