You may be able to pursue a claim against an Uber or Lyft driver, the rideshare company, or both when a driver’s negligence causes a serious injury or death. However, the parties that may be held responsible—and whether the case proceeds in court or private arbitration—depend on the facts, applicable state law, insurance coverage, and the terms governing the ride.
Rideshare companies commonly classify their drivers as independent contractors. While that classification can complicate claims against the platform, it does not automatically prevent an injured passenger or surviving family from pursuing Uber or Lyft.
When Can You Sue an Uber or Lyft Driver?
A rideshare driver may be held responsible when their negligent conduct causes a passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, or another motorist to suffer an injury.
Driver negligence may include:
- Speeding or driving too fast for road conditions
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Distracted driving
- Using the rideshare app while the vehicle is moving
- Driving while impaired or dangerously fatigued
- Making an illegal or unsafe stop
- Dropping passengers off in a hazardous location
- Failing to maintain the vehicle
- Ignoring weather, traffic, or roadway conditions
- Forcing or directing a passenger to exit in an unsafe place
A negligence claim generally requires evidence that the driver owed the injured person a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused injuries or losses as a result. The specific elements and standards vary by state.
In fatal cases, eligible surviving family members or the deceased person’s estate may be able to bring a wrongful death or survival claim.
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Can You Sue Uber or Lyft Directly?
Possibly. A claim against the individual driver is not necessarily the same as a claim against Uber or Lyft.
The rideshare company may argue that it is a technology platform and that its drivers are independent contractors rather than employees. This distinction can affect whether the company is automatically responsible for a driver’s negligence.
However, potential claims against a rideshare company may arise when evidence shows that the company’s own decisions, policies, or safety failures contributed to the injury.
Depending on the jurisdiction and facts, potential theories may include:
- Negligent driver screening
- Negligent hiring or selection
- Negligent retention of a driver
- Failure to investigate safety complaints
- Failure to remove a driver after warning signs
- Inadequate safety procedures
- Unsafe pickup or drop-off policies
- Misrepresentations about passenger safety
- Failure to provide or maintain promised safety features
- Vicarious liability for a driver’s conduct
- Agency-based liability
- Breach of a common-carrier duty
A lawyer must evaluate which theories are recognized in the state where the incident occurred. Not every theory will apply to every rideshare injury or wrongful death.
Does a Driver’s Independent-Contractor Status Protect Uber or Lyft?
Not in every case.
Uber and Lyft frequently rely on independent-contractor classifications when disputing responsibility for drivers’ actions. The companies may contend that they do not control drivers in the same way an employer controls an employee.
The legal analysis may examine more than the label used in a contract. Relevant questions can include:
- How much control the platform exercised over the ride
- Whether the company selected or approved the driver
- Whether the company could suspend or remove the driver
- How fares and driver payments were determined
- Whether the platform established passenger-safety rules
- Whether the company monitored driver performance
- Whether previous complaints or safety concerns existed
- Whether the driver was actively transporting a passenger
- What duties state law places on transportation providers
A recent private arbitration involving the death of Emily Normandin-Parker illustrates the issue. An arbitrator ordered Uber and its driver to pay her parents a combined $40 million after the driver allegedly stopped in a dangerous freeway gore area and the passenger was subsequently struck by traffic.
As explained in our report, Uber Ordered to Pay $40 Million After Passenger Killed Following Unsafe Freeway Stop, the arbitrator reportedly rejected the argument that the driver’s independent-contractor status completely insulated Uber from liability.
That award does not establish binding legal precedent because it arose from private arbitration. It nevertheless shows why the facts surrounding the company-driver relationship may require careful investigation.
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Are Uber and Lyft Considered Common Carriers?
A common carrier is a business that transports members of the public and may be subject to heightened safety obligations. Taxis, buses, trains, and other commercial transportation services have historically been treated as common carriers under various state laws.
Whether Uber or Lyft qualifies as a common carrier—and what legal duty follows from that classification—can vary by jurisdiction.
In some cases, plaintiffs have argued that rideshare platforms perform the essential functions of transportation companies because they:
- Connect passengers with approved drivers
- Set or influence fares
- Process payments
- Control access to the platform
- Establish driver and passenger rules
- Track rides through GPS and app data
- Retain the authority to suspend drivers
Uber and Lyft may dispute that characterization or argue that the driver, rather than the platform, provides the transportation service. The answer can depend on state statutes, judicial decisions, contract language, and the specific facts of the ride.
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Who Can Be Responsible for a Rideshare Injury or Death?
An Uber or Lyft claim may involve several potentially responsible parties. Depending on how the incident occurred, they may include:
- The rideshare driver
- Uber or Lyft
- Another negligent motorist
- The owner of the rideshare vehicle
- A company responsible for vehicle maintenance
- A manufacturer of a defective vehicle or component
- A business that served alcohol to an impaired driver, where state law permits such a claim
- A government entity responsible for a dangerous roadway condition
- One or more insurance companies
Identifying every potentially liable party is important because serious injuries and wrongful deaths can produce losses greater than one driver’s personal insurance limits.
How Does Rideshare Insurance Coverage Work?
Insurance coverage in a rideshare case often depends on the driver’s status within the app at the time of the incident.
The most common periods are:
- The driver was offline. The driver’s personal auto insurance generally becomes the primary potential source of coverage.
- The driver was online and waiting for a request. Limited rideshare liability coverage may apply if the driver’s personal policy does not cover the loss.
- The driver accepted a ride and was traveling to the passenger. Higher commercial coverage may apply.
- The passenger was inside the vehicle. The platform’s active-trip insurance coverage may apply until the passenger exits or the ride ends under the policy’s terms.
The limits and requirements vary by state. For example, the California Public Utilities Commission’s transportation-network-company guidance describes different coverage levels based on whether a California driver is waiting for a match, traveling to a passenger, or transporting one.
Insurance coverage does not necessarily determine every party’s legal liability. It determines which policies may be available to pay a covered claim.
What If Another Driver Caused the Crash?
A passenger may still have a claim even when the Uber or Lyft driver did not cause the collision.
The other motorist may be legally responsible, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage associated with the rideshare trip may become important if that driver lacks adequate insurance.
Multi-vehicle crashes can involve competing accounts of what happened. Relevant evidence may include:
- Police crash reports
- Traffic-camera recordings
- Dashcam footage
- Witness statements
- Vehicle damage
- Electronic data from the vehicles
- Cellphone records
- Rideshare GPS and trip information
- Accident-reconstruction findings
A rideshare company or insurer may attempt to direct responsibility toward another driver. Preserving evidence early can help determine whether one party or several parties contributed to the crash.
Can a Family Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?
When a rideshare passenger dies because of alleged negligence, certain surviving relatives may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim. The people permitted to file vary by state but may include a surviving spouse, children, parents, domestic partner, or a representative of the estate.
A survival action is different from a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death action generally addresses losses experienced by eligible surviving family members. A survival action may pursue claims that belonged to the deceased person at the time of death.
Potential compensation may address funeral expenses, lost financial support, loss of companionship, medical bills, and other legally recoverable losses. Our companion guide explains what compensation may be available in an Uber or Lyft wrongful death claim.
Will the Claim Be Decided in Court or Arbitration?
Rideshare terms of service frequently contain arbitration provisions. Arbitration is a private process in which an arbitrator, rather than a judge or jury, decides the dispute.
Whether an arbitration clause is valid and applies to a particular claim may depend on:
- Who accepted the rideshare terms
- Which version of the terms was in effect
- Whether the passenger had legal capacity to agree
- Whether a surviving family member is bound by the agreement
- The type of claim being asserted
- State and federal arbitration law
- Whether an opt-out procedure was available and used
A requirement to arbitrate does not necessarily eliminate the underlying claim. It may instead determine the forum in which the claim must be pursued.
Because arbitration can involve different discovery procedures, deadlines, confidentiality rules, and appeal rights, families should obtain advice based on the specific agreement in question.
What Evidence Should Be Preserved?
Rideshare platforms collect substantial digital information about trips. Some of that information may be controlled by the company and unavailable to the passenger without a formal legal request.
Important evidence can include:
- Trip receipts and route maps
- Pickup and drop-off locations
- App screenshots
- Driver and vehicle information
- Messages exchanged through the app
- Communications with customer support
- GPS and location records
- Audio or video recordings
- Photographs of the scene
- Medical and emergency-response records
- Driver background-check information
- Previous safety complaints
- Internal company incident reports
- Applicable insurance policies
Passengers and families should avoid deleting the app, trip history, messages, photographs, or receipts connected to the incident. An attorney may also send preservation letters directing relevant parties to retain electronic and physical evidence.
How Long Do You Have to File a Rideshare Claim?
Every state establishes filing deadlines called statutes of limitations. The applicable deadline may depend on whether the case involves personal injury, wrongful death, a government entity, a minor, or another special circumstance.
Contractual notices and insurance requirements may create additional time-sensitive obligations. Waiting too long can make evidence more difficult to obtain and may prevent an otherwise valid claim from proceeding.
Families should not assume that negotiations with an insurer, Uber, Lyft, or a driver will pause the legal deadline.
Speak With a Rideshare Litigation Lawyer
Rideshare claims can involve multiple insurance policies, private arbitration provisions, disputed employment classifications, and company-controlled evidence. Determining whether to pursue the driver, the rideshare company, another motorist, or several parties requires a fact-specific legal analysis.
Ben Crump Law handles claims involving passenger injuries, rideshare crashes, wrongful deaths, assaults, negligent screening, and alleged corporate safety failures.
Visit our Rideshare Litigation Lawyers for Uber and Lyft Crashes and Assaults page or call 888-690-2399 for a free case evaluation. There are no attorney fees unless compensation is recovered.
Call or text 800-959-1444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
