If you have ever been in an Uber or Lyft, you know that the Uber or Lyft driver relies heavily on navigational equipment in their car to get you from point A and point B. This reliance on the navigational equipment to get you to a point the driver has probably never been before can create a hazard to other drivers as the driver constantly looks at their navigation app and could cause a Seattle car accident.

There is a high degree of attention that must be paid to the road when navigating Seattle streets due to the many one way streets, heavy traffic, hills, and fast drivers. If an Uber or Lyft driver is looking at their navigation device while driving in an unknown area with heavy traffic, they may get into a car accident because of their distracted driving that may cause injury to their passenger or other cars around them.

If you are in a car accident and are injured by the result of the negligence of an Uber or Lyft driver in Seattle who was distracted, there are many confusing insurance scenarios on who is responsible for the car accident. Uber and Lyft have certain legal requirements and varying insurance coverage depending on whether they are picking up a passenger, looking for a passenger, or off work. The insurance coverage required for each situation varies largely with each scenario.

If an Uber or Lyft driver has a passenger and is driving them to a destination, Seattle and Washington law requires Uber and Lyft to cover any liability charged to their driver as a result of their negligence that causes a car accident injury to their passengers or people in other cars. This is the time where Uber and Lyft will have their most insurance coverage for you. They are required to have $1,000,000 in insurance coverage.

However, if you are injured by an Uber driver who is searching for a passenger, the insurance coverage available to you may be far less. This insurance coverage may not be enough to cover any injury requiring a hospital visit and extensive physical therapy or chiropractic treatment, let alone a surgery.

Additionally, if you are injured by an Uber driver who is not actively searching for a passenger, their own insurance will cover your injuries. These Uber or Lyft drivers may only have the minimum insurance policy of $25,000 required for liability in Seattle and Washington State. If you are injured in an accident with minimum coverage, this amount may be exhausted with a hospital visit and extensive physical therapy of chiropractic treatment.

Moreover, if an Uber or Lyft driver does not have their ridesharing app on showing that they have a passenger or are looking for a passenger when the car accident happens, Uber and Lyft may claim no responsibility for the car accident and say that the driver must use their own insurance and they claim no responsibility for their driver even if their driver did in fact have a passenger or was actively searching for one. This comes into play even more so if there are no witnesses to prove otherwise.

For these reasons, it is a good idea to get a Seattle personal injury lawyer immediately following a car accident injury with an Uber or Lyft driver. Call today for a free consultation. Seattle personal injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement so their is never any out of pocket costs to you. This way everyone can afford a Seattle personal injury lawyer but you cannot afford not to have one.