It’s hard to beat the convenience and efficiency of rideshare services. With the tap of a finger, you can schedule or call a ride that will be at your door within minutes, ready to take you just about anywhere in the city.
But the easy nature of Uber and Lyft means that many users become complacent and forget about the fact that they still face the risk of auto accidents and are at the mercy of their drivers’ attention, focus, and skill behind the wheel.
It’s easy to forget about the risk of a crash when someone else is driving and you’re using your phone, chatting with your passenger, or even catching up on work. But rideshare crashes are real and more common than you think, and they can often result in passengers suffering serious injuries. If you’re involved in a rideshare crash, here’s what you need to know.
Getting Medical Attention Is Paramount for Your Health and Your Rights
Being involved in an auto accident is always shocking, but it can be even more jarring when the crash occurs and you had no warning, even by a few seconds, it was coming. That’s often the case with rideshare crashes, as passengers often have much less awareness of the road than drivers. Rideshare passengers are often less able to brace themselves, which can make serious injuries more likely.
Regardless of the perceived severity of your injuries, it’s important to get medical treatment as soon as possible after the crash. Many injuries are internal or involve soft tissue, and shock and adrenaline can hide pain, muscle tears, and even internal bleeding for hours or days. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you can be on the mend.
Seeing a doctor also definitively links your injuries to the rideshare accident. If you wait too long or don’t see a doctor at all, the insurance company and the rideshare service will be skeptical that your injuries happened during the crash.
Getting a Lawyer Is the Next Step
It’s important to get a lawyer after an auto accident involving another driver when you were behind the wheel of your own vehicle. It’s just as, if not more, important to call a lawyer after an accident in a rideshare vehicle. That’s because you won’t just be dealing with the insurance company—you’ll also be dealing with the rideshare service and driver, both of which may be combative or uncooperative.
Our Oklahoma Uber and Lyft accident lawyers know all of the state’s laws concerning Uber and Lyft accidents, including liability, types and amount of compensation passengers are entitled to receive, and even which crashes are eligible for personal injury claims. If you go it alone, you may find the insurance company and the rideshare service pointing fingers at each other—or even at you—resulting in frustration and no settlement.
Rideshare Accident Claims Aren’t Easy. But We’re Here to Help.
When you tap your smartphone screen confirming an Uber or Lyft pickup, you don’t expect the ride to end in a crash and serious, painful injuries. But there are countless rideshare crashes on Oklahoma’s roadways every year—and many of them severely disrupt passengers’ lives.
At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, our attorneys work hard to help injured victims get the compensation they need when others’ negligence puts them in harm’s way. We’re used to fighting against uncooperative insurance companies, and going up against multi-billion-dollar rideshare services is no different.
Contact us today to get the professional, dedicated legal representation you need after your rideshare crash. We’ll work hard to determine exactly how much money you’re owed. Then, we’ll fight to get you every penny.
