5 Things Uber & Lyft Drivers MUST DO if You Get into a Serious Accident

It seems almost every day I’m getting emails from drivers who get into accidents when driving for Uber and Lyft and, honestly, they just don’t know what to do. What are the next steps they should take?

Well, you can be the best driver in the world, unfortunately, you can’t control what other people are doing out on the road and so what that means is the more you drive, unfortunately, the more likely you are to get into an accident.

Today I’ve got Brian Greening, he’s a lawyer from LegalRideshare who specializes in working with Rideshare drivers, and he’s actually going to explain what you need to do and what you need to know in case you get into a serious accident while driving for Uber and Lyft. All right, Brian, you’re ready? Take it away.

What should you do when you get in an accident?

Brian Greeing: Hi, Harry, Brian here from the LegalRideshare Lounge. I understand that some of your followers have some questions about what to do in a serious accident. We’re here today to help. What we want to do is we want to paint a scenario of a situation that you may find yourself in. Imagine you’re driving, you’ve got a passenger in the backseat, you’re on a main freeway. All of a sudden somebody rear ends you sending the car into a tailspin, you lose control and crash. What do you do?

Make sure everyone is ok

The first thing you want to do is make sure that everybody in your vehicle is okay. You need to check yourself, and your passenger for injuries because that’s going to dictate your next steps. If there are injuries, if you feel pain or if your passenger feels pain, you need to call an ambulance right away because everybody’s wellbeing is obviously the most important.

Call the police

You want to make sure that you call the police to come to the scene immediately. The reason why police are so important is that they’re going to document this event. They’re going to collect evidence, take pictures, take measurements, talk to witnesses and collect witness information. Information that’s collected at the scene is vital to your insurance claim and potential lawsuit down the road.

Do not admit fault!

You do not want to admit fault, and you really should avoid apologizing because those facts, and those statements come into the police report and indicate fault. When the police arrive at the scene, and they take measurements, and they take statements, they’re going to be the ones who determine who caused the accident. Down the road, when the lawyers and the insurance companies collect all that information and review all the facts, they’re going to assign fault. You don’t need to do yourself a disservice by making those assessments for them

Make sure you’re not injured

If you’re feeling pain after an accident, it’s important that you tell the police where those pains are and how you’re feeling so that those facts can be documented in the accident report. A lot of people, after an accident, are in shock. There’s a lot of adrenaline flowing, but you need to make sure that you’re being honest with yourself about how you feel. There’s a line in every police report that says whether or not a driver indicated injury.

It’s better if you are injured that that line says, “Yes he or she did,” because that’s going to be used as evidence down the road. If you need an ambulance, don’t be a hero. Take the ambulance, get to the hospital, get checked out. If they end up saying that it’s no big deal, you’re really okay, well then no harm, no foul. What they may find is something more serious and then you’re starting your treatment right away. You’re getting medical documentation right away and that’s going to make for a stronger insurance claim or lawsuit down the road.

Contact an injury lawyer

In any injury claim, it’s important to contact an injury lawyer. LegalRideshare is the only law firm in the US that’s entirely dedicated to Uber and Lyft accident, injury claims. We’re the ones who are going to be able to sort through all of the insurance information, who’s going to protect you for the damages that you sustained. When we talk about damages, we’re talking about the cost of your medical treatment.

We’re talking about wage loss, pain and suffering, temporary or permanent disability. The reason to call a lawyer is that we’re going to add value to each one of those elements of damages that unfortunately insurance companies don’t always provide to non-attorneys.

Harry, I hope this helps you and your followers. If you ever need anything or ever have any future questions, please call LegalRideshare. Consultations are always free, and I’m always happy to chat.