McAllen Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyer

Uber and Lyft Accident Attorney in McAllen, TX

You were riding in an Uber on 10th Street, or a Lyft ran a light on Nolana and hit your car, and now several insurance companies are pointing at each other. The driver’s personal insurer says it does not cover rides, and the rideshare company’s adjuster wants a recorded statement before you have seen a doctor. You just want to know who pays.

In Texas, the answer depends on what the driver’s app showed at the moment of the crash. During a ride, the rideshare company’s policy must provide at least $1 million in coverage, and it protects passengers, other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike. As with any injury claim in Texas, you generally have two years to file suit.

Attorney Abraham Peña was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, earned his J.D. with honors from Texas Tech University School of Law, and takes only injury cases, in English and Spanish. Tell us about the ride and the crash.

Uber and Lyft Accidents in McAllen

Uber and Lyft answer to the State of Texas, not to the City of McAllen. State law requires each company to hold a permit from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and to run a criminal background check and driving-record review before a driver can log in. Before pickup the company must send you the driver’s name and photo and the car’s make, model and plate, and it must keep ride records for at least five years. The same rules apply on 10th Street, Ware Road and Interstate 2.

A prearranged ride, in Texas law, begins the moment the driver accepts your request in the app and ends when the last passenger gets out. That window carries the highest insurance requirement.

What to Do After an Uber or Lyft Accident

Rideshare claims are won on timestamps and screenshots. If you are able:

• Call 911 and tell the officer it was a rideshare. Say whether a ride was in progress so the crash report reflects it.
• Get treated the same day. DHR Health in Edinburg is the Valley’s Level I trauma center, and the insurer will compare your first visit to the time on the trip receipt.
• Screenshot the app right away. Save the trip screen, the driver’s name and photo, the car and plate, the route map and the receipt.
• Ask the driver which app status they were in. Texas law requires the driver to disclose it on request.
• Hold off on recorded statements. Report the crash in the app and to your own insurer, but give no recorded statement until you have advice.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for an Uber or Lyft Accident?

Several people and policies can be on the hook:

• The rideshare driver. Speeding, running a light or looking at the app while moving are common causes.
• The rideshare company’s insurer. Its policy covers a logged-in driver, and it must pay from the first dollar if the driver’s own policy lapsed or falls short.
• Another driver who hit the rideshare car, and that driver’s insurer.
• Uninsured motorist coverage. If the at-fault driver has little or no insurance, the rideshare policy’s UM/UIM coverage and your own can respond.
• The rideshare company itself, in limited cases. Texas usually treats drivers as independent contractors, so the required insurance is the main route, but a negligent screening claim may also be possible when a driver should have been excluded under the background check rules.

What You Can Recover After an Uber or Lyft Accident

Passenger, other driver or pedestrian, you can seek:

• Medical expenses, now and in the future
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Physical pain and mental anguish
• Physical impairment and disfigurement
• Damage to your car or other property
• Exemplary damages when a driver was grossly negligent, such as driving drunk
• Wrongful death damages if a family member was killed (see our McAllen wrongful death lawyer page)

The $1 million figure is a minimum limit shared by everyone hurt in the same crash, not the value of your claim. What your case is worth depends on your injuries, your bills and your lost income.

How Long Do You Have to File, and Does Fault Matter?

Texas generally gives you two years from the crash to file suit, or two years from the date of death in a wrongful death case. Dash camera footage and business video along Nolana Avenue or Ware Road disappear much sooner than that. When a city or county vehicle is involved, the government must receive written notice within six months, and some city charters set an even shorter period.

Texas follows modified comparative fault: if your share of the blame is 50 percent or less, your award shrinks by that share, and at 51 percent or more you recover nothing. A passenger is rarely found at fault, which is why insurers fight over the driver’s app status instead. If you were driving the other car and a jury awarded $300,000 but put 15 percent of the fault on you, you would receive $255,000.

FAQs

I was a passenger. Whose insurance pays?

If the rideshare driver caused the crash during your ride, the company’s policy, which must provide at least $1 million, pays. If another driver caused it, that driver’s liability policy is responsible, and the rideshare or your insurance policy’s UM/UIM coverage can fill any gap.

I was hit by an Uber while driving my own car. Can I claim against Uber’s policy?

Yes, if the Uber driver was at fault and logged in. The required coverage protects anyone the driver injures, not just passengers, so the first step is proving the driver’s app status at the moment of impact.

What if my rideshare driver was drunk?

Report it to the police and in the app. The company must prohibit any intoxication, investigate the complaint and suspend the driver during the investigation, and intoxication can support a claim for exemplary damages on top of your other compensation.

What will it cost to hire a lawyer for an Uber or Lyft accident?

Nothing out of pocket. Our fee is contingent, meaning it is a percentage of what we recover, and you owe no fee if we recover nothing.

contact Attorney Abraham Peña

Call Us (737) 999-3335

Talk to a McAllen Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyer Today

A ride meant to get you home safely should not leave you fighting three insurers alone. Call The Law Office of Abraham Peña, PLLC at (737) 999-3335 or message us through our contact page for a free, confidential consultation. You owe no fee unless we win, and consultations are by appointment at 813 N Main St., Suite 404, McAllen. ¡Hablamos español! Esta página también está disponible en español: abogado de accidentes de Uber y Lyft en McAllen.