Towson Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyers

The rise of ride-sharing apps has made our lives easier in so many ways. There’s no need to ask a friend or family member for a ride to BWI for an early-morning flight. Just get an Uber. Need to get to the office when your own vehicle is in the shop? Just get a Lyft. Of course, with that convenience comes consequences--more car accident cases involving drivers for these apps. With that comes legal questions of liability. Our Uber/Lyft accident lawyers can help you navigate all of these issues when you or someone you love is injured by the negligence of one of these drivers. 

Call our Towson office at (410) 755-5801 today. We also serve Timonium, Baltimore, and the surrounding areas.

Who Is Liable for an Uber or Lyft Accident?

Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors and, therefore, not employed directly by the company. As these apps gained in popularity, that led to some thorny legal questions regarding liability. Where the law stands right now, Uber and Lyft cannot skirt responsibility if one of their drivers is the at-fault party in an accident. Both companies have liability policies that an injured plaintiff can make a claim on. Moreover, it’s not just the other driver that can sue—the passenger who may have been injured is also a potential plaintiff. 

Once the issue of liability is determined, and whose insurance—the driver, the company or both—to target--the dynamics of an Uber or Lyft lawsuit are fundamentally the same as a standard car accident case. The Uber or Lyft driver must be shown to be at fault and negligent in their responsibilities. That is, they must be shown to have breached their duty of care.

Proving Breach in an Uber or Lyft Case

All drivers owe a duty of care to everyone else on the road. An Uber or Lyft driver's duty extends to the person in the car with them. Whether that duty was breached will depend upon whether or not the driver acted in a way that an ordinary person would consider reasonable. 

Here are four common ways that drivers might be considered to have breached their duty of care: 

• Speeding in school zones: Our area has several schools located within densely populated neighborhoods. Speeding in these areas increases the risk of accidents involving children crossing streets or boarding buses, particularly during school start and end times.
• Failing to yield at crosswalks: Baltimore's urban environment includes many marked crosswalks, especially in areas like the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians in these crosswalks violate their duty of care. 
• Distracted highway driving: Drivers who engage in texting or other distractions breach their duty by not focusing on the road, increasing the likelihood of rear-end collisions and multi-vehicle accidents.
• Improper lane changes in heavy traffic: The Greater Baltimore Area often deals with heavy traffic, particularly on I-95, I-83, and the 495 Beltway. Making abrupt or improper lane changes without signaling or checking blind spots can lead to side-impact collisions.