With a population of about 70,000, Decatur is a small city in the heart of Illinois. With so many people in a small area, many rely on rideshare services like Uber to commute or get from place to place.
However, if you get into an Uber accident, filing a claim can be a little more complicated than most car accident cases because of the driver’s status as an independent contractor and the various insurance policies involved.
For help navigating the legal process, a Decatur Uber accident lawyer from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can guide you through filing a claim and increase your chances to recover maximum compensation.
Legal Liability in Uber Accident Cases
Establishing liability after an Uber accident is the key to your claim. You must be able to establish the at-fault driver or party behaved negligently and caused the accident in order to receive compensation.
It is rare for those who suffer from severe injuries in an accident to be able to sue Uber itself, though if the company failed to vet a driver properly or withheld insurance coverage, then you may have a case.
Since drivers are independent contractors and not employees, the company is not responsible for their actions. If you have questions about liability or which insurance company will be involved in your claim, your Uber accident lawyer can answer them during a free legal consultation.
Several factors must be considered in establishing liability after your Uber accident for a personal injury claim.
Gathering Evidence
Gathering evidence will be the primary objective of your Decatur Uber accident lawyer. You will need evidence to support your assertion that a certain party is responsible for causing the accident, as well as the effects of the accident on your life.
Types of evidence can include medical documentation, images or footage of the accident scene, and testimony from accident reconstructionists.
Filing a Police Report
Calling 911 is important after an Uber accident because it gets police on the scene to investigate the collision and create an official report. This report will be crucial in establishing liability to support your claim, so ask for a copy of this report from the police.
Seeking and Recording Medical Attention
For a personal injury claim, you must have suffered injury as a result of the accident. You will need proof of these injuries as well as the medical attention received to establish there are legal damages from the accident.
Medical bills, medical records, exam results, and doctor’s notes can all serve as evidence of your injuries after a rideshare accident.
Hiring an Experienced Uber Accident Lawyer
Your chances of winning your accident claim increase exponentially if you hire an experienced lawyer from our team.
Your Decatur ridesharing accident lawyer can help you determine the best legal options, collect evidence, prove liability, and even negotiate with the insurance company. Without the assistance of a Decatur Uber car accident lawyer, insurance adjusters are far more likely to offer you a low settlement offer.
Driver’s Status
The status of the Uber driver at the time of the accident is very important for establishing legal liability. It also impacts which insurance policy and insurance company could cover compensation for your damages.
An Uber accident can involve multiple insurance companies, which is one of the reasons why these cases are more complicated than others. Additionally, Uber offers some additional insurance coverage to drivers who pay for their own comprehensive and collision coverage.
Here is how the various Uber driver statuses impact insurance claims:
- The Uber driver is not accepting rides with the app off – In accidents during this period, Uber drivers are only covered by their personal auto insurance policy, so injury coverage and property damage will depend on what insurance company they have
- The app is on and the Uber driver is ready to accept rides – If the Uber driver is waiting for a ride request and the app is on, then the rideshare company provides coverage equal to $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 per accident for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage
- The Uber driver is en route to a passenger or currently transporting them – A third insurance policy takes effect in these accidents, with coverage of $1,000,000 for injuries and property damage
Negligence
Negligence can turn a regular insurance claim into a personal injury lawsuit. For negligence to be involved in an Uber accident, there must be an owed duty of care, a violation of that duty, injuries sustained by the victim, and ensuing damages from those injuries. If evidence can prove these four elements, then you may have a case involving negligence.
Potentially negligent parties in rideshare accidents are numerous and may include the Uber driver, an Uber passenger, another driver, a pedestrian, a vehicle part manufacturer, or even a government agency for failing to maintain safe road conditions.
Evidence that can support your claim of negligence against these parties can include eyewitness statements, footage of the incident, accident reconstructionist testimonies, police reports, manufacturing recalls, and auto repair records.
Another component of negligence in an accident is the comparative fault statute in Illinois. For victims to claim compensation, they must be less than 50% responsible for the Uber accident in which they were hurt.
If you are somewhat responsible for the rideshare accident, such as 30% at fault, then your potential financial compensation may be reduced by a similar percentage. Your Decatur Uber car accident attorney can explain how comparative negligence works in Illinois if you have questions.
You Have a Limited Time to File an Uber Accident Claim in Decatur, Illinois
Hiring a Decatur Uber accident lawyer quickly is your best chance of winning a claim. The more recent the incident is, the easier it will be to collect evidence to support your claim. However, you also want to avoid missing the statute of limitations for claims in Illinois.
For personal injury claims in this state, you have two years to file your lawsuit from the date of the incident or discovery of the bodily injury.
In wrongful death cases, surviving family members have two years from the date of their loved one’s death to file.
Product liability cases that are merely for property damage can be filed within five years of the incident, though injury claims still fall under the two-year timeline.
Understanding the statute of limitations is critical for your ability to seek compensation, so ask your Uber accident lawyer about the timelines during your free consultation.
Damages Our Decatur Uber Accident Lawyers Can Help Recover
An experienced Uber accident lawyer knows what damages you could pursue in your claim and how much compensation they may be worth. Outside of insurance, there are economic and non-economic damages that can be assessed to receive maximum compensation after your Uber accident.
Punitive damages can also be assessed to further punish a defendant who behaved with intent, but these cases are rare. Economic and non-economic damages include:
- Lost wages
- Medical bills
- Cost of future medical care
- Property damage
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement
- Wrongful death damages (funeral costs, burial expenses, loss of financial support, loss of companionship)
Eligibility to File an Uber Accident Claim
As previously mentioned, negligence requires proving four different elements. Those who can file claims after a rideshare accident include the Uber passenger, the Uber driver, another driver, another passenger, and even a pedestrian. Here are the four elements of negligence in greater detail that must be proven for injury claims:
- Duty of care – The defendant had an expected level of care to keep the claimant safe from harm
- Breach of duty – The defendant, such as the driver, fails to exercise reasonable care and does not uphold that duty of care for the claimant, such as not following traffic laws
- Causation – A direct link between the defendant’s actions and the incident can be established, such as a drunk driver veering into the victim’s vehicle
- Damages – The victim suffered legal damages as a direct result of the accident
A successful lawsuit requires these four elements to be present. For example, if an accident was caused by drunk driving, you must show they had a duty of care to uphold, their drinking led to negligent driving practices, and you suffered injuries because of the accident.
Cost of Hiring a Decatur Uber Accident Attorney
We understand you may be dealing with lost wages, medical expenses, and emotional trauma because of your accident. The last thing you need is attorney fees for your Uber accident lawsuit. Fortunately, the Decatur personal injury lawyers from our law firm work on a contingency fee basis.
This agreement stipulates we only receive payment if we win your case. Even then, that payment is simply deducted from the settlement package. As a result, there are no out-of-pocket costs for our services, and your Uber accident lawyer is motivated to work as hard as possible.
Contact Our Decatur Uber Accident Attorneys Today!
Our Decatur Uber crash attorney team understands the challenges victims face after Uber accidents. You are battling lost wages and high medical costs and just want to secure your financial future. When you need help negotiating with an insurance company or holding Uber drivers accountable, we can guide you through the claims process with our contingency fee agreement, ensuring you have no upfront costs to worry about. We have helped recover millions from auto insurance and rideshare companies for injured victims, and we can do the same for you.
Contact a Decatur Uber accident lawyer today by calling 888-424-5757 or filling out our online form for your free legal consultation.