Steps to Take if Injured in a Rideshare Accident
Rideshare vehicles can get into car accidents of all kinds. The steps you take, however, can strengthen or weaken your personal injury claim. At Surasky Law Firm, we recommend that accident victims take the following steps to improve their chances of a generous settlement:
Report the accident.
Document the collision (if you can).
Get insurance and other information at the scene.
Seek medical care for your injuries.
Avoid giving a recorded statement or agreeing to a settlement.
Consult our law firm for further assistance.
Our Aiken personal injury lawyer goes into more detail below, and we encourage you to reach out to our office with questions.
Report the Accident
You might be in a state of shock in the immediate aftermath. Nonetheless, it’s important to report the accident right away by calling the police. An officer should swing by the accident scene and create a crash report. This report will be the cornerstone of any personal injury claim you file.
Use your cell phone to call. Of course, you might be in agony after the crash, struggling with a fractured leg or other painful injury, in which case you should ask someone else to call.
Document the Collision (If You Can)
Documenting the accident is a critical step because it helps establish what happened. Remember, the insurance adjusters who will handle your claim are not at the scene, so they can’t see the crash with their own eyes. It’s up to the victim to prove what happened if you hope to receive compensation.
You can document the collision this way:
Take photographs of the vehicles involved, as well as the debris field and anything else that looks relevant. The pictures should show how the vehicles came together.
Speak with witnesses who stick around. Ask them for a phone number so your lawyer can follow up about what they know.
Write down what you remember about the accident, if you can. Memories fade rather quickly, so write a short paragraph about what happened.
Document anything memorable about the driver. Did he admit to speaking on the phone at the moment of the crash? Did he or she look drunk or high? These details could prove critical.
Of course, you might be in total pain and lying by the side of the road, which is okay. Only document the crash if you can move around.
Get Insurance And Other Information at the Scene
You might have been a passenger in an Uber or Lyft. In that case, you want details from all drivers involved in the crash, including your rideshare driver and other motorists. Ask for:
Name
Address
Registration
Insurance information
You might have been hit by an Uber or Lyft, in which case you should share your own personal and insurance details with the rideshare driver. Our firm can represent injured Uber passengers or any motorist struck by a rideshare vehicle.
Seek Medical Care for Your Injuries
Receiving prompt medical care is an important step. You can go to the hospital after finishing at the accident scene.
Tell your doctor you were involved in a car accident and explain where you feel pain. Your doctor might order tests to help diagnose injuries.
Avoid self-diagnosing your injuries. A proper visit to the emergency room or doctor’s office helps create a paper trail. We can use the evidence generated to prove you were really injured. Without x-rays and doctor’s notes, it’s harder to prove that you suffered any bodily injury. The claims adjuster on your case might assume you are exaggerating your symptoms or not even hurt.
Avoid Giving a Recorded Statement or Agreeing to a Settlement
In the weeks following a crash, you will no doubt hear from an insurance adjuster. This person is trying to gather information about what happened. They might even ask if you are willing to give a recorded statement. You should probably decline until you hire a personal injury lawyer.
Suppose you are a motorist who was struck by an Uber. The driver’s insurer would love nothing better than for you to admit to being at fault for the collision. That way, they can reduce what they pay you—or end up paying you no compensation at all. That’s the result of South Carolina’s comparative negligence rules which prohibit compensation to those who are more than 50% at fault.
Also avoid immediately accepting a settlement—no matter how generous it looks. There’s a good chance you can receive even more. Let our law firm assess the strength of the evidence and the generosity of the settlement proposal. We can negotiate to increase what you receive, but it’s important not to give even verbal acceptance.
Consult Our Law Firm for Further Assistance
Submitting an insurance claim is more complicated than many people imagine. Unfortunately, obtaining a fair settlement involves more than filling out a few forms and waiting for a check to arrive. When victims suffer bodily injuries, they need someone who can advocate for them.
Call Surasky Law Firm. We can help you document your injuries and economic losses. For example, we can negotiate for compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. But you need to prove how much you have lost. We have tips for how to hold onto medical bills and other documents.
We can also help you document bodily pain, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life. These types of non-economic losses also deserve compensation. In South Carolina, we call them “general damages,” and you need quality evidence to show how an accident has disrupted your life.
Our firm can also ensure your case stays on track and that you meet all deadlines. If you need to file a lawsuit, you must come in under the statute of limitations otherwise you end up losing any leverage in negotiations. Call us to schedule a free consultation with a rideshare accident lawyer with our firm.
