Ridesharing (Lyft, Uber) Injury Attorney in Portland
Ridesharing services such as Lyft and Uber, also known as Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), have taken over a large percentage of the transportation sector. If you’re injured in an accident while using Uber or Lyft services, what are your rights? Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC can help you navigate the process and will pursue the maximum possible compensation for you. Call our Portland ridesharing injury lawyer today for assistance.
Portland Uber & Lyft Accident Resources
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Why Choose Our Rideshare Accident Attorneys?
Causes of Uber/Lyft Accidents in Portland
Rideshare Insurance Laws in Oregon
Uber & Lyft Insurance Policy Limits
Compensation in an Uber/Lyft Accident Claim
Liability for a Rideshare Accident
Can You Sue Uber or Lyft After a Crash?
Why Hire an Attorney?
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Why Choose Our Rideshare Accident Attorneys?
At Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC, we have extensive experience with serious collisions and fatal car accidents and can help you today. Why should you choose us to represent you?
- We are aggressive negotiators and experienced Portland car accident trial lawyers. We will not hesitate to take your case to trial to recover the maximum possible compensation.
- We maintain a small caseload so that we can give personal, undivided attention to the clients that we choose to represent.
- We work on a contingency basis, and there is no attorney fee to you unless we win.
Most Common Causes of Uber/Lyft Accidents in Portland
If we want to examine some of the most common causes of Uber or Lyft accidents in the Portland area, we can really look at the overall vehicle accident and statistics for the state of Oregon. During the most recent reporting gear of data on file, the top 10 driver errors that led to vehicle accidents included the following:
- Failed to avoid stopped or parked vehicle
- Failure to yield the right-of-way
- Ran off the road
- Driving too fast for conditions (not necessarily above speed limit)
- Inattention
- Failed to maintain lane
- Left turn in front of oncoming traffic
- Disregarded traffic signal
- Following too closely
- Failed to negotiate a curve
Uber and Lyft drivers are just like anyone else on the roadway. These are individuals who likely do not have any type of additional driver training for commercial purposes. The only real requirements for working with Uber and Lyft as contract drivers include being 21 years old, having a valid driver’s license, and passing a vehicle inspection.
However, there are a few factors that are more likely to contribute to an Uber or Lyft driver being involved in an accident, particularly distracted driving and fatigued driving. Rideshare drivers have to rely on company apps for every aspect of the operation of the rideshare service. This includes obtaining information about fares as well as following the GPS route provided by the rideshare company.
Additionally, many rideshare drivers choose this as a side income job, which means drivers may be fatigued behind the wheel after working their regular job. Our rideshare and truck accident attorneys in Portland note that driver fatigue is a major problem on the roadways.
Rideshare Insurance Laws in Portland and Throughout Oregon
In Washington state, the transportation services company is required to provide insurance that is in effect when a driver is logged into the TNCs digital network or is transporting passengers. Oregon law is similar, with the exception that TNCs are prohibited from encouraging drivers to secure their own coverage.
What Are the Uber and Lyft Insurance Policy Limits?
The main route for recovering compensation after an Uber or Lyft accident in Portland will be through an insurance claim. Now, a claim may very well be against a non-rideshare driver if another driver caused the incident. However, most rideshare passengers will end up filing a claim with the rideshare driver’s insurance (which will most likely be the insurance provided by Uber or Lyft).
The insurance policies for a rideshare driver can be complicated to understand because there are different tiers involved. These tears will depend on the actions of the driver at the time the incident occurred. For the purposes of this explanation, let us assume that the rideshare driver is at fault for the incident in question:
- Off Duty. In the event a rideshare driver is off duty when the accident occurs, then their personal insurance coverage will be responsible for paying compensation to injury or property damage victims. Oregon requires individuals to carry bodily injury coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident as well as property damage coverage of $20,000 per accident.
- Tier One. During this period, a driver will have the rideshare app on but will not be matched with a passenger. In other words, they are just waiting. If an accident occurs during this tier, then there will likely be a combination of insurance policies involved. Ultimately, the driver’s personal carrier is responsible first, but Uber and Lyft both have supplemental policies to kick in to pay for anything the personal carrier refuses to cover. Both rideshare carriers have limits of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury coverage as well as $25,000 for property damage coverage.
- Tiers Two and Three. Tier two is the time frame when a driver matches with a passenger and is on the way to pick them up, and tier three is when a rideshare passenger is in the vehicle. During both of these two years, both Uber and Lyft provide $1 million liability policies to cover any individual involved in a crash.
Simply spelling out these insurance tiers on paper does not necessarily mean the process of recovering compensation will be easy. Just because an individual is covered by an insurance policy does not mean that the insurance carrier will willingly pay over what they should. In fact, insurance carriers are notorious for offering incredibly low settlement amounts. We encourage you to work with a skilled Uber and Lyft accident attorney in Portland who can help guide you through this process and stand up to the insurance carriers.
Compensation You Can Recover in an Uber/Lyft Accident Claim
At Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC, we work diligently to recover various types of compensation on behalf of all clients who have been injured due to the negligent actions of others. Our team enlists assistance from trusted economic and medical professionals who can examine the victim involved as well as all documents obtained to come up with the correct value of economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages after a rideshare accident occurs in Portland revolve around calculable expenses victims will likely endure. We can gather receipts and bills to help add up the following:
- Emergency medical expenses
- Ongoing hospital or doctor care
- Prescription or over-the-counter medications
- Medical devices
- Lost income and loss of future earnings
- Rehabilitation or physical therapy
- Property damage expenses
Non-economic damages revolve around losses that are not as easy to calculate as the economic costs just mentioned. After any type of major injury occurs, individuals are likely to endure various types of “unseen” costs associated with the injuries, the medical care, and the recovery process. The goal of recovering non-economic damages is to help adequately compensate an individual for their physical pain and suffering, emotional or psychological distress, as well as loss of enjoyment of life caused by any disability.
Who is Liable for a Rideshare Accident?
There may be various parties that could be held liable for an Uber or Lyft accident in the Portland area. Just like any other vehicle accident that occurs, there will need to be an extensive investigation into a crash involving a rideshare vehicle. This investigation should uncover enough evidence to prove liability, which may or may not point to the Uber or Lyft driver.
In most situations, vehicle accidents are caused by the careless or negligent actions of one or more drivers on the roadway. Uber and Lyft drivers are just like everyone else. They typically have no additional driver training aside from obtaining their driver’s licenses. Conducting a full investigation into a crash involving a rideshare vehicle is the only way to ensure fairness and to help injury and property damage victims recover the compensation they need.
If an investigation uncovers that a driver aside from an Uber or Lyft driver caused the incident, then victims will pursue compensation against that party. If the Uber or Lyft driver was found to be responsible, then injury and property damage victims will seek compensation through the rideshare driver’s insurance policy.
There is certainly a possibility that an outside third party aside from any drivers caused the incident. For example, if there was a vehicle malfunction or if the incident was caused by roadway issues, then a company or manufacturer, or even a government entity could be responsible for the incident.
If an investigation performed by Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC reveals that the TNC did not perform due diligence on the driver, the service may be liable. This could include employing a driver who does not meet state eligibility standards, for reasons including any of the following issues:
- A felony conviction within the past 10 years
- A felony conviction involving actual or attempted physical harm, no matter what the date
- Listing in the National Sex Offender Registry
- Misdemeanors including theft, robbery, sex crimes, drugs or certain other offenses
- Traffic crimes
- Drunk driving related crashes
- More than five traffic violations in a three-year period
- Previous suspension or revocation of driving privileges
Can You Sue Uber or Lyft After a Crash?
Many individuals think that they make a claim directly against Uber or Lyft after an accident occurs. The reality is that the insurance carriers are not the same thing as the rideshare company. Both of these red share companies operate in a similar manner, meaning they use drivers as independent contractors and not as employees. In personal injury law, most companies are held vicariously responsible for the actions of their employees so long as the employee was carrying out work-related duties when the injury occurred.
Because rideshare drivers are considered independent contractors, this essentially cuts the responsibility cord for the rideshare company after a crash occurs. It is usually not possible to directly file a lawsuit against Uber or Lyft after an accident. There may be very specific circumstances that allow a third-party personal injury lawsuit against the rideshare company, but only if it can be shown that the company was negligent in some way. This can include the company failing to address safety concerns about a particular driver or failing to adequately check the background of a rideshare driver.
Why Do You Need a Portland Ridesharing Injury Lawyer?
The details of a ridesharing accident will vary widely. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with an Uber or Lyft driver, or while a passenger, it is imperative that you are represented by an experienced Portland personal injury attorney from Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC. Our experience at trial, understanding of the complex issues in ridesharing accidents, and dedication to the people we represent can help you achieve justice and full compensation.
Contact Us Today
If you or a loved one was injured in a ridesharing accident, contact Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC. for a free and confidential case evaluation.