What decides a rideshare claim is often a fact nobody at the scene can see: what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of the collision. The coverage available can shift substantially between a driver who is offline, one waiting for a request, and one carrying a passenger.
Margossian Law represents passengers, drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians injured in collisions involving rideshare and delivery vehicles in California, and treats establishing that status as an early priority rather than a later one.
Which Policy Applies Depends on What the App Was Doing
Rideshare coverage is layered, and which layer responds turns on the driver’s status at the moment of the collision. Establishing that status early is often worth more to a claim than anything else in it, because it determines how much coverage exists at all.
- 01
Identify The Available Coverage
A rideshare crash may involve the driver’s personal insurance, coverage provided through the rideshare company, or both. The first step is determining which policies apply to the accident.
- 02
Preserve The Trip Records
Ride details, app activity, driver status, photographs, witness information, and other records can help establish what happened and which coverage was in effect. These records should be preserved as early as possible.
- 03
Investigate Every Responsible Party
Liability may extend beyond the rideshare driver. Depending on the circumstances, another driver or additional insurance coverage may also be involved. A thorough investigation helps identify every potential source of recovery.
- 04
Contact Us
Contact our office early so we can investigate the accident, preserve important evidence, identify all available insurance coverage, and deal with the insurance companies on your behalf.
Passengers, Other Drivers, and People on Foot
A passenger is almost never at fault and can generally claim against whichever driver was responsible, including the one they were riding with. Where fault is split between two drivers, a passenger may have claims against both.
Someone struck by a rideshare vehicle, whether another motorist, a cyclist, or a pedestrian, is in the same position as against any other driver, with the difference that the available coverage may be far larger than a private policy. The same layering applies to delivery vehicles operating through an app.