LAWYER: The Uber Accident MISTAKE Insurance is Praying You Make!

You're sitting in the back of an Uber here in Houston. Your driver runs a red light, and you get T-boned. You're hurt, and you did nothing wrong. Now, you think that this claim would be simple. You're hurt. The driver was at fault. Uber has a $1 million policy, so they just pay you for your injuries. But unfortunately, it's not that simple. Here's what really happens. Uber's team of insurance adjusters and lawyers look into your case to figure out, was this a ride, or was it just a transport? They question whether your driver accepted the ride properly or if the app was in the correct mode to unlock the full insurance coverage. I'm Max the Axe, the gold standard in personal injury. And whether you've been injured as a passenger in an Uber or if you were in another car, your path to compensation is different. And most importantly, Uber and Lyft are counting on you not knowing the difference. And as for the data on the app that proves which scenario applies to you, That's in the control of Uber or Lyft. You don't have control over that. Two scenarios, two different plans. When a rideshare driver causes an accident in Texas, there are two different categories, two different groups of injured people, and each one of them has a different path to compensation. Scenario number one, you're the passenger in the Uber or Lyft. Your driver caused the accident. You are completely innocent as you were not controlling the car at all. You had no control over the vehicle, and this is generally the strongest position to be in to unlock Uber's full commercial policy of $1 million. Scenario number two is that you're in a completely different car, or you're on a bicycle, or you're walking, get hit by a negligent Uber driver, and you have a claim against the negligent driver as well as Uber's commercial policy. However, whether or not that applies very much depends on what phase the driver was in when he hit you. Here's the trap. In both scenarios, Uber's job is to first investigate which phase the driver was in on the moment of impact. If they can argue that the driver was not in an active ride phase, they will say that the $1 million policy does not apply in this case. This leaves you only being able to claim against the driver's personal policy, which may only be the minimum limits of $30,000. So here's what to understand first. Which group do you fall into? Are you a passenger in an Uber or are you a third party? Who is hit by an Uber driver, because depending on which category you fall into, different insurance coverages may apply when you were the passenger. As a passenger in an active Uber ride, you're almost never at fault. You didn't choose the route, you didn't have your hands behind the wheel, and the Texas law recognizes that. You just trusted the platform to connect you with a hopefully safe driver. And during this active trip, from the moment you get into the car to the time that they drop you off, the $1 million Uber commercial policy will apply. And if the rideshare driver caused an accident that injured you, That commercial policy should cover you for those injuries. But here's what the Uber or Lyft team does as soon as the crash happens. They scrutinize the trip data. They try to figure out, did the driver complete the pickup correctly in the app? Was the trip status active at the exact moment of the crash? Or did the driver take a detour that classifies him as off-trip in the Uber app system? Let me tell you about a client I had named Carlos. He was taking a rideshare app from his work to his home. And the driver, for some reason, decided to make a detour to go fill up on gas because he didn't have enough to get Carlos to where he needed to be. And while he was stopped at that gas station, another driver rear-ended Carlos' car. Now, Carlos was in the back seat. He wasn't doing anything, and he was hurt as a result of that impact. And he was hoping that the commercial policy would cover him because his injuries were extremely serious. Now, the rideshare company... tried to argue that Carlos was not in an active trip because there was a detour to go get gas. They tried to claim that there was a insurance coverage gap that prevented the unlock of the commercial policy. An attorney who handles these ride-sharing cases is familiar with what to expect when dealing with Uber or Lyft. They will try to make as many arguments as possible to say that it was not an active trip and that the commercial policy should not apply. However, the trip data does exist and it can be retrieved through discovery after filing suit. Always, regardless of what they say, whatever they say can be challenged in court. So here's what you should preserve. The ride confirmation, the trip receipt, and any screenshots from the app that you can take that shows that the trip was active when you were in the other car. If an Uber or Lyft driver hit you when you were in another car, or if you were walking or on your bike, your claim path is a bit different and potentially harder. Your first step is still the same. Try to determine what phase that driver was in when he collided with your car. If the driver was in phase three, meaning that he was either going to pick up a customer or actively in a trip when he was transporting someone, Phase three applies, which means that the commercial insurance policy will be unlocked for your case. So keep in mind, you do not have to be a passenger in the Uber for that policy to apply. If that driver was actually in phase two, which means he had the app open and was waiting to connect to a ride, then only the $50,000 policy would apply, not the big commercial policy of a million dollars. And for a serious injury, $50,000 is really not much. And if that Uber driver was in phase one, meaning that the app was off and he was not actively seeking a ride, well, then all you have is a claim against his personal insurance policy, not anything related with Uber or Lyft. But here's what Lyft or Uber's insurance company is counting on. They're counting on you not knowing the law and knowing that you can obtain the app data through discovery and litigation. Most third-party victims just believe the rideshare companies when they tell them that Only the $50,000 coverage applies or no coverage applies. They don't realize that you can actually obtain the app data if you file suit and you obtain it in discovery. And unfortunately, sometimes they accept settlement offers of only $30,000 when they could have unlocked a million dollar insurance policy. And here's the complication of Uber's arbitration clause. Uber's terms of service include an arbitration agreement that the driver accepted. In many cases, the company tries to apply that arbitration clause to all third party claims as well. And the reality is you don't want an arbitration to decide your case. You want it to be decided by a jury of your peers in court. An experienced personal injury attorney can help navigate whether the arbitration clause applies to your particular case. So here's what you want to see first. You want to see the driver's app activity log. That shows the exact status at the time of impact. Why Uber and Lyft fight these claims, even when the driver was clearly at fault. You might assume that when an Uber driver runs a red light or blows through a stop sign or crashes into the back of another car, that everything's pretty simple. Obviously, the driver's at fault. And so you might think that Uber will just pay for the damages that are caused. You might think that it's simple, but unfortunately, it's not. And the reason for that is money. Every dollar Uber's insurance pays out affects the insurance company's loss ratio. A higher loss ratio means higher premiums for Uber, which also affects their bottom line. So even when the Uber or Lyft driver is obviously at fault, the insurance adjuster's job is to give you as little money as possible. And they do this through multiple ways. But one way that they approach it is through the classification disputes. They will argue that the driver wasn't in the correct app phase, and therefore the million-dollar policy doesn't apply. It's just the $50,000 policy. Or they'll argue that the. The app was completely off and you have to go after the driver's personal policy and Uber or Lyft has nothing to do with it. They may also make the argument about comparative fault, which means they will argue that you were somehow at fault for the accident. And finally, a lot of insurance companies simply use the delay tactic, which means draw out this process for as many years as possible and hopefully it puts pressure on you to accept whatever offer they're offering you. And here's a tactic that a lot of people don't see coming. Uber may make a quick and good-looking settlement offer early on in the process, but they're offering it based on what your injuries look like now. They are not taking into account what the injuries may look like months or years from now, or if you have a permanent injury, one that you'll never recover from. You might need months of physical therapy, MRIs, and possibly surgery. The insurance company has adjusters, lawyers, and data analysts that work on your claim from day one, and they are working against you. You need someone on your team with the same tools to fight back against their team. Here's what you should understand. Lyft and Uber fight these claims as a business strategy, not because your claim doesn't have any merit. It's simply a money decision. Documenting a rideshare accident when the driver was at fault. Whether you were a passenger in the rideshare or a third party that was hit by the rideshare driver, evidence preservation for a rideshare accident follows the same rules. First, if you were the Uber or Lyft passenger, take screenshots of the app immediately. Capture the trip confirmation, the Uber driver's name and photograph, the route, the trip status, everything that you can. This data lives on Uber's servers, but having your own screenshots helps prevent any disputes about what the app showed at the time of crash. The second rule, and this applies for everyone, always call 911 and get a police report. The responding officer will document exactly what happened, who was at fault, and they may note whether the driver was operating a rideshare vehicle or not. This report will become a very critical piece of evidence later as you get into the claims process. This is especially true if later on they try to deny any fault on the Uber driver whatsoever. Step three, get the Uber driver's personal insurance information. I'm not talking about the Uber insurance policy. I want their personal insurance policy so that you can figure out which policy applies or possibly both. Step four, photograph everything. Vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signals, any visible injuries that you have, you want to take photos of everything. In a rideshare accident, taking photos of the scene is just as important as any other accident. And the fifth rule, do not give any recorded statements to any insurance adjuster before you speak to an attorney. You may get phone calls from three different insurance companies, your insurance company, Uber's insurance company, and the defendant driver's personal insurance. I want you to know that none of these people are acting with your best interests at heart. Before you do anything, talk to a lawyer first. So here's what you need to preserve. Screenshots, the police report, the personal insurance from all drivers, and any photographs of the scene and any medical documentation that you have from day one. Whether you were a passenger in an Uber or Lyft, or whether you got hit by a negligent driver who was driving for a rideshare company, these processes can be extremely confusing. You have multiple policies to deal with. You have corporate legal teams of adjusters and lawyers who make it their full-time job to give you as little money as possible. And you have a system that was intentionally designed to make it complicated for you. If you were hurt in a rideshare accident here in Texas, please call my office for a free consultation to talk about your case. And while you're here, watch my other videos on Uber and Lyft car accidents so that you have a better understanding of the full insurance picture. I'm Max the Axe, the gold standard in personal injury for Lone Star Injury Attorneys.