How Long Will Lyft Take to Settle Your Injury Case?

If you are injured in an accident due to the negligence of a Lyft driver, you could have a viable claim for monetary damages. This is true whether you were sharing the road as a fellow motorist, or if you were a passenger using Lyft to get where you needed to go. Given the large insurance policies available to Lyft drivers, your potential payout could be substantial. There is no guarantee you will obtain the compensation you deserve quickly, however.  

Like with most vehicle collisions, recovering compensation in a Lyft accident involves dealing with insurance companies. This process can take some time for a number of reasons. Insurance companies like to move slowly to ensure they are legally obligated to settle a claim. They will often use delays as a stalling tactic, knowing injured drivers are often in a tough financial bind.  

There is no way to guarantee the resolution of a Lyft claim in any given timeframe. While many cases can take months, others are resolved in a matter of days. One way to avoid delay in your claim is to work with a skilled L.A. Lyft accident attorney. Your attorney could push your claim forward, denying the insurance company the opportunity to profit off of their attempts at delaying your claim.  

How long a typical Lyft case takes 

Again, there is no firm timeline for when Lyft will resolve a claim. In some cases where liability is clear and the amount of damages is small or not in dispute, Lyft and their insurer could reach a settlement immediately. In most cases, the process is not that quick. It is not unusual for a claim to take six months from the point a driver notifies Lyft to the date a settlement is reached. These cases can even drag on after the parties agree to a settlement, as there are often written releases to negotiate and have executed.  

These claims take even longer when litigation is involved. Many Lyft cases will drag on for months, with complex cases lasting more than two years. Much of this timeline depends on how quickly Lyft moves. In many cases, it is in their best interest to delay.  

Why insurance companies delay claims 

One reason why Lyft is comfortable delaying claims is its robust insurance policy. In cases where a Lyft driver causes a crash while carrying a passenger, the policy will pay up to $1 million in liability coverage. Most car accident claims are well below this amount, meaning it is rare that Lyft will ever have to pay out of their own pocket in these situations. With so little financial stake in the game, Lyft will often drag out these cases in the hope that the plaintiff will get desperate and settle for less than the case is worth. 

The pressure to force you to settle a claim for less than it is worth is one of Lyft’s primary motivators in delaying these cases. However, it is not the only factor. Lyft will also delay these claims to ensure they have had a chance to carefully investigate each claim. They will also pour over the policy to determine if they can avoid paying out on the claim at all.  

If the insurance company is dubious of your injury claim, they could also use this additional time to do thorough discovery of your injuries. If the insurance company can find evidence that your injuries are unrelated to the accident, they could refuse your claim entirely.  

Let Ellis Injury Law help 

The efforts of Lyft and their insurance companies to delay injury claims can be frustrating. They use these tactics because they are effective, as many victims feel they do not have time to wait to resolve a claim.  

At Ellis Injury Law, we have the experience needed to push your claim forward and fight back against unfair delay tactics. If Lyft or their insurance company will not negotiate in good faith, we will file a lawsuit on your behalf and aggressively push to move the case forward. To learn how we can ensure your case is heard in a timely manner, set up a free consultation with Ellis Injury Law right away.