How an Uber Accident Lawyer Can Help You

All car accidents are difficult to deal with, but when an accident involves a driver who works for Uber or Lyft, the situation becomes vastly more complex and potentially very frustrating. Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft provide insurance for their drivers, but the policies only cover certain situations. Moreover, the companies and their insurance providers can bring in an array of aggressive corporate attorneys to argue why you are responsible for the accident and they shouldn’t have to pay a dime.

With the circumstances stacked against you, the best way to get the advice and advocacy you need to succeed is to work with an experienced Uber accident lawyer as soon as possible after the collision. Attorneys working on behalf of the insurance companies will be using all the tricks in the book to get you to do something to jeopardize your claim for damages, and it is important to be prepared right from the start. Here are some of the many ways an Uber or Lyft accident attorney can assist after a collision.

Protecting You From Trick Tactics and Harassment

When it comes to determining legal liability for an accident and determining who has to pay for the injuries and damage, what happened before the accident is important, but what happens after the accident is important too. If you say “I’m sorry” to anyone at any time after the crash—even if you just say it to be polite or express sympathy—your words can be used by the insurance company as an admission that you are accepting responsibility for the accident. 

Or if you say “I’m fine” to reassure others or you don’t get medical treatment quickly, those words and actions can also be used to deny your claim for the injuries you suffer. You need to be extremely cautious about what you say and do after an Uber accident.

Insurance companies and possibly representatives from the rideshare company may demand that you answer questions and provide a statement. They may offer an undervalued settlement and pressure you to accept it before you have time to assess the full extent of your injuries and know what your claim is truly worth.

When you work with a dedicated Uber accident attorney, your legal advisor can protect you from all of it. If someone asks you a question, you just tell them to talk to your attorney. You are spared the harassing phone calls so you can focus on putting your life back together. And because a knowledgeable accident lawyer knows what to say and do to protect your rights after an accident, you won’t have to worry about making a mistake that could hurt you in the long run.

Investigating and Gathering Evidence

To recover compensation for your losses after an Uber accident, you need to be able to prove that someone else caused the accident and resulting injuries. This requires extensive amounts of evidence. When an accident involves an Uber driver, corporate attorneys may descend quickly to eliminate evidence, so it is important to act fast to gather and preserve anything that can indicate causation.

Experienced attorneys understand how to locate and preserve evidence effectively. For instance, your attorney could get a subpoena to obtain footage from traffic cameras and security cameras before it can be erased or recorded over. Attorneys can help locate witnesses, and those witnesses are often more willing to speak to an attorney than to an unknown individual who contacts them out of the blue. Attorneys can also call on the services of experts at accident reconstruction who can take the evidence and prepare models or schematics showing the actions that led up to the accident.

Negotiating with Insurance Companies

Insurance companies often offer settlements early on in the process to tempt accident victims into thinking that they don’t need a lawyer because they’ve already “won” the case. However, the attorneys and adjusters who work for insurance companies have extensive experience valuing claims, and they will make initial offers that are far less than the claim’s actual value.

Personal injury attorneys who help Uber accident victims recover maximum compensation know that it can take time to understand the full value of a claim because it is necessary to determine what the long-term effects of the accident will be. An attorney can make an estimate at the beginning of the case and use that as a yardstick to measure the adequacy of settlement offers received. Usually, it will take extensive negotiation before the insurance company is willing to pay an amount even close to what the claim is worth. When doctors are able to give an informed opinion about the potential for maximum medical recovery and any long-term effects, then a skilled attorney will prepare a demand letter requesting full compensation for each and every consequence of the accident. It takes years of experience and intimate familiarity with legal precedent to be able to recognize and demonstrate the value of a claim, and it’s one of the most important services your attorney can provide for you.

Managing Discovery and Representation in Court

While it’s true that most accident injury cases settle out of court, insurance companies and corporate attorneys are only willing to settle for a fair amount after you’ve proven that you are prepared to succeed with your claim in court. It is often necessary to start the litigation process to get the results you are entitled to. 

A knowledgeable Uber accident lawyer can use the discovery process to gain valuable information during the early phases of the litigation process. If the insurance companies still refuse to provide fair compensation even after you’ve made arguments based on evidence in negotiation, then your attorney knows how to present the arguments and evidence to the judge to get the full damage award you are entitled to receive.

Learn More About the Ways We Can Help You Recover After an Uber Accident

Dealing with the aftermath of a car or truck accident can be an overwhelming process, but help is available. An experienced accident attorney knows the confusion and frustration you are dealing with and can help you find the resources you need to move forward with medical and financial recovery. 

At Michael M. Day Law Firm, LLC, we know how to deal with the complicated insurance situations involved in accidents with Uber and Lyft drivers, and we work effectively to protect your rights and ensure that you receive a full and fair recovery. The earlier we start working with you, the more assistance we can provide, and since we work on a contingency fee basis, you don’t pay any more for the extra time we spend with you. In fact, you don’t pay anything until we succeed with your case. We get great satisfaction from helping ordinary people defeat the corporate attorneys and insurance companies associated with rideshare companies. So contact us today to schedule a free consultation to find out how we can help you recover.