While we have had taxis for as long as automobiles have existed, our creative and ever-adapting marketplace has provided an alternative – share rides such as Uber, Lyft, and even Joyride. While all of these are great alternatives, they are not without risks. What happens if you get in an accident while in an Uber? Does Uber pay if you get in an accident? What does Uber cover in an accident?
There are many reasons consumers want and need an alternative. Deaths and injuries (not to mention punitive criminal and civil liability) can be avoided when someone who has been drinking has an alternative to getting behind the wheel. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, but these days they can easily and readily reach out to a total stranger for help. These alternatives for taxis aren’t just for those who have imbibed. They provide transportation for those who don’t have an alternative or choose not to employ those that they do. Some share-ride services, such as Uber and Lyft, provide varying levels of comfort, convenience, and costs either in a car or SUV. Still others, such as Joyride, provide transportation in a much smaller defined service area in (or on) what are essentially 6-passenger golf carts.
Does Uber pay if you get in an accident?
Liability for automobile accidents generally arises from conduct the law labels as negligent. Negligence is the legal term for causing damages (personal injury and/or property damage) because of breaching a duty or standard of care – what a reasonably prudent person would do in like or similar circumstances. When motor vehicles are involved, those standards are defined, in principle part, by the “rules of the road” – the rules that govern the operation of motor vehicles on public highways. A passenger injured in a motor vehicle accident can generally recover damages from whoever causes the injuries – whoever acted negligently. This is true for the operator of any motor vehicle on public streets or highways, not just passenger cars.
In Alabama, we have a statutory exception to this liability for drivers whose negligence causes injuries to a passenger in their vehicle – Alabama’s Guest Statute. A non-paying passenger cannot recover damages from a driver with whom he is riding for injuries caused by the driver’s negligent conduct. This exception only applies to non-paying passengers – passengers who provide no consideration for the ride. There are a few exceptions to this statute.
Uber Car Accident Claims
If you are a passenger in a vehicle operating as an Uber or Lyft, it is as if you were a passenger in any other vehicle except that the Guest Statute does not apply because you are a paying passenger. The same holds true for Joyride or any other paid motor vehicle transportation. Of course, as a passenger in a share ride, you also have a claim against anyone else whose negligence causes your injuries, such as if the accident is due to the negligence of the driver of another vehicle that collides with the one in which you are a passenger.
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