Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyers Memphis TN

Skilled counsel for people injured in ridesharing vehicles in Tennessee

You need a ride to the train station or the airport, so you open an app on your phone and inside of five minutes a car is waiting for you outside. What would happen if that driver were to get in a car wreck? Depending on the situation, rather than filing a claim against Uber or Lyft, you might file the claim against the driver.

Uber and Lyft are the two biggest ridesharing apps in the industry. Because of the complexities of insurance coverage and issues involving liability, you can feel confident that your interests are being protected when you work with an experienced Memphis and Jackson Uber and Lyft accident injury lawyer from the law firm of Bailey & Greer, PLLC.

Riders in Lyft and Uber do not always use seat belts

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in 2022 that about 76% of all back-seat passengers wore seat belts – a pretty big jump from the 65.7% who wore them in 2021. While no recent data is available specifically for Uber, Lyft, or taxi services, Uber did start issuing push notifications in 2021 suggesting riders buckle up.

It goes without saying, but wearing a seat belt can save lives and help make a passenger more likely to survive a traffic crash.

It goes without saying, but wearing a seat belt can save lives and help make a passenger more likely to survive a traffic crash.

Liability in Uber and Lyft traffic crashes

Uber and Lyft have become a fixture in our busy, modern lives. These once fledgling enterprises have become huge companies which have disrupted the ground transportation industry in the United States. By connecting private drivers--essentially your neighbors with a side hustle--with passengers who need to go somewhere, Uber and Lyft are challenging traditional taxis and limousine services because they are cheaper and more convenient.

While the convenience of ridesharing is great, there are downsides to catching a ride from a stranger, even when done through an app on your phone. A research study published in the journal Southern Economic Association calls for government oversight to protect ridesharing passengers from driver error, vehicle parts failures, and violence from strangers.

Although they perform the same services as taxis and limos, Uber and Lyft are not considered common carriers. A common carrier has a duty to provide paying passengers a safe environment, and a common carrier’s vehicle is required to undergo periodic inspections. Common carriers can be sued when they breach the duty of care, and that breach results in injury to the passenger. Uber and Lyft drivers owe a duty to their passengers to provide a safe ride to their destination, but their duty of care is not at the level of a common carrier.

In the event of a crash, an Uber of Lyft passenger may be covered by the company's $1 million insurance policy, or the injured passenger may have to pursue a claim against the driver's insurance policy depending on the circumstances of the accident. As you might imagine, this is a complex area of law, and if you do not have the skilled services of an experienced Uber or Lyft accident injury lawyer, you may not recover all the compensation that is due to you.