Driving in New Jersey can be a challenge. The turnpikes grow even more difficult to maneuver when you have passengers in your backseat. Even so, Lyft drivers are expected to uphold New Jersey’s duty of care and watch out for other motorists.
Getting into an accident with a Lyft driver – or as a Lyft driver – can lead to confusion and serious injuries. If you’re struggling with the financial demands of a Lyft accident, know that you’re not alone. A Lyft accident attorney in Clifton with Morelli Law Firm can help.
You can sit down for a case consultation in the days immediately following your accident. When you speak to our staff, you’ll learn everything there is to know about your right to compensation.
Statute of Limitations for Clifton Lyft Accidents
A state’s statute of limitations determines how much time injured parties have to take their concerns before local courts. Parties injured in car accidents, for example, have a limited amount of time to act if they want to fight for post-accident compensation.
New Jersey Statute §2A:14-2a gives state residents two years to file their complaints. Your two years begins on the same day that a Lyft accident takes place. You can use your time to connect with witnesses and estimate the compensation to which you may be entitled.
The Makings of a Lyft Accident Complaint
To take legal action against someone after a Lyft accident, our Lyft accident attorneys in Clifton can help you compose a complaint. Your complaint should detail:
- The identity of the party you want to hold liable for your damages
- Correlation between that party’s behavior and your losses
- The financial value of your aforementioned losses
- Evidence you have to support your claim
Once you’ve completed your complaint, we can help you submit it to a New Jersey judge. While your case may not proceed to trial, a complaint submitted within the state’s statute of limitations makes it easier for you to negotiate for a settlement.
Clifton Lyft Accident Lawyer Near Me 877-751-9800
Estimating Your Post-Accident Compensation
As you recover from a Lyft accident, you may have to contend with a litany of new bills. Keep these bills in mind as you build your legal complaint. So long as you can draw connections between the costs and your accident-related losses, you can request compensation for those expenses.
Your compensation can include economic and non-economic losses. These can range from medical expenses to pain and suffering endured after the accident. Other forms of compensation can include:
- Medication needed to cope with pain
- Replacement or repair costs for damaged property
- Wrongful death
- Funeral expenses
- Punitive damages
If you want to learn more about the compensation to which you may be entitled, schedule a case consultation with Morelli Law Firm. Our team of Lyft accident lawyers in Clifton can prevent you from overlooking financial support.
Establishing Lyft Accident Liability
The concept of accident liability helps injured parties determine who they can hold responsible for their losses. You need to know what party you want to hold liable in a Lyft accident so that you can determine who to issue your complaint against.
That said, liability – along with insurance – can be complicated in a Lyft accident. This is mostly the fault of Lyft itself, as the company can choose to interfere with your quest for compensation depending on the status of its involved driver (even if that driver happens to be you).
Support for Lyft Drivers
Drivers who are on duty at the time of an accident are the only drivers who can request insurance coverage from Lyft. This coverage varies depending on a person’s behavior at the time of the accident. For example, drivers in the middle of a ride receive collision insurance up to the value of their car and $1,000,000 in personal loss recovery.
Drivers using the Lyft app to wait for a ride receive $50,000 in bodily injury protection and $25,000 in property recovery. Drivers who aren’t using the Lyft app or who are in a car for personal purposes must rely on their own coverage for financial support.
Lyft also bears legal responsibility for any accidents involving its on-duty drivers. Injured parties who want to bring a case against a liable driver have to direct their complaints at the ridesharing company. However, if the driver is off-duty at the time of an accident, injured parties can direct their complaints at that individual.
Support for Unaffiliated Drivers
The insurance available through Lyft does not cover unaffiliated drivers. Instead, if an unaffiliated driver gets into an accident with a Lyft, that driver must turn to their own insurance for claim coverage.
Passengers and Lyft drivers both have the right to pursue a suit against an unaffiliated driver if it appears that the driver caused the accident in question. That said, Lyft will not provide legal resources to either of these parties. Instead, parties who want to pursue a car accident suit must seek out Lyft accident lawyers in Clifton on their own time.
Financial Options for Passengers
Lyft’s insurance always extends to its passengers. Passengers are welcome to file their insurance claims with the ridesharing service. While passengers may not receive the comprehensive coverage they’re looking for, Lyft does offer up to $1,000,000 in property recovery and medical attendance.
If that doesn’t seem like enough to contend with your losses, though, passengers do have other options. So long as a passenger pursues an insurance claim, they’re then entitled to a civil suit. The target of this suit will vary depending on the party deemed to be liable for your losses.
Passengers can file suits against Lyft if it appears that an on-duty driver bears the responsibility for their losses. Comparatively, passengers can file individual claims against an unaffiliated driver if that driver’s negligence contributed to the accident.
Discuss Your Financial Support With Morelli Law Firm
Lyft accidents are costly for everyone involved. Passengers risk injury and loss of property. Motorists involved can all lose access to their cars for extended periods of time. The lost opportunities for work can leave all parties at a loss for financial support unless they take legal action.
New Jersey does allow people injured in a Lyft accident to pursue financial support through civil court. To schedule a free case evaluation with our Clifton Lyft accident lawyers at Morelli Law Firm, you can call our office or use our online form. We’re ready to sit down and discuss an accident with you.