Lyft Passenger Accident Claims
Have you been in an accident involving Lyft? Were you the passenger? Do you need to make a claim?
As millions of people use rideshare companies to get around, there is a lack of understanding of what happens when being injured in a Lyft accident as a passenger.
Negretti & Associates has prepared this list of frequently asked questions, as a way of helping riders understand the potential issues that may arise when filing Lyft passenger accident claims.
The answer is yes — but with the help of a personal injury attorney. Reporting a claim to Lyft is no different from reporting a claim to an insurance company. Yet, you should be careful about what you say, so that your answers are not used against you later. The same thing goes when reporting the accident claim through the Lyft app. Be careful about what you write.
A personal injury attorney can provide you with valuable advice before reporting your Lyft passenger accident.
Lyft typically employs a claims handling company to process all accident claims. These claims handling companies are not in business to help you, the passenger. They are in business to save Lyft money! If they can trap you into saying or doing something that is contrary to your interests, they will.
Be wary of the claims department, no matter how nice they may seem on the phone. For example, a claims adjuster may ask for a recorded statement. This may seem harmless. But that recorded statement can come back to bite you later.
Other common tricks include asking you to sign a medical authorization and failing to educate you on health insurance reimbursement rights.
This gets a little tricky. If another vehicle caused your accident, that vehicle’s insurance provider would be the primary payor of any losses you suffered.
Next in line might be your insurance company, if you have underinsured coverage (“UIM”). We call this the secondary payor.
Your medical payment provision may also apply, regardless of who is primary or secondary. If you do not have UIM insurance coverage, or your policy limits are not enough to fully cover your losses, Lyft has insurance that may cover you. Coverage applicability and limits typically depend on the status of the Lyft driver at the time of your accident.
You have multiple options to file a claim. You can do so through the Lyft app, or you can contact Lyft through their website. Again, at Negretti & Associates, we wouldn’t recommend initiating a Lyft claim until you have consulted with a personal injury attorney, to better understand how to navigate the claims handling process.
It depends. Settlement amounts or judgments (if a case ends up in a courtroom) can vary greatly. This is because no one claim looks exactly like another claim. Your pain and suffering will be different from someone else’s pain and suffering. Your specific medical needs are unique to you and effect your case’s total value.
Keep this in mind: Lyft will ask you for a confidentiality agreement if they settle your claim with you. We believe you should be compensated for keeping things confidential and have been successful in securing additional compensation if you are asked to sign this type of agreement.
The statute of limitations — the deadline to file your claim — is set by the state law, where the accident occurred. For example, in Arizona and California, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the accident. In Colorado, it is 3 years from the date of the accident.
Lyft does not accelerate these deadlines. If you make a claim within the applicable time limit, and/or file a lawsuit to preserve your right to do so, you will be fine.
Contact Negretti & Associates. Not only are we familiar with Lyft and the handling process for Lyft claims, but we can also use our skills to convince Lyft to respond in a timely fashion and resolve your claim for a fair amount.
Bottom line, if you feel that it’s necessary to file a Lyft passenger accident claim, contact Negretti & Associates for a free consultation first. Call us at 602-531-3911 in Arizona, 619-777-3370 in California, or 720-636-3444 in Colorado. Or, you can click here to contact us with our online Get in Touch form.
