If you were injured in a Lyft accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. However, unlike a typical car accident, a Lyft accident may have different insurance coverages depending on the situation. Determining the party with whom you should file can be confusing, but a Lyft accident lawyer in Port St. Lucie, FL can help you sort it out.
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine offers free case reviews. During these consultations, our legal team can answer your questions, address your concerns, and explain your legal options for recovering compensation for your Lyft accident. Our Port St. Lucie Lyft accident lawyers are ready to help.
Possible Causes of Lyft Accidents in Port St. Lucie
Our team understands the value of determining what caused your Lyft accident in Port St. Lucie. Whether you were operating a vehicle for Lyft, riding as a passenger, or involved as a third party, we can help.
We focus on assessing the facts surrounding your unique situation when you contact us. We understand accidents can occur when drivers:
- Get distracted
- Drive while fatigued
- Drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
These contributing factors can cause drivers to act in an aggressive or dangerous manner while behind the wheel. For example, drivers may cut across traffic, ignore traffic signals, tailgate, or exceed the speed limit.
Any of these activities could contribute to a Lyft accident. Contact us today to describe your memories of the collision. We’ll take steps to support your story by gathering evidence about what happened.
Take These Steps Following Your Lyft Accident in Port St. Lucie
The steps you take following an accident involving a Lyft driver can impact the results of your claim. Our team recommends that you:
Stop Your Vehicle
You can face criminal charges in Port St. Lucie if you leave the scene of an accident. Therefore, we recommend that you remove your vehicle from the flow of traffic but stay at the scene of the accident.
Contact the Police
It’s important to report all accidents involving property damage, injuries, or loss of life to the police in Port St. Lucie. Taking this step allows police officers to file an accident report on your behalf, which helps support your side of the story.
Collect Evidence
Work proactively after a Lyft accident by gathering evidence from the scene of the accident. Take pictures of your vehicle damage and injuries. If you can, take pictures of the position of the vehicles immediately after the accident.
Get Contact Details
Speak to the other drivers involved in the accident and any witnesses. Collect contact information from all involved parties to share with your lawyer.
Seek Medical Care
Did you sustain an injury in your Lyft accident? If so, make sure that you seek treatment for your injuries. You may also need to contact an ambulance if someone experienced serious injuries in the collision.
Consider Working With a Lawyer
You don’t have to handle your case alone. A Lyft accident attorney in Port St. Lucie from our firm can handle your case while you rest and recover.
Recovering Compensation If You Were a Passenger in a Port St. Lucie, FL, Lyft Accident
Lyft passengers can make a claim if their driver caused an accident. Below are your options for recovery if you were a passenger in a Lyft crash.
Filing a Claim if the Lyft Driver’s Negligence Caused the Accident
If your Lyft driver caused you to suffer injuries in an accident, you would turn to Lyft’s liability policy to recover compensation.
Lyft provides $1 million in liability insurance if the Lyft driver’s negligence caused the accident. This should cover your damages—medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earnings, and pain and suffering. Anyone injured in the accident (aside from the Lyft driver) will be eligible to recover from this policy.
Filing a Claim if Another Party’s Negligence Caused the Accident
If another driver’s negligence caused your Lyft accident, you may be able to file a claim with that party. However, you will likely first turn to your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage to cover a portion of your medical bills and lost wages. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you can quickly eclipse the $10,000 policy limit.
In this case, you may be able to file a claim against that driver’s liability insurance policy. To do so, you must first prove you meet the serious injury threshold to step outside the no-fault system. A serious injury is one that causes:
- “Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function;
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement;
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement;
- Death”
Our team can examine your situation and explain your options for compensation.
If You Were a Driver or Passenger in Another Vehicle in a Lyft Accident
If you suffered injuries in a vehicle struck by a car driven by a Lyft driver, whose insurance applies depends on who is at fault and if the Lyft driver was accepting rides or carrying a rider.
The Lyft Driver Is Not Logged into the Lyft App
If the Lyft driver was not on the app waiting to be connected to a rider, their personal insurance should cover your injuries. But remember that Florida is a no-fault state, so you will likely first turn to your PIP protection. If you exhaust your PIP coverage and meet the serious injury exception (discussed above), you can file with the Lyft driver’s personal insurance policy.
The Driver Is Logged into the Lyft App But Has Not Accepted a Ride Request
If “driver mode” is on but the Lyft driver has not accepted a ride request, the driver’s personal insurance should cover your injuries. However, many insurance companies will deny a claim when they find out their policyholder was driving for hire.
In this case, Lyft’s contingency liability insurance policy applies. Under this policy, you can recover up to the following limits:
- $50,000 per person
- $100,000 per accident
- $25,000 for property damage
The Lyft Driver Is Carrying a Rider
If the Lyft driver was carrying a passenger when they caused your accident, Lyft’s liability insurance applies. This $1 million policy applies to every party injured in the accident (aside from the Lyft driver).
Potential Compensation After a Lyft Accident in Port St. Lucie
The damages available in a Lyft crash injury settlement are similar to those available after a typical car wreck. They might include:
Medical Bills
You can recover compensation for any medical expenses you incurred from the crash. This could include the costs of:
- Hospitalization
- Emergency care
- Surgeries
- Physical therapy
- Prescription medication
- Any necessary medical equipment (e.g., walkers, wheelchair, etc.)
Lost Wages
You can seek compensation for any time your injuries caused you to take off work.
Lost Earning Capacity
Your injuries may have kept you from returning to work full-time, required you to take a lesser paying job, or forced you to retire from the workforce. We can seek compensation for the money you should be earning.
Miscellaneous Expenses
This can include anything from the costs associated with renovating your home to accommodate your disability to the parking fees you paid at your doctor’s office.
Pain and Suffering
You can pursue compensation for the physical and emotional pain and suffering and inconvenience your accident and injuries caused you.
Mental Anguish
Car accidents can cause considerable mental anguish and even the development of mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. This may warrant compensation.
This is not an exhaustive list. To determine what other damages you may be entitled to, sit down with our team.
What a Port St. Lucie, FL, Attorney Can Do to Help
In every accident case, you must prove another driver was at fault for your injuries. That is where the Port St. Lucie personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine come in. With our decades of experience handling injury cases throughout Florida, we know what it takes to file a successful claim.
We will gather evidence and build a robust case to prove the at-fault party caused your accident and injuries. Evidence may come from:
- Your police report
- The statements of eyewitnesses
- Video surveillance footage
- Statements from experts
We focus on establishing negligence for the accident. This process requires us to show that someone owed you a duty of care, violated their duty, and caused the accident. We also take time to show that the accident directly led to your injuries and losses.
Once we have established the other party’s liability, we will negotiate with the insurance company to make sure you get a reasonable settlement. If we cannot reach an agreement, we can take the matter to court on your behalf.
Our Port St. Lucie Lyft Accident Attorney Can Help
If you have injuries from a Lyft accident, you are likely considering if you need to hire a car accident lawyer or if you can handle the case yourself. Before you make any decisions that could affect your right to compensation, contact the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine by phone or through our online form for a free consultation.
We Can Help.
