If you are involved in a Rideshare Car Accident in New Bedford, you must hire an experienced New Bedford rideshare car accident lawyer who specifically handles accident claims similar to yours. Our lawyers at Kevin P Landry Law Offices have a good reputation for negotiating claims for our clients when insurance companies refuse to make reasonable offers. Insurance companies usually have a record of law firms they deal with on a regular basis so it’s important to hire one that has experience dealing with Lyft or Uber car accidents.

What exactly is a rideshare company?

A ride-sharing company is one that matches passengers with car drivers through mobile apps and websites. Unlike taxicabs, you cannot hail a car driver registered with a rideshare company from the streets. The following are some of the qualifications that a company must meet in order to be regarded as a rideshare company

• They require passengers to have an app installed on their smartphones where they can request a ride and enter a pickup and drop-off location. The car drivers also need to be registered with the company and install the app on their phones so that they can be able to see ride requests.
• The driver needs to use a GPS and use the app to calculate the cost of the trip and also to track the route followed.
• The company needs to have a platform where passengers and drivers can rate each other so that they know what to expect when the app matches them.

What Are Your Rights if You Get Into an Accident Involving a Ridesharing Company?

Which protocol does a rideshare company use to screen its drivers?

Before you become a Lyft or an Uber drive,r the company will screen you for a safe driving record and they will conduct a background check to see if you have a criminal record. You must provide the company with:

• Your name
• Your date of birth
• Your driver’s license number
• Your social security number
• A copy of your insurance car registration and driver’s license
• Proof of a complete car inspection 

Unfortunately, as thorough as rideshare companies try to be when screening their drivers, they are not always 100% accurate and some drivers managed to slip through the process by using fake details or missing records.

Are Uber and Lyft required to carry insurance?

According to the Transportation Network Company Act, rideshare companies are legally obligated to provide primary personal car insurance coverage as long as the driver’s app is on. This means if an Uber driver, for example, gets into a car accident while carrying a passenger but the app was not turned on, then the uber insurance company can rightfully refuse to compensate both the driver and the passenger.

Is it worth it to hire a New Bedford rideshare car accident lawyer?

There are plenty of reasons why you should consider hiring a rideshare car accident lawyer in New Bedford if you’ve been recently involved in such an accident.

An experienced lawyer will help you coordinate a medical evaluation with a doctor who specializes in situations similar to yours. In Massachusetts, PIP coverage is mandatory and covers up to $8000 in lost wages and medical bills. This means that you can receive treatment for your injuries without having to wait for the courts to decide who was liable for the accident. Our New Bedford rideshare car accident lawyer would be happy to review your insurance policy to determine what coverage is available to you after a rideshare accident.

• Why You Shouldn’t Represent Yourself In A Personal Injury Claim

Additionally, rideshare car accident lawyers have experience handling these types of claims especially since ride-sharing is a very tricky area of law. Rideshare accidents are not the same as your regular car accident in that the role that your insurance policy will play is far more significant. The lawyer that you choose to hire should have the substantial financial resources to litigate your rideshare accident claim.

Every lawyer at Kevin P Landry Law Offices has handled a rideshare car accident claim and we do not run a settlement mill. A settlement mill is a law firm that specializes in securing compensation for the clients but they leave a lot of money on the table. They are high-volume personal injury law firms and the main focus is getting a settlement without much regard as to whether the settlement is fair.

You can contact us today at 508-999-0800 to schedule your free initial consultation and we will evaluate your case free of charge.