Rideshare crashes are ordinary collisions with an extra question attached: whose insurance applies. The answer depends on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact, and the difference between the possible answers is large. Passengers, other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians all end up in the same analysis.
Manoukian Law Firm handles California Uber and Lyft injury claims from an office in Chatsworth. Manoukian Law Firm takes each case from the first call through litigation when that is what the case needs. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless the firm recovers for you.
What to do after an Uber or Lyft accident
- Get medical attention and follow the treatment you are given, even if the injuries seem manageable at first.
- Before you close the app, take screenshots of the trip: the driver’s name and vehicle, the pickup and drop off, the trip status and the time stamps. This is the clearest proof of which coverage period applies.
- Report the crash in the Uber or Lyft app. Keep the confirmation and any correspondence.
- Photograph both vehicles, the license plates and the scene, and get the other driver’s insurance information.
- Collect the names and numbers of witnesses, including other passengers.
- File a DMV SR-1 within ten days if anyone was injured or property damage exceeds $1,000 (Vehicle Code 16000).
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company, and do not accept a quick payment in exchange for signing a release.
How these cases work in California
Rideshare companies operate as transportation network companies regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Public Utilities Code 5433 sets the insurance a company and its drivers must carry, and it divides the driver’s time into periods.
Period 1 is when the app is on and the driver is available but has not accepted a ride. Coverage during that period is 50/100/30: $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 per accident, and $30,000 for property damage.
Periods 2 and 3 are when the driver has accepted a ride and is on the way to the passenger, and when a passenger is in the car. During those periods, $1,000,000 in liability coverage applies.
When the app is off entirely, the driver is treated like any other private motorist and only a personal auto policy applies, subject to the 30/60/15 minimum that has applied since January 1, 2025 under Vehicle Code 16056.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters here too, because rideshare passengers are often injured by a third driver rather than by their own driver. Since January 1, 2026, following SB 371, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage during a trip is $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.
The underlying claim is still a negligence claim, and California’s pure comparative negligence rule from Li v. Yellow Cab (1975) applies: a share of fault reduces recovery rather than ending the case. Medical damages are the amounts actually paid or owed under Howell v. Hamilton Meats (2011).
How Manoukian Law Firm handles rideshare cases
The first task is establishing the coverage period, because that determines whether the case sits against a $1,000,000 policy or something much smaller. Trip data, app records and driver statements are requested early, and preservation letters go to the companies and insurers involved. Where the driver’s status is disputed, the firm pursues the records rather than accepting a coverage position stated in a letter.
The rest of the investigation is standard collision work done carefully: the traffic collision report, camera footage from nearby businesses before it is overwritten, scene photographs, vehicle damage, and witness statements while people still remember. If a third driver caused the crash, both that driver’s policy and the rideshare uninsured motorist coverage are evaluated.
Medical documentation is built through treating physicians. Passengers are often struck without any chance to brace, which produces neck, back and head injuries that need consistent records and, where a concussion is involved, specialist evaluation. See brain injuries.
All insurance communication runs through the office. Every case is prepared as though it will be tried, and the firm is a short drive from the courthouses that generally handle San Fernando Valley matters. If you were struck by a rideshare vehicle while walking or riding, see pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. If the vehicle involved was commercial, see truck accidents.
How a case like yours works: a crash with a delivery driver
A client was driving when a delivery driver hit him. The delivery company’s commercial insurer was polite and fast. It asked for his medical records right away and suggested settling early, and it declined to say whether an excess policy sat above the primary coverage. The firm said no. Records went out only after the client’s doctors could say where his recovery would end, and the demand went out with a complete prognosis rather than a partial one. The case resolved after the demand, before a lawsuit was needed.
Commercial and rideshare cases turn on two things: identifying every layer of coverage that actually applies, and refusing to settle while the medical picture is still moving. An early offer on a commercial policy is not generosity. It is a bet that you do not yet know what your injuries will cost.
What can be recovered
Economic damages include emergency care, hospitalization, imaging, surgery, therapy, prescriptions, future medical treatment, lost wages, and lost earning capacity where an injury changes the work you can do. Under Howell v. Hamilton Meats, the recoverable medical figure is what was actually paid or is still owed.
Non-economic damages cover pain, limitation, anxiety about riding in a car again, disfigurement and the daily activities you have lost. Passengers who were working at the time may also have a workers compensation issue running alongside the injury claim, which should be coordinated rather than handled separately.
When someone does not survive a rideshare crash, Code of Civil Procedure 377.60 identifies the family members who may bring a wrongful death claim, with a separate survival action under section 377.30.
Deadlines
The general California deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. If a government entity contributed, for example a transit vehicle or a dangerous roadway, a written claim must be presented within six months under Government Code 911.2, followed by a shorter deadline to sue after the claim is rejected.
App and trip data, along with nearby camera footage, are the pieces most likely to disappear early. That is the practical reason to call soon rather than the calendar.
Case results
Our client suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by a commercial delivery driver who was on the job.
Our client developed ongoing neck pain after a multi-vehicle rear-end collision on the highway, requiring pain-management treatment. The case resolved for $400,000.
The other side valued our client's injuries at $5,000 to $10,000 and called it a “soft impact.” Our client was the third car struck in a chain-reaction collision. We filed suit and recovered $275,000.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently asked questions
I was a passenger. Do I have to prove who was at fault?
Not usually in any meaningful sense. A passenger is rarely responsible for a collision, so the question is which driver was at fault and which policy applies. That still has to be established, because the two insurers involved may each point at the other.
The Uber driver’s app was on but no ride was accepted. What coverage applies?
That is Period 1, and under Public Utilities Code 5433 the coverage is 50/100/30. If those limits do not cover the injuries, the next questions are whether the driver has additional personal coverage and whether uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage applies.
Uber offered me a payment right away. Should I take it?
Not before you know the full extent of your injuries. Accepting a payment generally requires signing a release, which ends the claim permanently, including for treatment you have not yet had.
Can I make a claim if my own driver was not the one at fault?
Yes. You may have a claim against the driver who caused the crash, and the rideshare uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply if that driver had no insurance or not enough of it.
What does it cost to hire the firm?
Consultations are free and rideshare cases are handled on a contingency fee, with no fee unless the firm recovers for you. The fee and case costs are explained in writing before you sign anything.
Talk with an attorney
If you were hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash anywhere in California, whether as a passenger, another driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian, call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031. Consultations are free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers for you. The office serves clients in English, Spanish and Armenian and can meet by phone, by video or at the hospital. You can also read about the firm or contact the office.
Serving clients across California
The office is on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth, and the firm represents injured people throughout California. If you cannot travel, we meet by phone, by video or in the hospital.
Most of the firm’s clients live and drive in the San Fernando Valley. See how cases are handled in Chatsworth, Northridge, Reseda, Canoga Park, San Fernando and Simi Valley, or browse every community the firm serves.
