Your Uber or Lyft driver owes you a duty of care. If they breach their duty of care by driving negligently and injuring you during an accident, they may be liable for your resulting damages.

Rideshare car accidents happen when drivers act negligently, injuring others on the road or passengers in their vehicles. Pinpointing out what the rideshare driver did wrong is crucial, and our lawyers can achieve this by reviewing the accident with you, talking to eyewitnesses, and enlisting accident repair experts. Victims can seek compensation against negligent drivers for immediate and long-term damages from a crash. These include victims’ medical damages from treatment, missed income from lost wages, and pain and suffering because of emotional distress. To get any compensation, we must file your claim within three years of the accident.

Get a free and confidential case review from our Uber and Lyft accident lawyers by calling The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083.

Why Rideshare Car Accidents Happen in Corona

Uber and Lyft crashes happen for many of the same reasons other vehicle accidents occur, often boiling down to driver error or negligence.

For example, rideshare drivers might speed to reach drop-off locations faster so that they can accept new rides. Drivers might merge or change lanes recklessly, endangering passengers and increasing the risk of sideswipe collisions.

When injured as passengers, victims might not recall the exact sequence of events proceeding an impact. In these situations, our Uber and Lyft accident lawyers can interview eyewitnesses and enlist crash reconstruction experts to ascertain an accident’s cause. Victims can take photos before leaving crash sites to aid with this process. If an Uber or Lyft driver hits you while driving your own car, photograph the property damage to your vehicle so we can estimate the cost.

When determining liability for any accident, the actions of all involved parties may be considered. New York’s comparative fault rules could lower compensation for victims who share fault for an accident, which defendants might use to their advantage after complex collisions. Accident reconstruction is particularly useful in undermining comparative fault defenses, and experts can begin reviewing photos and evidence from the scene soon afterward.

Also, when investigating an accident’s cause, our lawyers may speak to eyewitnesses or other involved parties. For example, if the Uber or Lyft driver hit another car when you were a passenger, our lawyers would interview that driver to determine if they contributed to the accident or if the rideshare driver was the only liable party. Doing this soon after a crash is crucial, as memories might fade with time.

Immediate and Long-Term Damages from Uber and Lyft Accidents in Corona

The losses victims incur from car accidents are often immediate and long-lasting, affecting them financially for years. The rideshare driver who caused your injuries could be liable for those losses and should cover your economic and non-economic damages.

Medical Damages

Medical damages are among the first losses victims incur. The cost of an ambulance ride to the hospital and ensuing emergency room treatment could be extreme, especially if victims sustain injuries that require surgery or specialized care.

Victims might continue incurring medical damages until they fully recover physically. When victims sustain permanent head, back, or spinal cord injuries, they might need treatment for the rest of their lives or the foreseeable future. To estimate the future medical damages you will incur after your claim ends, we can review upcoming treatments with physicians, who may testify during a trial to support our compensation requests.

Lost Wages

While physically recovering from accident injuries, victims might have to take time away from work, leading to missed income. For some victims, this is temporary, and they can resume their previous workplace responsibilities after their injuries heal. For others, the loss of earning capacity is permanent and will prevent them from earning sufficient income again. Getting long-term lost wages compensated is important as if you cannot return to work, your settlement must be able to support you while enabling you to cover medical costs and other expenses from the accident.

Pain and Suffering

Victims’ pain and suffering after accidents might continue for a long time, requiring them to seek support from mental health professionals to work through emotional distress. Especially traumatic injuries, like brain injuries or limb loss, can alter a victim’s day-to-day life, preventing them from engaging in hobbies they once enjoyed or responsibilities they once had.

To document your non-economic damages from an Uber or Lyft accident, consider keeping a journal and writing down your experiences with anxiety or depression. Again, confiding in a therapist can benefit victims, not just by helping them process their pain and suffering but also by proving it in court. Experts can testify to a victim’s lower quality of life, convincing juries they deserve compensation for non-economic damages.

Time Limit on Suing for Uber and Lyft Accidents in Corona

According to C.V.P. Law § 214(5), the statute of limitations for filing car accident lawsuits is three years. Before filing, you must certify that your injuries pass the serious injury threshold, which will require medical evidence from treating physicians.

Victims who do not file before the deadline will lose their opportunity to recover damages, even if an Uber or Lyft driver was negligent and did cause the accident. To ensure this does not happen to you, we can quickly start preparing your case after the collision and begin tracking your damages to bring your claim far sooner than the three-year deadline. Rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber hire independent contractors instead of regular employees. So, when preparing your case, it will likely be against the individual driver, not the larger rideshare company.

Call Our Lawyers in Corona for Help with Your Accident Case Today

Call The Carrion Law Firm’s Uber and Lyft accident lawyers at (718) 841-0083 for a free case assessment.