St. Louis Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer

What to expect

What you can recover after an Uber or Lyft accident

Uber and Lyft both carry third-party liability coverage of up to $1 million for injuries and damages — coverage that also protects you as a passenger. Rideshare is convenient, but when a crash happens, the question of who pays can get complicated fast. Here’s how it works in Missouri.

It depends on who is liable

In Missouri, all drivers must carry auto insurance, and rideshare companies require their drivers to carry it as well. When you’re injured in a crash, you’re entitled by law to compensation from the party who caused you harm. In a rideshare accident, that’s usually one of two parties:

• The Uber or Lyft driver, if they caused the crash
• Another driver who caused the accident

If the rideshare driver is at fault, their personal auto policy often won’t cover a crash that happened during a business ride — many policies only cover personal use. The good news: Uber and Lyft both carry third-party liability coverage up to $1 million that protects passengers. If another driver caused the crash, you’d typically file with that driver’s insurer instead.

What if the other driver is uninsured?

Even though insurance is mandatory in Missouri, you can still be hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist whose coverage isn’t enough for your injuries. In those cases, Uber and Lyft carry uninsured/underinsured coverage — also up to $1 million per accident — that can pick up the slack. This coverage generally applies when the at-fault driver is uninsured, underinsured, or flees the scene.

How much you can recover depends on the extent of your injuries, the cost of your property damage, and other hardships the crash caused — lost work, pain, and emotional distress among them.

What happens in a St. Louis rideshare accident settlement

About 95% of personal injury cases settle out of court, so an Uber or Lyft accident claim will most likely end in a settlement rather than a trial. Here’s the general path it follows.

Investigation and fault determination. Before any settlement, the insurers investigate to determine fault and understand what happened — examining evidence, police reports, eyewitness accounts, and the injuries each party suffered.

Settlement negotiation. Once a claim is filed against the at-fault party, negotiation begins. A settlement is a legal agreement that resolves the claim for a set amount of damages, which may include:

• Medical expenses related to the injury
• Lost income from missed work and disability
• Pain, suffering, and anguish from the injuries
• Punitive damages, in cases of reckless or outrageous conduct

Your attorney requests an amount from the at-fault party, who typically counters lower. That back-and-forth can continue until both sides reach an acceptable figure. Working with an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney matters here — it’s often the difference between a first lowball offer and a fair recovery.

Signing and getting paid. The final agreement spells out the payment amount and timing, the rights you give up by accepting, and any other terms. It’s important to understand that once you settle, you generally can’t pursue further claims for the same accident — a settlement closes the door on future legal action. Your lawyer then helps you arrange payment.