Letting someone else drive can give a professional a few more minutes to prepare a presentation on their way to a client’s office or can help someone avoid an impaired driving arrest. There are countless reasons why people in Oklahoma hire a rideshare vehicle to reach a particular destination. The vast majority of those rides and without any incidents beyond an awkward conversation with a stranger.
However, occasionally rideshare trips result in a collision instead of someone reaching their intended destination. There can be a lot of confusion about covering the costs after a rideshare crash. These are the three options that rideshare passengers usually have after a crash.
1. A rideshare insurance claim
There will usually be two different kinds of rideshare coverage that might apply after a crash, although the circumstances of the wreck will determine which policy compensates a passenger. If a crash occurs before or after the driver starts the ride on the app, then it may be the contractor’s rideshare coverage added to their liability policy that will compensate the passenger in their vehicle. Crashes that occurred during an active ride charged through the app will typically qualify for coverage from the rideshare company itself.
2. The policy of the other driver or the affected passenger
Sometimes, another motorist is obviously to blame for a rideshare crash. They may have merged directly into the side of the vehicle or run a red light. It may be possible to bring a claim against the insurance policy covering the person at fault for the wreck. The passenger could also have coverage that will apply to them after a rideshare collision. Provided that someone has a registered vehicle and a policy of their own, certain supplemental coverage like underinsured motorist protection may apply to a crash that occurs in another vehicle. Standard liability coverage typically will not.
3. A civil lawsuit
There may be multiple parties with some degree of responsibility for a rideshare crash, and the affected passenger could have an option of filing a lawsuit against any of those parties, ranging from the app company or the individual driver to a third-party manufacturer that put out defective vehicle components. Civil lawsuits are often useful in cases where insurance will not offer a reasonable settlement amount or isn’t available for some reason.
Evaluating every option for compensation with the assistance of an Oklahoma City rideshare accident attorney can benefit those recently affected by a rideshare crash in Oklahoma.