Uber and other ridesharing services provide a popular way to get around Miami and other cities in South Florida. Affordable and easy to use, Uber passengers have abandoned more traditional taxicab services in favor of these advantages.
With more Uber and other rideshare drivers on the road, however, there is also a greater risk of being in an accident. A Miami car accident lawyer from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help you if you are involved in an Uber accident in Miami.
The Risks Of Using An Uber
Despite their popularity, rideshare companies sometimes offer a different level of safety than taxis do due to a lack of regulation. Consequently, you may face a higher risk of accident and injury when you:
- Choose this mode of transportation
- Share the road with Uber drivers as a driver, pedestrians, or motorcyclists
- Become an Uber driver yourself
Even without the extra regulations, Uber does provide commercial insurance to protect passengers who sustain injuries while on a trip. However, this insurance only provides coverage when a driver is “on app.”
If you sustained serious injuries in a rideshare crash, you can make a compensation claim. Our Uber accident lawyer in Miami, FL, can help you fight for the financial settlement you deserve. If you’d like to learn more, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine offer a free case review.
Can You File An Insurance Claim For A Miami Uber Accident?
The same laws that allow you to pursue compensation for a regular Miami car accident apply to rideshare services like Uber. You can file an insurance claim—or a Miami personal injury lawsuit, if necessary—to get compensation for your injuries. The only challenge involves establishing who has liability for the accident.
Uber drivers operate as independent contractors rather than employees of the company. They must carry their auto insurance. Uber also provides a substantial liability policy but only offers coverage when the driver has a fare or is ready to pick up a rider. Consider the following circumstances:
- The company’s liability coverage should apply ifng your wreck you were riding in an Uber duri.
- If an Uber driver struck you or your vehicle, the responsible party will depend on whether the driver had a fare. If so, Uber’s policy should pay. If not, however, you will likely have to pursue compensation from the driver’s policy.
- If Uber attempts to deny your claim by citing the independent contractor status of its drivers, it may become necessary to file a lawsuit.
Having a lawyer represent you can help you negotiate this complex process. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine provide aggressive legal representation to Miami clients who sustained injuries in an Uber accident.
Other Possible Liable Parties
In rare cases, Uber and the Uber driver may not be responsible for an Uber accident or share responsibility with another party. Other potentially liable parties include:
- A mechanic who performed inadequate or faulty repair work on your or the other person’s vehicle
- An auto part manufacturer whose defective product contributed to the wreck
- A government entity that failed to order the timely repair of roadway hazards (e.g., a broken traffic light)
- A maintenance contractor that was tasked with fixing the road and did an inadequate job or left debris on the roadway
To get the right amount of compensation from the right parties, you can hire a personal injury attorney from our firm to investigate the accident on your behalf.
How Do We Determine The Value Of Your Uber Accident Claim?
Our legal team will determine the dollar value of your rideshare claim based on these factors:
- Your medical care costs to date
- Your lost wages to date
- Any other miscellaneous expenses
- Vehicle repair or replacement, if necessary
- Projected future medical costs
- Projected future lost wages
- Other future expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Other physical and emotional consequences
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Proving Economic Damages
Economic damages include any monetary losses connected with the accident. To document your costs to date, we can obtain copies of your:
- Doctor, hospital, and other medical bills
- Ambulance and emergency room costs
- Medication expenses
- Receipts for medical devices
We can obtain wage statements from your employer to substantiate lost wages and benefits. If the rideshare driver struck your vehicle, we can include any costs necessary to tow, repair, or replace it.
To accurately project your future costs, we can obtain statements from your doctors and, potentially, testimony from other medical experts who can reliably discuss your prognosis for recovery. Projecting your future income loss can also be challenging, particularly if your injuries prevent you from returning to work for an extended period.
Proving Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages refer to the physical and emotional toll the accident has had on you. While such injuries are difficult to quantify, we can do so by collecting:
- Statements from you, your loved ones, and anyone else who can attest to your change in health
- Statements from experts who can talk about the likely consequences of injuries like the ones you sustained
- Medical records to prove the existence of disability or scar tissue
Although no monetary settlement can truly reimburse you for a serious injury, fair financial compensation will enable you to get the treatment you need and keep a roof over your head. It will also send a clear message to Uber and other rideshare services and drivers, hopefully helping to prevent future injury accidents.
How Will Having An Uber Accident Lawyer From Our Firm Benefit You?
You can benefit from our compassionate and proactive approach and comprehensive resources when you trust the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine to help you with your Uber accident claim.
We Investigate Your Uber Accident
We understand the complexities of locating and analyzing the facts and evidence related to your accident, so we can quickly and accurately identify the at-fault party or parties. This allows us to build your claim and submit it to the appropriate insurance company immediately, helping you obtain a timelier settlement payout.
The more evidence we can collect regarding your case, the harder it will be for the liable party’s insurance company to deny responsibility or try to shift the blame onto you.
We Confront The Insurance Company
We protect your legal rights and ensure that the insurance company provides a fair settlement offer commensurate with the extent and severity of your injuries.
Sometimes, an insurance company—even your own—may express reluctance to pay what you are entitled to receive. They might:
- Claim you are partly responsible for the accident and, therefore, cannot claim as much in compensation
- Argue that you are exaggerating your injuries
- Push you to accept an inadequate settlement to make the case go away faster
Our accident attorney can review the applicable insurance policy and talk to all insurance company representatives for you. This removes the burden of negotiating from your shoulders and deprives insurers of the chance to manipulate you into sacrificing your rights and fair compensation.
We Make Your Life Easier
We can work tirelessly for you to ensure we answer all your questions and explain your options. We can fight to get you every dollar you deserve for your Uber accident and injuries. Just as important are the tasks we perform to put our clients’ minds at ease, such as:
- Providing frequent updates so you always know what is happening
- Explaining each new development and helping you decide how to respond to it
- Giving you your attorney’s number so you can call or text with questions at any time
- Helping you schedule appointments with doctors or mechanics, if you have not already done so
- Only charging attorney’s fees after we have gotten your compensation
As we work, you can focus on your recuperation and determining where you go from here.
We Go To Court If Necessary
If the insurance company refuses to offer an acceptable settlement or denies liability, we can build a strong and persuasive case to present on your behalf in court. We can work hard to demonstrate negligence and prove liability. This involves:
- Scheduling trial dates and appearing in court
- Submitting all paperwork, including evidence, legal briefs, and more
- Deciding which witnesses to call and preparing them to testify
How Will Our Personal Injury Lawyer Prove Liability In An Uber Accident Case?
To establish liability for your damages, we must prove the at-fault party’s negligence. To do this, we must show:
- The responsible party owed you a duty of care.
- They breached their duty of care.
- This breach caused your Uber accident and injuries.
- You suffered damages in the crash.
We can collect the evidence necessary to prove these details in your case. We may use a police report, eyewitness testimony, surveillance camera or dashcam video, and other proof to show who caused the crash. Once we collect adequate documentation of your damages, we can approach the responsible party’s insurance company for compensation.
Filing a Lawsuit After An Uber Accident In South Florida
If you were hurt in an Uber accident, you only have so much time to hold the other party accountable via a lawsuit. According to Florida Statutes § 95.11, most rideshare accident victims have two years to file a personal injury or wrongful death case. This time frame can fluctuate based on different factors. Still, getting started now instead of later is in your best interests.
If you delay building and filing your case, you might not meet the deadline in time. In that event, the court could bar you from collecting compensation from the other party. Our auto accident lawyer can help you comply with the two-year timeline if you inform us about your case soon enough.
You Can Consult Our Uber Accident Lawyer In Miami For Free Today
If you sustained injuries in an Uber accident in Miami, contact the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today. We understand how important it is for you to get good medical care so you can focus on healing. We also know how frightening and upsetting it can be to try to obtain a fair settlement from an insurance company.
Our personal injury firm can handle every aspect of your case, leaving you with fewer worries and more time to focus on getting your life back. Contact us today for a free case evaluation and learn more about how our Uber accident lawyer in Miami can serve you. We work on contingency, so we only receive compensation if you do.