Marietta Rideshare Accident Lawyer

Marietta Rideshare Accident Attorney

The many highways offering access to Marietta mean convenience for those scattered across the metro area, and Uber and Lyft drivers have become an even more easy way to navigate the area. However, Uber & Lyft accidents in Georgia are common, and if it happens to you, the right Marietta rideshare accident lawyer can help.

Rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft have become a popular way for many people to get around. However, these rideshare companies do not hire professional or trained drivers. Rather, the drivers are just normal individuals who have a car and the ability to offer rides. Unfortunately, this leads to more frequent accidents.

The concept of these rideshare apps is relatively new, and the insurance for them is complicated. As a result, many victims of driving accidents in rideshare vehicles are left without the support that they deserve. It can be difficult to achieve compensation for your medical bills if you have been injured in a rideshare collision, which leaves you to handle the financial burden of unexpected medical bills.

Fortunately, the law is catching up with the changing transportation options. There are rules and standards in place that help victims of Uber and Lyft accidents in Marietta to recover the compensation and financial support that they deserve. With the help of a qualified Marietta rideshare accident lawyer, you can take legal action.

Our team at Barnes Law Group has many years of experience in personal injury law and rideshare accidents. We are confident that we can represent you in your ridesharing collision case.

Barnes Law Group: Your Marietta Rideshare Accident Lawyers

For many years, our team has been working to represent victims of vehicle accidents in Marietta, GA. During our time in business, we have seen countless clients who have been injured at no fault of their own.

In these situations, it is our objective and passion to make things right for those who have been wronged. No one should have to suffer both physically and financially because of a car accident that was not their fault.

Rideshare drivers do not have the training and experience that other taxi and professional drivers do. Because of this, we see frequent accidents involving rideshares. Our experience in this field offers an advantage to our clients, as do our many combined years as personal injury lawyers. The comprehensive experience that our team possesses gives you a vast network of resources for your claim.

When you have been in a rideshare accident, you need rideshare accident attorneys who understand what you have endured and who can help you achieve compensation. Our team from Barnes Law Group is here for you.

What Is a Rideshare Accident Case?

Rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft allow customers to call a ride via an app. Uber and Lyft drivers are ordinary people who have passed a simple background check and offer rides with their own vehicles. Often, these individuals get into collisions while they are giving rides.

Though Uber and Lyft drivers are covered by their own insurance and may also have some protection from the company, riders are often left without options. The driver’s personal insurance likely will not cover passengers who are part of a business transaction, and Lyft and Uber’s insurance may only cover the driver and car.

A rideshare accident case allows the victims of a collision involving a rideshare vehicle to obtain compensation for their expenses associated with the accident. These cases are personal injury claims and are civil in nature. To properly argue your case, it is important to have a qualified personal injury attorney on your side.

Potential Compensation in a Rideshare Accident Claim

Though you may get some compensation from insurance, a settlement can help to cover additional expenses. However, because every claim is unique, the amount that your case is worth is difficult to determine without details about your claim. You can speak to a rideshare accident lawyer directly if you would like a more accurate idea of how much your claim is worth.

Despite the variability in these settlements, certain expenses are often considered when determining a settlement amount. These considerations include:

• Medical bills, copays, and deductibles
• Lost income from time spent off of work due to the accident
• Vocational retraining if you cannot return to your job or career indefinitely because of the accident
• Ongoing medical care, such as physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Pain and suffering

In most situations, pain-and-suffering is only granted if the offense or the negligence was particularly heinous or extreme. Pain-and-suffering is an understood part of an accident, so it must be especially bad to warrant extra payment.

The more complicated or extensive your injuries are, the higher your compensation is likely to be. Those who sustain minor injuries often receive smaller settlements that reflect the severity of their conditions.

Why Do I Need a Lyft or Uber Accident Attorney?

As mentioned, accidents involving a rideshare vehicle are complicated. There are many different insurance companies involved, all of which will be vying to avoid financial responsibility. This often leaves victims without an advocate, and many fall prey to the insurance companies’ predatory tactics. Trying to fight for your own rights is complicated and nearly impossible without proper legal training and experience.

What many people fail to remember is that victims of accidents are healing from their injuries while their claim progresses. This means that you will likely need to rest and recover, not add stress to your situation by attempting to build your own claim. In fact, representing yourself not only jeopardizes your opportunity for compensation but it can also impede your healing and negatively affect your health.

Finally, it is important to understand that there is a lot at stake with your rideshare accident claim. The compensation that you can earn will help with a myriad of expenses and obligations, so it is important to make a strong effort to advocate for your perspective. The most effective way to do this is with an Uber and Lyft rideshare attorney from Barnes Law Group.

Do not jeopardize your health, finances, and future by attempting to represent yourself in court. Trust Barnes Law Group to help you.

Rideshare Accidents and Personal Injury Claims

Though the insurance from your driver or the company may cover some of your medical expenses after an accident, a personal injury claim may offer additional support. However, you may only file a personal injury claim if one individual caused the accident through negligence.

Negligence is different depending on the situation. However, in rideshare accidents, negligence usually occurs on the part of the driver. Negligence while driving may look like this:

• Texting, talking, or scrolling on a phone
• Applying makeup or doing one’s hair
• Eating, drinking, or smoking
• Operating a vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance
• Speeding
• Failing to follow road signs, signals, and laws
• Engaging in road rage
• Racing

This is not a definitive list of the ways a driver can be negligent. There may be other activities that are relevant to your situation. In general, however, a driver is negligent any time they do not follow all road rules and driver expectations set forth by state and federal laws.

The negligent party in your rideshare accident may be another driver, but it could be the person driving your Lyft or Uber. In any situation, you have the right to take legal action if you get hurt because of someone else’s negligence.

Injuries in Rideshare Accidents

Rideshare accidents and collisions vary greatly depending on the circumstances and severity of each accident. However, there are some injuries that are more common than others. It is important to know about common injuries following a car accident so that you can watch for symptoms and get medical help if you believe that you may be hurt.

Common injuries from rideshare accidents include:

• Broken bones
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Dental injuries
• Burns, scrapes, and lacerations

This is not an exhaustive list of potential injuries in a rideshare accident. If you get into an accident, it is a good idea to seek medical care regardless of whether you feel that your injuries are serious or not. It can take days or weeks for symptoms to develop, and in some cases the condition is too far gone by that point to properly heal the victim.

If you do seek medical care of any kind associated with the accident, retain all records for your claim.

Insurance Claims and Rideshare Accidents

Lyft and Uber drivers are required to have personal car insurance, and they get additional coverage from the company when riders are in their cars. However, this does not mean that you are safe as a passenger. Though insurance companies claim to support their customers, in reality, they look out only for their own profits and bottom line. They do this often at the detriment of victims and injured individuals.

With so many insurance companies involved in the case, you will likely receive harassing calls that imply that you need to make a statement quickly. Insurance companies use a variety of predatory tactics to get victims to make statements about what happened to them so that the insurance companies can use their statements to avoid having to pay a settlement. Anything you say to the insurance company can be skewed to imply that the company is not liable for the damages and that they should not have to pay.

In some situations, insurance companies have victims followed by private investigators to see if their daily activities coincide with their injuries. This is not only frightening and invasive, but it can also make you feel pressured to make a statement when you are not ready.

Though insurance companies rarely actually do anything illegal, you can protect yourself with the help of an attorney. A rideshare accident lawyer can speak to the insurance company on your behalf to ensure that your statement does not jeopardize your opportunity for a settlement. You may direct all insurance questions and requests to your rideshare accident attorney as a way to protect your case.

Contacting Insurance Following a Rideshare Accident

One tactic that insurance companies will use is to encourage victims to contact other insurance companies that may be involved. In rideshare accident scenarios, the driver’s insurance will likely encourage you to call the company’s insurance, while the company’s insurance will tell you the opposite. This is extremely frustrating for customers by design. The insurance corporations hope that if they do this enough, the customer will neglect to make a claim at all.

An rideshare accident lawyer can help you to navigate these difficult scenarios. We can interact with insurance companies on your behalf and can parse through what is actual information and what is their attempt to avoid payment. Our team has many years of experience doing this, and we can help you with your rideshare accident claim.

Rideshare Accidents and Wrongful Death Claims

Unfortunately, some victims of Lyft and Uber rideshare accidents do not survive their collisions. This is a possibility for anyone who regularly rides in or drives a car, but it does not make the aftermath any less devastating for the deceased’s loved ones.

Though no amount of legal support can bring someone back to life, a wrongful death case can allow the family of the deceased to receive financial support. The compensation from these cases usually covers the following:

• Any medical bills associated with the accident or injury that the deceased accrued before they died
• Lost income
• Funeral and burial costs
• Financial support for the deceased’s dependents

This financial support can relieve a grieving family of the financial obligations surrounding their loved one’s death. This often gives the family the necessary time and space to properly grieve without having to worry about unexpected expenses.

Our team at Barnes Law Group sends our deepest condolences if you have lost a loved one in a rideshare accident. With our many years of training in personal injury and wrongful death claims, we are confident we can help you receive financial compensation for your suffering.

Finding a Rideshare Accident Lawyer in Marietta, GA

It can be difficult to find someone to represent you after a rideshare accident, as these types of cases are still new in the legal world. Additionally, finding a rideshare accident lawyer in Marietta if you have never done so before can be intimidating.

Our team is committed to making things right for people who have been wronged. Part of this is helping victims to find legal representation that works for them. As you vet different firms and attorneys, consider the following:

• Your comfort level. You should always feel comfortable speaking openly with your legal representation about what happened and your perspective. If you feel as though a potential rideshare accident lawyer does not understand your experience or fails to listen closely, you should keep looking.
• The attorney’s experience. Having experience in personal injury law is not enough to offer an advantage to your claim. You need to find an rideshare accident attorney who has very specific experience with claims like yours. The more specific your case has in common with the attorney’s past cases, the higher the likelihood that they will build a strong case for you.
• The attorney’s rates. It is important to discuss rates and finances with potential attorneys before you begin to work with them. All rideshare accident attorneys charge differently, and it is important to be sure that you can afford their services for the duration of your claim. If you lose your representation during your case due to an inability to pay, it can harm your claim as a whole.
• Personal details. If there are personal factors that are important to you about potential rideshare accident lawyers, be sure to keep them in mind during the interview process.

It is normal to shop around for attorneys before finding one that is right for you. Do not settle for legal representation that is not a good fit for your scenario.

Lyft and Uber Liability

In most cases, Lyft and Uber themselves are not liable if one of their drivers gets into an accident, as their drivers are independent contractors. However, this does not eliminate their responsibilities as a company. Uber and Lyft are still obligated to offer a certain level of protection for customers.

You may file a claim against Uber and Lyft directly if:

• One of their drivers sexually assaults you during a ride
• You believe that they failed to properly hire, train, or vet their employee

In both of these cases, Lyft and Uber failed to protect their customers by hiring dangerous drivers. Though they may not be liable for accidents, they are certainly liable if the drivers themselves are dangerous or threaten customers.

Though this is only a small bit of responsibility that falls to the companies themselves, it is important to understand the companies’ organization so that you can take action if they fail to protect you. Think of these cases as a type of premises liability, where the organization failed to make the situation safe for customers.

FAQs

Q: What Is the Rideshare Law in Georgia?

A: The Rideshare law in Georgia is set up to protect passengers and provide safety. The law set up a list of requirements for rideshare drivers. There are requirements for both the driver and the vehicle.

For the vehicle, it must be safe, meaning it must be in good working order and mechanical condition. It should also be equipped with safety equipment, such as seatbelts. While the state has broad requirements such as these, individual rideshare companies may have stricter rules to ensure that the requirements by the law are being met.

For the driver, Georgia law requires them to have a background check. As an alternative, they can get a for-hire driver’s license endorsement, but most people opt for the background check. The rideshare company cannot hire anyone with convictions of DUI within the last seven years, a sex offense, a felony involving a vehicle, fraud, theft, violence, or property damage. They must also consider their driving history.

Q: How Long After a Rideshare Accident can you Sue in Georgia?

A: If you are injured in a rideshare accident, you have two years from the time of the accident to file a claim. This may initially appear to be more than enough time. However, depending on the severity of your injuries, this allows the time to make steps towards recovery first. Also, the process of solidifying claims with the insurance company can be a long process.

Insurance companies often want to quickly resolve the issue. This two-year statute of limitations allows victims of an accident the freedom to handle other immediate issues before filing for a claim, if necessary.

Q: Does Georgia Require Rideshare Insurance?

A: Under Georgia law, rideshare drivers are required to have insurance coverage. Drivers are required to have coverage for anyone injured in an accident. The rideshare companies have their own insurance requirements for their drivers.

Q: How Long Does an Insurance Company Have to Settle a Rideshare Claim in Georgia?

A: Insurance companies want to be fair and timely when processing a rideshare claim. They also want to thoroughly investigate to make sure they do not make errors. Generally, insurance companies have 15 days to acknowledge that they have received your claim. After that, they have another 15 days to make a decision. They have a total of 40 days from beginning to end to settle the claim.

It is possible that your claim could be delayed. Sometimes, this is because the investigation is taking longer than expected. The insurance company could be looking further into details as they may be questioning the legitimacy of the claim, especially if they consistently ask you for more information during this timeframe.

A claim could also be delayed if there are multiple claims being filed for a single accident. If the accident affected multiple people (for instance, if it was a four-car crash rather than just two), your claim could take longer than usual. An insurance company can formally request up to 60 days of additional time to make a decision.

Marietta Rideshare Accident Lawyer – Uber & Lyft Accidents GA

Getting into a rideshare accident is jarring, and you may be overwhelmed by the moving parts in your situation. Fortunately, our team has many years of experience in cases like these, and we can move forward in your case with confidence. We are passionate about making things right for those who have been wronged, and in rideshare accidents, it is the victim that usually suffers wrongdoing.

For more information about how we can help, contact Barnes Law Group today.