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Most people think of a rideshare accident as a collision that happens after a passenger gets into an Uber or Lyft. But injuries can occur before the vehicle ever leaves the pickup location.
A driver may stop in an unsafe location, pull away while a passenger is entering, or force someone to approach the vehicle through a dangerous area. Another motorist may strike a passenger walking toward the rideshare vehicle. When something goes wrong during pickup, determining responsibility can be more complicated than it initially appears.
At Hanning & Sacchetto, LLP, our Whittier rideshare accident attorneys help injured Californians identify the parties and insurance coverage that may apply when a rideshare pickup results in an injury.
A Rideshare Trip Has Different Insurance Periods
California law divides transportation network company activity into different periods for insurance purposes. That timing matters most during a pickup.
Once a rideshare driver accepts a ride request, California requires $1 million in primary liability insurance for death, personal injury, and property damage. That coverage period begins before the passenger is actually inside the vehicle and continues until the ride is completed.
This distinction matters. A passenger injured while approaching or entering an assigned rideshare vehicle should not assume there is no rideshare-related coverage simply because the trip had not physically begun.
The Rideshare Driver May Have Created the Danger
The pickup location can play an important role in determining liability. A driver may create an unnecessary risk by stopping where passengers cannot safely enter the vehicle.
Depending on the circumstances, problems might arise when a driver:
- Stops in an active traffic lane.
- Pulls too far away from the curb.
- Chooses a location with unsafe traffic conditions.
- Begins moving before the passenger is fully inside.
- Makes a sudden maneuver as the passenger approaches.
Investigators may need to determine where the vehicle stopped, what the driver did, how the passenger was approaching the vehicle, and whether a safer pickup location was reasonably available.
Another Driver May Be Responsible
The rideshare driver is not necessarily the person who caused the injury.
Suppose a passenger is walking toward an Uber or Lyft that has arrived for the requested trip when another motorist strikes them. That driver’s speeding, distraction, failure to yield, or other negligent conduct may make the motorist responsible.
Other situations may involve more than one party. A rideshare driver’s choice of pickup location could potentially contribute to the circumstances while another driver’s negligence directly causes the collision. California’s comparative fault rules allow responsibility to be allocated among multiple parties when the evidence supports it.
Exactly When the Injury Happened Can Affect Coverage
The distinction between accepting a ride and entering the vehicle matters for another reason.
California’s rideshare insurance requirements provide $1 million in primary liability coverage once a driver accepts a ride request. However, the separately required uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage begins when the passenger enters the vehicle.
As a result, an injury occurring seconds before someone gets into the vehicle can raise different insurance questions from an injury occurring seconds afterward.
Evidence from the rideshare app can therefore be important. Trip records may help establish when the driver accepted the request, arrived at the pickup point, and began the ride. Photographs, surveillance video, witness accounts, and vehicle information may also help reconstruct what occurred.
Injured During a California Rideshare Pickup?
A rideshare passenger does not necessarily have to be traveling down the road before rideshare-related liability and insurance become relevant. The events immediately surrounding pickup can matter just as much as what happens during the ride.
If you were injured while approaching, entering, or waiting for an Uber or Lyft in California, Hanning & Sacchetto, LLP can investigate what happened, identify potentially responsible parties, and determine which insurance coverage may apply. Call (562) 698-6446 or contact our Los Angeles County personal injury attorneys online to schedule a free consultation.