Practice Areas Car Accidents Lyft Accidents

Car Crash Lawyers Representing Boca Raton Residents

Lyft is one of many growing companies that offer ride-sharing services to South Florida residents. A ride-share service, like Lyft or Uber, utilizes an app installed on a person’s smartphone to call a driver, who then brings passengers to locations throughout the area. With so many of these drivers on the road, some of them unfamiliar with the places or routes desired, accidents sometimes occur. If you are in this situation, you should not hesitate to consult a Boca Raton Lyft accident attorney to protect your rights. The knowledgeable car accident lawyers at The Grife Law Firm assist passengers of Lyft drivers and people in other cars that are struck by Lyft drivers with seeking proper compensation from any responsible parties.

Driver Insurance Requirements and Liability for a Lyft Accident

Lyft drivers are usually operating their own vehicles, or sometimes a rental for the purpose of driving, and therefore they carry their own insurance policies to cover accidents. These policies may only meet the minimum requirements, which in Florida, are only $10,000 for personal injury protection (PIP) to cover a driver’s own injuries and nothing for bodily injury liability insurance to cover others. Lyft also carries its own insurance policies, with limits reaching $1 million for passengers injured while using the service. However, these policies often are not paid out without a fight, so it is important to consult a personal injury attorney who can assert your rights.

Drivers may be held responsible when they engage in negligent actions. To show negligence and recover damages to compensate for a victim’s injuries, a plaintiff must show that they were owed a duty of care by the defendant and that the duty was breached. A plaintiff must also establish that the breach caused their injuries and resulted in damages. A Lyft driver who is excessively speeding in order to pick up another ride, or otherwise acting recklessly, and strikes another car, pedestrian, or bicyclist would be found to be acting unreasonably and therefore negligently.

Lyft may also be held accountable as an entity for injuries sustained in these types of accidents. Although the company does not consider their drivers to be employees but instead independent contractors, arguments contradicting these assertions may be credible if they are established properly. As a result, companies like Lyft sometimes may be held vicariously liable for the negligence of their drivers. Lyft may also be directly liable in situations in which the company itself failed to adhere to proper hiring or retaining practices when employing drivers. Consulting a knowledgeable car accident attorney who can gather the proper evidence and evaluate your circumstances may be vital to the outcome of your case.