$250k Settlement Bike versus Rideshare Accident

Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers Obtain a $250,000 Settlement against Rideshare Company

Imagine riding your bike in a San Francisco bike lane, just as you’ve done hundreds of times before. But today, an Uber driver crashes into your bike and crushes your body under the car’s tires. What would you do next?

Severe bike vs. rideshare accidents are happening across California, especially in busy cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose. Distracted drivers, drunk rideshare drivers, and even driverless Ubers are adding dangers to our roads.

If there’s any good news about bike vs. rideshare accidents, it’s that victims can take action against rideshare drivers and their insurance companies.

Securing a Settlement Against a Rideshare Company

Here’s an example of an actual accident in San Francisco where we obtained a valuable settlement on behalf of a cyclist who was injured by a rideshare driver. She was a 26-year-old account executive and avid bicyclist, and the accident happened at the intersection of Webster Street and Lombard Street in San Francisco.

She suffered serious injuries, including deep lacerations to her face and one of her knees, when a rideshare driver hit her and knocked her off her bike. Her injuries required hospital treatment including stitches and she was left with extensive facial injuries and scarring.

After the accident, the cyclist quickly began to feel overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork and hassle she was experiencing from the health insurance company and rideshare company. Plus, she was barely able to leave her house due to her injuries. Unable to work and facing mounting bills, she contacted Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers.

We stepped in and took over some of the most challenging parts of her situation, including handling the insurance process and working with the rideshare company. Despite the issue of low insurance limits, we insisted that the rideshare company tap into an available excess insurance policy.

One of the keys to the $250,000 settlement in this situation was carefully documenting the cyclist’s pain and suffering. We showed exactly how much her life and health had been impacted by the rideshare driver and made a compelling case the insurance company couldn’t ignore. Her settlement finally allowed her to stop stressing out about the legal process and focus on her recovery.

How to Put More Money in Your Pocket After Your Accident

The case described above put more than $165,000 in the cyclist’s pocket and covered her medical bills, including a $4,000 surgery to improve the scarring on her face and body. Imagine what a relief this was for a young professional just starting her career in San Francisco.

After an accident like this, you can work with an experienced bike and rideshare accident attorney to build a solid case and stand up to the rideshare company. They may or may not want to take responsibility for what happened, but you can put pressure on the insurance company to pay up. California’s lawmakers are also scrambling to update the law. Learn the latest here.

How Insurance Works After a Bike vs. Rideshare Accident

Uber requires its drivers to have auto insurance, but there’s never a guarantee of coverage for your accident. Coverage comes from one of the many partner policies that Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare drivers arrange through companies like Allstate, Progressive, and Liberty Mutual.

Did you know that the timing of your accident matters when it comes to insurance? That’s because rideshare drivers are only on the clock at certain times. Here’s how it works for Uber – and most rideshare companies handle it very similarly.

Period 1: The driver is offline or the app is off.

When the driver is not actively using the app and isn’t working, the driver’s personal insurance coverage applies. You’d need to pursue their auto insurance company, not the rideshare insurance.

Period 2: The driver is available or waiting for a ride request.

When the driver is working but not actively transporting a passenger, Uber maintains third-party liability coverage if personal auto insurance doesn’t apply. This includes $50,000 in bodily injury per person, $100,000 in bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 in property damage per accident.

Period 3: The driver is en route to pick up riders or is actively driving a passenger.

This is the active period when a driver is en route or driving passengers. Uber insurance is $1 million in third-party liability insurance, uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage, contingent comprehensive and collision coverage, and up to the cash value of the car with a $1,000 deductible.

As you can see, a bike vs. rideshare accident touches off a complex situation with the driver, their employer, and the insurance provider. That’s why it’s so valuable to have Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers on your team, fighting for the compensation you need.

Experience a serious Rideshare accident in San Francisco?

Check out our San Francisco Uber Accident Page to learn more about how the process works.

We Handle Your Personal Injury Claim So You Can Focus on Your Life

After a traffic injury, contact the attorneys at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers. We handle many areas of the law, including bicycle and rideshare accidents. We believe you should be able to focus on recovering while we handle the legal details.

We truly care about the people of San Francisco and all of California. Contact us today for a free online case evaluation.

Accident Client

If you’re someone who is considering an attorney for a personal accident, I highly recommend Sally Morin and her professional staff of attorneys. If you would like to know more details, feel free to contact me via Yelp and I would be happy to share more details. While I use Yelp quite often, I rarely post reviews… unless I’m truly blown away by great service (or angry with horrible service). If there were a sixth star, I would certainly give it to Rebecca and Sally!

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Check out our Personal Injury FAQ Page to learn more about how the process works.

We Handle Your Personal Injury Accident Claim So You Can Focus on Your Life

After an accident, contact the attorneys at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers. We handle many types of traffic injury claims. We believe you should be able to focus on recovering from your accident while we handle the legal details.

We truly care about the people of California. Contact us today for a
free online case evaluation.

KNOW HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AFTER AN ACCIDENT

It is essential to know your rights after a traffic accident so you can protect yourself and the value of your claim.
This guide will help you:

  • 1Know what to do when dealing with insurance claims, police reports and lawyers.
  • 2Avoid making mistakes that undermine the value of your claim
  • 3Put yourself in a position to get the best settlement possible