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Rideshare services have gained immense popularity in recent years, and around 36% of adults in the United States have used a rideshare service at some point. Modern rideshare services have been around since about 2009, and Boulder rideshare accident lawyers have been helping victims of rideshare accidents since the business model’s inception.
All drivers, perhaps even more importantly rideshare drivers, must drive safely to prevent foreseeable accidents. Passengers trust rideshare drivers to safely transport them to their destinations and are devastated when those drivers fail to do so. If you are the victim of a rideshare accident, call a Boulder car accident attorney at (800) 863-5312 for your free consultation.
John (Jack) Zinda
Founder / CEO
Over 100 years of combined experience representing injured victims across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationWhat can a boulder car accident attorney do FOR YOU?
A lawyer who has experience handling rideshare accident cases starts by helping you file a claim against the correct person or company in the correct court within the statute of limitations. In Colorado, the statute of limitations allows victims three years from the date of the accident to file personal injury claims against defendants who caused the injury. While a victim without a lawyer might struggle to determine the appropriate claim for the accident, it is second nature for a personal injury attorney to properly state the correct elements of a legal claim as applied to a particular case.
Next, the attorney starts the discovery phase of litigation. During discovery, the parties exchange the information they have gathered to uncover all the facts of the case. Both the plaintiff and the defendant interview potential witnesses and answer interrogatories to see how the accident occurred from various perspectives. This sets the stage for the attorney to negotiate a settlement and pursue compensation.
The victim’s compensation typically comes in the form of economic damages and noneconomic damages. The parties (in a settlement) or the jury (in a trial) determine economic damages by calculating the amount of money the victim spent on medical bills, missed work wages, and any other expenses related to the accident. Non-economic damages are calculated to compensate the victim for their pain and suffering.
Neil Solomon
Partner
Real results matter. We do not get paid unless we win your case.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationWhat happens if you are in an accident in a Lyft?
Victims of accidents are often confused about their next steps. How quickly should you file your claim? Is it even worth the trouble? Read the following steps to find out what happens if you are in an accident in a Lyft, though no amount of preparation can replace the insight of an experienced lawyer who is on your side:
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
Standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ready to answer in your time of need.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationDo Not Admit Fault
Fault will make or break your personal injury case, which is why you should not admit or discuss fault after the accident with the other parties on the scene. The person who was at fault for the accident will be liable for the injuries he or she caused. Finding fault requires you to gather as many facts about the case as possible from as many perspectives as you can. Colorado is a comparative negligence state, which means that the victim can still recover for his or her injuries even if he or she was partially at fault for the Boulder Uber accident. The victim’s compensation will simply be reduced by the percentage of fault that the victim has to take for the accident.
Sometimes, drivers will admit at the scene of the accident that they were at fault because they were on their phone, eating, or driving distracted in other ways. Then the drivers might change their tune later once they realize the weight of their liability. A Boulder car accident lawyer can help you navigate that tricky terrain.
Cole Gumm
Attorney
We are here to ensure you won’t have to face this difficult time alone.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationCall 911
If you can, call the police immediately after an accident. This ensures that officers and first responders will respond to the crash and that you receive treatment for any injuries. You should also provide as much detail to the police as possible about the other driver, including the vehicle they were driving and any witnesses to the crash. You will need the police to get a record of the crash and ensure cooperation of all parties involved.
Seek Medical Attention If Injured
You may not be able to complete some of the other steps if your injuries require you to leave the accident scene and get emergency medical treatment. However, looking after your physical health immediately following an accident is extremely important. Even if you did not sustain the kind of injuries that require emergency medical treatment, you should still visit your doctor soon after the accident. You may have sustained injuries that did not seem serious at the time but worsened in the following days, weeks, or months. Perhaps you developed persistent post-concussive symptoms that could indicate that you sustained a traumatic brain injury; or maybe you have numbness in your legs that could indicate a serious spinal injury.
Importantly, keep track of all your appointments, including the healthcare provider you visited, what you paid for the visit, and your actual treatment. This will prove not only what your injury cost you financially, but also the very fact that you were injured and the amount of pain and suffering you endured because of the injury.
Gather Evidence at the Accident Scene
Once you have assessed the immediate state of your injuries, exit your car if possible and gather evidence at the scene of the accident. Talk to the people directly involved in the accident, including the rideshare driver and the drivers of other vehicles that were affected, and make sure everyone is okay. Get the names and contact information of those people and any witnesses who saw the accident happen.
Additionally, ensure that the police writes a crash report. The crash report becomes public record after a few days, and it includes important details about how the reporting officer believes the accident happened. You can use this information to help prove liability. Finally, while you are still at the accident scene, take as many pictures as you can. Try to get the damage to the vehicles, your surroundings, and the place the accident occurred.
Hire a Lawyer
Now that you can explain roughly how the accident happened, who was involved, and who is to blame, consider hiring a Boulder car accident attorney to file your claim, work with the other parties through discovery, and negotiate your settlement. We mentioned earlier that there is a three-year limit on the amount of time you have to file your claim. Speak to a lawyer soon after your accident so that you do not miss that time limit.
Who to sue in a Boulder Lyft accident
In cases that involve rideshare vehicles, determining who to name in a lawsuit can be confusing at best. You probably think the driver directly caused the accident, but he or she may have been working during that time. As a result, you may automatically assume that Uber or Lyft should be responsible for the accident. The truth is, the parties you can sue in a Boulder Uber accident could vary case by case. In rideshare cases, only the rideshare driver is liable for the accident when he or she is not driving for the rideshare service at the time of the accident.
Importantly, the rideshare service may attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the accident by arguing that the driver is an independent contractor. Rideshare companies have generally been successful making this argument in the past, but courts are becoming increasingly skeptical of that argument. If you were not the passenger of the Uber or Lyft driver, find out if there was a passenger. This will also affect rideshare company involvement.
How to stay safe while using rideshare services
Boulder rideshare accident lawyers can help you with personal injury cases, which means they can help you when a rideshare driver behaves negligently. While there are many different causes of a Boulder Lyft accident, for example, negligence cases do not cover all of the risks associated with using rideshares. Rideshare services are extremely convenient and keep drunk drivers off the roads, but there are still risks of criminal activity specific to using rideshare services.
For instance, drivers will sometimes impersonate rideshare drivers to pick up rideshare passengers waiting for their real rideshare drivers to come. These imposters sometimes go to the trouble of including the logo of a rideshare service to convince the waiting passengers to climb into the car. If they successfully get someone to climb into their car, the rideshare driver impersonators may cause harm.
Fortunately, rideshare passengers can protect themselves from kidnapping and other criminal activities, often by using features that are already in the rideshare apps. Here’s how to use a combination of those app features and maintain awareness of your surroundings to stay safe while using a rideshare service:
Establish Familiarity with Your Driver
Many rideshare driver apps allow you to view the profile of your driver before he or she arrives. The profile often includes a picture of the driver, the driver’s name, and the driver’s ratings given by previous passengers. If the ratings appear negative or if you are otherwise uncomfortable with something about the driver’s profile, you can cancel the ride before the driver arrives and request a new driver.
Another way to establish familiarity with your driver is to ask your driver for his or her name when he or she arrives and ask who the passenger is. If the driver is indeed your rideshare driver, then he or she should be able to provide all of the names you request without any issue.
Let Your Loved Ones Know Where You Are
Other helpful features of the app allow the user to automatically let friends and family know where he or she is. Uber’s “Share Status” feature and Lyft’s “Send ETA” feature allow the passenger to select recipients of a message containing the rideshare driver’s name and profile picture, the license plate number, and the passenger’s location.
If the rideshare service you use does not have a comparable feature, simulate that feature on your own by taking a picture of the vehicle’s license plate before you climb in and send that picture to your friends and family. You can also share your location with friends or family through Google Maps.
Stay in a Group
Kidnappers usually target one person to victimize, since more than one person could be more difficult for the driver to control. Sticking with a group can help prevent you from standing out as a potential victim. There are also more eyes and ears in a group to pick up on suspicious activity.
Instead of waiting for your driver outside alone, wait inside until the app notifies you that your driver is there to pick you up. You should sit in the middle of the back seat for two reasons: First, it keeps an appropriate distance between you and the driver; second, it allows you to get out on either side of the vehicle to avoid climbing out of the car into traffic. Importantly, you may not even have to ride home by yourself. Lyft and Uber have carpool services so that you can share part of your route with another passenger.
Speak with one of Zinda law group’s Boulder rideshare accident lawyers about your boulder uber accident
If you were injured in a rideshare accident in Boulder, call Zinda Law Group’s Boulder Rideshare accident lawyers now. At Zinda Law Group, we have the knowledge and resources necessary to help you pursue the highest compensation possible. Our Zinda Law Group attorneys can provide personalized, confidential consultations about the specifics of your legal claim. Moreover, the sooner you contact our office, the better we may be able to serve you.
Additionally, Zinda Law Group offers a No Win, No Fee Guarantee, meaning that you will not pay us unless we win your case. Let an experienced Boulder car accident lawyer handle the frustrating, time-consuming, and technical parts of your case for you. Call (800) 863-5312 to talk to an attorney at Zinda Law Group during a free consultation.
Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
We have successfully represented clients in a wide variety of cases across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free Consultation
