Added on July 2, 2019  The News Wheel  Lyft , rideshare drivers , rideshare insurance , rideshare service , Uber

The Legal Options Available to Uber and Lyft Drivers Involved in Accidents

Uber and Lyft are becoming more and more popular across the world, and their tight grip on the market is becoming quite pronounced in some places. At the same time, working as a driver on this basis can have some downsides which not everyone considers at first. Most notably, liability in case of an accident is something you need to be very aware of, and you need to know what options are available to you in this case if you want to avoid trouble.

The good news is that you have various options at your disposal, and they can all work well depending on the specific situation. Being prepared beats everything by a large margin though – and it’s something you need to always have on your mind if you’re planning to do this kind of work for a living.

Insurance is crucial

There’s a reason Uber and Lyft both have mandatory insurance policies. The companies have realized long ago that they’re running a business prone to accidents, and people need to have some sort of coverage that will minimize the long-term risk. Unfortunately, you can’t expect Uber or Lyft themselves to provide that coverage for you. They will, however, require you to be insured on at least some minimal level in order to be eligible for working as a driver in the first place.

Familiarize yourself with the different insurance packages and their implications. It’s often not a good idea to go with the lowest possible option if you’re doing this thing professionally. Better insurance packages will cover you much more adequately in case of an accident, and may even leave you with no financial obligations at all.

Getting legal help

You should also know where you can turn in case you need legal assistance. Not every Uber and Lyft driver injury attorney is the same, and scouting the market for the best professionals can take time and effort. Things which you probably won’t have in too great quantities when dealing with something like a traffic accident and the fallout from it. You have to know exactly who you can call, and know that you can trust them to get the job done properly.

Make no mistake about this. Having an attorney is critical if you want to minimize the legal implications you’re going to face from the incident. Everyone can go wrong here and there, but you shouldn’t allow people to tear you apart in court over mistakes that were outside of your control. And sometimes, only a good attorney will be able to point out those issues in the story, and will provide you with the security you need.

Alternative funding sources

Paying for legal defense that’s not covered by your insurance can be costly though. Especially if you’re already dealing with other financial repercussions as a result of the incident. You should keep some money tucked away to cover the legal costs of a potential incident for this reason. You should also know what alternative options you have available for funding your defense in case you have to deal with a lawsuit.

Loans can be surprisingly viable here. You shouldn’t go into bankruptcy over this, of course – but if you look into the options available to you in this regard, you’ll probably find that a good credit product can allow you to completely cover your legal costs while the case is ongoing. If you end up winning and get reimbursed for some of your defense costs, you will have a much easier time repaying the loan. And even if you don’t get reimbursed, you’ll still be in a better situation compared to having to pay for that defense out of your own pocket.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that nothing is ever going to happen to you because you’re going to be careful. Remember that accidents can sometimes be caused by another driver in situations that are completely outside of your control. And don’t assume that you’ll win those cases by default, just because you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a matter of proving that in court, and that’s something you really can’t trust anyone but a proper legal expert to do. And with that in mind, don’t go cheap on your defense preparations.

This is a collaborative article.