As a passenger in a rideshare vehicle, you probably expected a quick and safe trip to your destination. However, a car crash leading to an injury can change your life in a moment.
Now, the complications begin. You want to know who is liable for this crash and the injuries that it caused. You will have a number of medical bills to pay, and you may be unable to work for weeks, leading to lost income. You want answers, and you want to have a swift recovery.
Many insurance companies are at play
Among the complications include the number of insurance companies that have a stake in the crash. This list may include carriers that cover the injured person, the ridesharing driver, the ridesharing company and the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash.
An additional complication is that ridesharing companies typically rely on independent contractors – not employees. This detail often is an excuse used by ridesharing companies to wash their hands of any liability.
Negligence can point to different parties
But the responsibility for a ridesharing craft may shift to any of these candidates:
- Ridesharing companies: These firms will aggressively defend themselves, citing that their drivers are not employees. But, perhaps, they failed to perform proper background checks or neglected to properly train them.
- Ridesharing drivers: Once again, without proper training, drivers may commit certain errors. Surprisingly, sometimes a driver’s only qualification to work for a ridesharing firm is that they own a car. And there have been occasions in which the driver was relying on a car owned by someone else.
- Drivers of the other vehicles: Their actions may have led to the crash, whether ignoring traffic laws or through distraction and inattention.
Wading through these complications is necessary for proper resolution.
Moving on after an accident
As you can see, liability in ridesharing-related crashes may have a merry-go-round effect. Blame may fall on the shoulders of different parties. Regardless, you must focus on recovering and hiring a New Jersey rideshare accident lawyer who will fight to get the compensation you deserve.