Rideshare Accident Lawyer in McAllen, TX

Maybe you were riding in the back seat. Maybe you were driving the car that got hit. Maybe you were crossing the street when the driver never looked up from their phone. Whoever you were, an Uber or Lyft crash in McAllen turns into a question about an app screen you probably never saw, and that screen decides who pays.

Who can file a claim

A rideshare crash can pull in more people than a typical wreck. If you were a passenger, you can generally claim against whichever driver caused the crash, rideshare or not. If you were driving the other car, the claim works much like any car accident case, just with an extra layer of insurance to sort out. If you were walking or riding a bike and got hit, you have a claim too. What changes case to case is where the money comes from, once you figure out which policy was active.

The app decides which policy pays

Uber and Lyft coverage runs in phases, based on what the driver’s app was doing the moment you got hit. Offline, and the driver’s own personal auto policy is what’s on the hook, same as any other driver on the road. Waiting for a match, a smaller company policy kicks in. Once a rider is picked up and the trip is underway, Uber and Lyft both say their coverage can reach as much as $1 million. Same driver, same car, three completely different insurance pictures depending on the exact minute of the crash.

That app data doesn’t surface on its own

Rideshare companies keep detailed records of exactly when a driver went online, accepted a ride, and picked up a passenger. Getting a copy of that data usually isn’t as simple as asking once. It typically takes a formal request, sometimes a legal one, aimed squarely at the company instead of the driver. While that request works its way through, the same basics you’d gather after any crash still help your case: screenshots, a ride receipt, witness names.

The contractor argument doesn’t end it there

Uber and Lyft both classify their drivers as independent contractors, not employees, and they’ll point to that fact fast after a crash. It sounds like it should get the company off the hook, but it doesn’t erase the trip-specific policy tied to that ride. Contractor status is about the drivers’ work arrangement. It has nothing to do with whether the trip insurance applies to your crash.

Two years, no matter which seat you were in

The filing deadline doesn’t change based on your role in the crash. Texas law gives everyone two years from the date it happened to file a lawsuit, whether you were riding, driving, or crossing the street. Rideshare claims often take longer to sort out because of the phase question above, so don’t wait to get started. Pinning down which driver, which app status, and which company was involved only gets harder as time passes.