Texans experience plenty of car crashes on a day-to-day basis, and many of them involve two passenger vehicles. Such collisions usually lead to straightforward insurance claims and sometimes personal injury lawsuits when injuries are severe.
Sometimes, one of those vehicles will be a taxi or a rideshare vehicle. Unlike traditional taxi cab networks, Uber and Lyft do not directly hire their drivers as employees. They offer flexible employment arrangements for drivers as contractors and variable pricing for clients who hire rides. They operate in a sort of legal gray area that allows them to provide services without all of the expense of more established businesses. That different business structure may result in significant confusion about the rights of individuals affected by a crash that involves a rideshare vehicle.
Fault factors into every type of crash claim
The responsibility to pay for the injuries and property damage generated in a collision directly relates to one party’s liability for the scenario. Usually, being the one at fault for the crash is what creates financial liability. When the vehicle at fault for the crash is a rideshare vehicle, then there are other considerations as well.
The status of the trip at the time of the collision can have a major impact on what type of insurance someone has available. Both Lyft and Uber have large corporate insurance policies that apply to the vehicles driven by their contracted drivers in the event of a crash. However, that coverage only applies if the collision occurs during a paid ride.
If a driver causes a crash on their way to pick up a rider or in between rides, then their policy would likely cover other people’s losses. Every rideshare driver will typically have to have special rideshare insurance added to the traditional liability coverage that people carry on their personal vehicles because they use their vehicles for business purposes. Sometimes, there can be complications if a rideshare driver does not invest in that extra coverage.
Both negotiating an insurance settlement and validating what policy applies can be difficult for those already coping with injuries caused by a crash. Seeking legal guidance concerning the rules for car insurance claims after rideshare collisions in Texas may help those affected by such wrecks seek appropriate compensation.