Newark Rideshare Accident Lawyer

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Rideshares are more popular than ever. They’re often cheaper than traditional taxi services while also providing cost transparency, and they offer a chance to get a ride quickly without having to flag anyone down from the curb.

As with any other vehicle on the road, rideshare accidents can happen. Unlike other types of vehicular accidents, though, rideshare collisions pose complexities that can leave passengers and other drivers wondering who’s liable.

If you’ve been in a car accident with a rideshare vehicle, it’s essential that you turn to a Newark rideshare accident lawyer. Learn more about the challenges of these types of accidents and what to do if you’re in one.

Understanding Rideshare Accidents

New Jersey is a no-fault state, meaning your insurance will pay for a portion of the accident expenses whether you were at fault or not. The state requires all drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, and normally, this is what pays for medical expenses, lost wages, and more.

PIP insurance is not always enough, however, to cover catastrophic injuries, so is the ridesharing company ever liable?

The answer depends on when the accident occurred in relation to the driver’s rideshare status. If the driver was in their car but the ridesharing app was off, their own personal insurance is at play — not that of the ridesharing company.

If the driver is available, meaning their app is on and they’re waiting for a passenger to accept a ride, the ridesharing company covers liability.

When a driver is on their way to pick up a passenger who’s accepted a ride via the app or when they’re driving them to their destination, the company’s full insurance policy provides coverage.

Under New Jersey law, companies like Uber and Lyft have to carry commercial insurance policies with $1.5 million coverage limits. This would cover a passenger’s injuries if the driver caused an accident or if the driver of the other vehicle involved is uninsured.

These cases are complex, and they often require you to consider whether you have a limited or unlimited right to sue insurance. That could also affect your claim. If you don’t have an unlimited right to sue, you won’t be able to get non-economic damages.

Rideshare accidents involve a number of different insurance companies, so you need to have experienced lawyers in Newark ready to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Types of Injuries in Rideshare Accidents

Just like any kind of car accident, rideshare accidents can cause a variety of injuries.

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries suffered by people involved in any kind of accident. Whiplash occurs when the head jerks forward and backward rapidly, straining the neck. It can damage ligaments, tendons, muscles, and other tissues. Whiplash symptoms often take hours to appear.

Most people associate whiplash with mild pain that goes away after a few days, but it can be more severe than that. Some people experience lingering neck pain and severe headaches.

Bone fractures are likely to occur in high-speed crashes and side or front-impact collisions. If you’re thrown from the vehicle, broken bones are also more likely.

Broken bones cause significant pain and could lead to mobility issues even after they’ve healed. Some people even experience chronic pain as a result.

Often, burns occur during the deployment of an airbag because of the device that activates it. You could also suffer friction burns from your seat belt.

A windshield shattering or any other sharp object inside or outside your vehicle could cause cuts. Lacerations can be mild cuts or more severe wounds that tear off your skin. These could require surgical intervention and could leave you with scars and discoloration.

Back injuries can be anything from strains and sprains to disc issues and spinal fractures. You can experience severe pain, loss of bladder and bowel control, limited mobility, and many other symptoms.

Spinal cord injuries are particularly dangerous because they can lead to paralysis. These injuries could be incomplete, meaning you still retain some function below the site of the injury, or complete, meaning you don’t.

Rollover accidents, high-speed collisions, and accidents where you’re thrown out of the car are the ones most likely to cause spinal cord injuries.

Concussions are serious injuries that can occur during a car accident. A concussion occurs when your brain hits your skull, leading to bruising and other damage. It can result in headaches, memory loss, cognitive issues, and more.

Brain contusions can also occur in a car accident. They involve bleeding into the brain or within the skull. An impact can cause blood vessels to break and leak, leading to increased pressure in the brain that could result in loss of consciousness and cognitive issues.

An edema is a serious type of brain injury that causes swelling and can occur after a blow to the head. Since the skull can’t expand to accommodate the swelling, the brain can end up with bruising or other damage.

Brain injuries tend to be some of the most severe types of injuries you can receive during a car accident. Because of the significant impact they can have on your life, you have to turn to an attorney for help in getting compensation.

Not all injuries will be visible. After being in a car accident, you may experience psychological trauma that can cause anxiety, depression, and even PTSD. This could negatively impact your quality of life and keep you from getting behind the wheel again. An attorney in Newark could ensure psychological trauma is accounted for in a rideshare accident claim.

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Legal Rights of Rideshare Accident Victims

If you’ve been in a rideshare accident and were not at fault, you have rights. Just as with any other kind of car accident, you and your Newark rideshare crash attorney can claim economic damages to help cover medical bills and more. If you have a standard policy with an unlimited right to sue, you could also claim non-economic damage.

Although the process is more complex in ridesharing accidents, you’ll still be able to get compensation.

You have the right to ask for compensation for any medical bills you’ve incurred. Medical expenses can include hospital bills, ambulance fees, and even physical therapy sessions. If you’ve suffered an accident that’s affected your mobility and need to make structural changes to your home, it can also cover this.

Medical expenses also cover psychological treatments to help you deal with the trauma of what you’ve undergone.

People who suffer severe injuries that leave them with disabilities or ongoing medical needs can also get future expenses as part of their claim.

In car accidents of any kind, there will likely be some property damage. Cars might need repairs or complete replacement. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have to pay for these bills on your own if someone else caused the accident. You can get help with property damage bills, but only if you have an unlimited right-to-sue policy.

Another type of economic damage you can claim is lost wages. After suffering an injury, you may be unable to go to work. This means that you’re missing out on the wages you would make if the accident hadn’t happened. Lost wages reimbursements strive to compensate you for these.

Lost wages can also cover the wages you won’t be able to make in the future if your injuries prevent you from getting back to work.

Non-economic damages are not as easy to assign a monetary value to. They are more subjective and only apply if you have an insurance policy with an unlimited right to sue.

Pain and suffering fit into this category and refer to the physical and emotional toll the accident had. To quantify this, lawyers and insurers will consider the severity of the injuries and the impact they have on your life.

If the injuries you suffered make it impossible for you to do certain things you loved to do before, or if you find that it’s led to a significant decline in the quality of your life, you can also get compensation for loss of enjoyment of life.

In cases where fatalities occur or if a loved one suffers injuries that don’t allow them to offer the comfort and support family members depend on, the family can claim loss of consortium.

In certain cases, albeit rarely, it’s possible to claim punitive damages. For these to apply, you must show that the other party knew they would cause harm and continued their action anyway.

Punitive damages don’t apply to negligence claims, but in extreme cases, a drunk driver or someone who was texting and driving could warrant the application of punitive damages.

Steps to Take After a Rideshare Accident

After being in a car accident in which a rideshare is involved, the first thing you need to do is get medical attention. This means calling for an ambulance or having someone do this for you.

It’s important to do a self-assessment before moving. If you feel sharp pain, see blood, or if you’ve hit your head during the accident, you shouldn’t move. Instead, wait for the paramedics.

Even if you think you’re not injured, you need to have a medical professional check you. Many times, adrenaline prevents you from feeling pain until a while after the accident. It’s also vital to have a record of any injuries right from the start since it can make filing a personal injury claim easier.

You also need to speak with the police and give them your narrative of what happened. In New Jersey, you must report the accident to the police if there were injuries or property damage that adds up to $500 or more. If you’re unsure about injuries or damage right after the accident, report the accident to be safe.

When you speak with the police, take the time to ask about when, where, and how you can get a copy of the police report.

If you’re well enough to do so, get the contact information for everyone involved. This also includes witnesses. Make sure not to admit to fault when you speak with the other party.

The next thing you should do is take pictures and video of the accident. Document everything you can, including any marks on the road, the weather conditions, and more. If you’re injured and can’t do this yourself, ask someone else to do it for you.

You then need to reach out to a lawyer in Newark with experience in rideshare collision claims. It’s usually a good idea to do this as soon as possible so they can guide you through how to report it to your insurance company.

As the process continues, make certain that you keep clear records of everything you’re dealing with, from injuries to emotional issues. A good way to do this is to keep a journal that details how your daily life has been impacted by the accident. It can be compelling evidence.

How to File a Rideshare Accident Claim

To file a rideshare accident claim, you need to ensure you’ve filed a police report. You then need to turn to a lawyer who can help you navigate the rest of the process, especially when filing claims with the rideshare company’s insurance.

Most of the time, you can contact the company via their website and let them know one of their drivers caused an accident. The process can be complex and stressful, so you never want to undertake it on your own. Always reach out to a rideshare accident lawyer in Newark for guidance.

How a Lawyer Can Help After a Rideshare Accident in Newark

When you turn to a lawyer, you have step-by-step assistance through the entire process. At Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, we can help you get the evidence necessary to prove the other party caused the accident. To do this, we rely on expert witnesses, reports, medical records, and much more.

We also help you deal with insurance companies. They are not out to help you and want to pay you as little as possible, especially companies that work with commercial outfits like Lyft or Uber. Rideshare businesses have entire teams of lawyers ready to help them avoid paying those who’ve been injured.

If you have a lawyer by your side, you have a much better chance of getting the compensation you deserve.

There are statutes of limitations you have to worry about when filing a personal injury claim. Although you may have two years to file the claim, there can be circumstances that shorten that time. If you’re not aware of those details, you could miss the deadline and no longer have the chance to get the help you need.

With lawyers who have experience with rideshare accidents in Newark, you don’t have to worry about missing the deadline. We handle this for all our clients.

It’s possible that you’ll receive a quick settlement offer. When you have experienced lawyers helping you, you can get help deciding whether you should accept the settlement.

If we feel you’re not getting a fair deal or negotiations have stalled, we are ready to file a lawsuit and take your case to trial. That’s not something you can do on your own. The mere threat of a lawsuit is often enough to get insurance companies back to the negotiating table.

Why Choose Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq?

Car accidents can leave you with serious medical bills, injuries that could affect your entire life, and emotional trauma that could make every day more difficult. You don’t have to deal with all this alone if the accident wasn’t your fault.

By turning to Newark rideshare accident lawyers like Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, you have the chance to get help from experienced attorneys who understand just how dramatic an impact a car accident can have on everyday life.

We are one of the only firms in New Jersey offering bilingual services, allowing us to help both the Spanish and English-speaking communities in Newark. We treat each of our clients like a member of our family, offering the support they need to get through this difficult time.

We have a dedicated staff ready to work tirelessly on your behalf so that you can focus on healing. Because we’re always ready to represent our clients in court, you can be certain we won’t under-settle your claim.

We know it can be very difficult to wait for a decision on the claim, so we keep all our clients updated regularly. We communicate often and thoroughly, giving you the chance to ask questions and get assistance with any worries you have.

Our tenacity, combined with our experience and dedication, makes us the kind of team you know will have your back. We’re focused on our clients and getting them the compensation they deserve. We have recovered over $1 billion for our clients, and we are ready to win for you.

If you’ve suffered injuries because of someone else’s negligence while on the road, turn to our team at Garces, Grabler & Le Brocq. Contact us online or call 1-800-923-3456 to get started.