Uber & Lyft Accidents FAQs

Which insurance applies depends primarily on two factors: what phase of the ride the driver was in at the time of the crash, and who was at fault. Phase 1 (app on, waiting for a request): Uber and Lyft provide limited contingent liability coverage of $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage — but only if the driver's personal insurance does not apply. Phases 2 and 3 (trip accepted through passenger exit): Both Uber and Lyft provide $1 million in liability coverage when the rideshare driver is at fault. Portland, Oregon additionally requires $1 million or more in UM/UIM coverage that applies when another driver — not the rideshare driver — is at fault and is uninsured or underinsured. If the at-fault driver has adequate insurance, you pursue their liability coverage directly. If they are uninsured or underinsured, the rideshare company's UM/UIM policy and your own UM/UIM coverage may both be available. Identifying who was at fault, which phase applied, and which policies stack is the first critical task in every serious rideshare injury case.

It depends on whether you personally agreed to their terms of service. If you booked the ride yourself through the app, you likely accepted an arbitration clause when you signed up — Uber and Lyft both bury binding arbitration requirements in their terms of service that waive your right to a jury trial for claims against the company. However, if someone else booked the ride and you were simply a passenger who never created an account or accepted the terms, the arbitration clause almost certainly does not bind you. Courts consistently hold that non-signatories — people who never agreed to the terms — cannot generally be forced into arbitration, particularly when their claims arise from tort law rather than the contract itself. Additionally, the arbitration clause applies to claims against Uber or Lyft as a company; it does not bar lawsuits against the individual driver, and it does not apply when a third-party driver caused the crash. Even when the clause does apply, Oregon courts have found arbitration agreements unenforceable when they are procedurally unconscionable or when the injured party did not meaningfully consent. An experienced Oregon rideshare accident attorney evaluates enforceability as an early priority in every case involving a direct claim against Uber or Lyft.

You have several additional avenues beyond what Uber or Lyft's insurer offers. First, your own auto insurance UM/UIM coverage may apply on top of the rideshare company's policy if the at-fault driver was underinsured — Oregon's stacking law allows you to layer your own coverage on top of available liability limits. Second, Oregon's PIP coverage from your own policy applies to you as a passenger, providing immediate medical and wage coverage regardless of fault. Third, if another driver contributed to the crash, their liability coverage is an additional source. Fourth, if the crash resulted from the rideshare company's negligent driver vetting — hiring a driver with a disqualifying record — a direct claim against Uber or Lyft may be available. An insurer's first offer is almost never their best offer; an experienced attorney negotiates from a position that accounts for every available coverage layer.

It depends precisely on what the driver was doing. If the driver had fully logged out of the app and was driving for personal reasons, Uber and Lyft's insurance does not apply — only the driver's personal auto insurance is available, and the claim proceeds as a standard car accident case. However, if the driver was logged into the app and available for rides but had not yet accepted a trip (Phase 1), Uber and Lyft provide limited contingent liability coverage of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, but only if the driver's personal insurance first denies the claim. The key evidence is the driver's app status at the exact moment of the crash — this is one of the first things Kaplan Law obtains through formal discovery. If the driver had inadequate personal coverage and the app was off, your own UM/UIM coverage is your primary additional source of recovery.

Yes. Passenger safety claims against Uber and Lyft for assault, sexual assault, or other criminal conduct by drivers are a serious and growing area of civil litigation. Both companies have faced mass tort litigation involving hundreds of plaintiffs who were assaulted by drivers the companies failed to adequately screen or monitor. The legal theories available include negligent hiring (the company should not have approved the driver), negligent retention (the company ignored warning signs), and negligent supervision. Oregon's two-year statute of limitations applies to personal injury claims, including assault. These cases are distinct from vehicle accident claims and proceed against the company directly, not just through the insurance framework. Federal MDL litigation against Uber (MDL 3084) has been actively proceeding through 2025, with bellwether trials scheduled. If you were assaulted by a rideshare driver, contact Kaplan Law for a confidential free consultation.

You have claims against multiple parties simultaneously. The at-fault driver who ran the red light is the primary defendant, and their liability coverage is your first source. If that driver was uninsured or underinsured, Uber and Lyft's $1 million policy (during an active ride) includes UM/UIM coverage that applies to you as a passenger. Your own auto insurance UM/UIM coverage may also stack on top of the rideshare company's policy under Oregon's stacking rules. Your own PIP coverage applies immediately regardless of fault. As a passenger who did nothing to cause the crash, you have the strongest possible claim — against the at-fault driver, potentially against the rideshare company's UM/UIM coverage, and through your own policy. Do not accept any single-source settlement without confirming all coverage layers have been identified.

You have the right to request the driver's background check results through Uber or Lyft's safety report process, and you can obtain the driver's traffic and criminal history through public records requests. In litigation, Kaplan Law formally demands the company's full driver vetting records — background check reports, the screening criteria applied, any complaints or safety flags on the driver's account, and the company's deactivation history — as part of early discovery. Both Uber and Lyft have faced significant litigation alleging that their background checks failed to screen out drivers with disqualifying criminal histories, including prior sexual assaults and DUI convictions. If a driver with a disqualifying background caused your injury, the company's failure to screen them properly supports a direct negligent hiring claim against Uber or Lyft above and beyond the standard insurance framework.

Call 911. Take screenshots of the Uber or Lyft app showing the active ride, your driver's information, and trip details before the session ends. Get the driver's name, license plate, and insurance information. Document the scene with photos. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company without an attorney. Contact Kaplan Law promptly, as rideshare companies begin their own investigation quickly after any reported crash.

Yes — and this is an Oregon-specific protection that most passengers do not know about. Oregon law requires Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft to provide Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage of at least $15,000 to passengers during active rides. Oregon's PIP is no-fault coverage, meaning it pays your medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of who caused the crash, while any liability claim against the at-fault party proceeds separately. This PIP coverage fills a critical gap: if the at-fault driver's insurance disputes liability or delays payment, Oregon's mandatory rideshare PIP provides immediate coverage for your medical treatment. In addition, if you have your own Oregon auto insurance policy, your personal PIP coverage also applies to you as a passenger, potentially providing a second layer of immediate medical coverage.

Oregon's statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including rideshare accidents, is two years from the date of the crash. For wrongful death claims arising from a rideshare accident, the limitations period is three years from the accident date. If a government vehicle or road condition contributed to the crash, the Oregon Tort Claims Act requires written notice within 180 days. These deadlines are strictly enforced — missing them permanently bars your claim regardless of how strong the underlying case is. One important practical point: Uber and Lyft's electronic records, including GPS data, trip logs, and driver information, are preserved by litigation hold only when a formal demand is made promptly. The sooner you contact an attorney, the stronger your ability to preserve the digital evidence that wins rideshare cases.