Taking an Uber is a convenient and relatively inexpensive way to get around Macon. However, as Uber rides have increased, so have traffic accidents involving Uber drivers. Getting hurt in an Uber accident as an Uber passenger, an occupant of another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a bicyclist, can saddle you with severe disabilities and large, unplanned expenses.
If you’ve suffered injuries in a Macon-area Uber accident, you may have rights to seek significant financial compensation to help you pay for your resulting medical expenses, lost income, pain, and difficulty. Call John Foy & Associates where we represent Macon rideshare accident victims, like you, in securing that compensation through insurance claims and lawsuits.
The Emerging Link Between Uber Use and Traffic Accidents
When Uber first arrived on the scene, many predicted it would lead to fewer traffic crashes and deaths. That has not necessarily happened. Although Uber use does seem to reduce the number of alcohol-related fatalities at certain times, a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and subsequent research by the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago, found that the growth of Uber and other rideshare services in a city may in fact lead to a statistically significant increase in motor vehicle accidents, injuries, and deaths.
Why might Uber’s growing popularity translate into more accidents on Macon-area roads? Research suggests numerous potential explanations, including:
- Increased use of Uber and other rideshare services cuts into the use of public transit, leading to higher traffic volumes, congestion, and accident risks.
- Uber and its competitors rely on smartphone apps to dispatch drivers, increasing the risk of crashes caused by distracted driving.
- Uber drivers often navigate in unfamiliar neighborhoods, relying on GPS devices that can cause dangerous distractions.
- Individuals with other jobs drive for Uber in their off-hours, often at night, heightening the danger of accidents caused by Uber driver fatigue.
- Uber and its fellow rideshare companies pay drivers by the completed trip, creating an incentive for drivers to speed, especially between fares.
At John Foy & Associates, our team investigates the root causes of your Uber accident to determine how it happened and who should bear the blame.
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Your Rights as a Macon Uber Accident Victim
In many ways, getting into an accident with an Uber is the same as getting into any other type of traffic accident. The causes of crashes and the severe injuries victims can suffer, for example, do not depend on the involvement of an Uber driver. But Uber accidents do differ from other crashes in one important respect that can substantially affect the financial compensation available to you as an injured crash victim: insurance.
Ordinary Auto Insurance Likely Covers Your Injuries
Under Georgia law, getting hurt in any type of crash generally entitles you to seek money damages from the party or parties at fault. In the typical crash caused by the other driver’s negligence, that driver’s liability insurance supplies the compensation to pay for:
- Your medical and other accident-related expenses.
- Your lost wages, benefits, paid time off, and future income.
- Your pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life.
- Punitive damages, in some cases.
All drivers of private vehicles in Georgia, including Uber drivers, must carry a minimum of $25,000 per individual and $50,000 per accident in auto insurance coverage against their potential liability for causing personal injuries in an accident.
Extra Insurance Coverage for Your Uber Accident Injuries
At John Foy & Associates, we routinely help motor vehicle accident victims secure compensation from an at-fault driver’s auto liability insurance. Unfortunately, the minimum Georgia auto insurance does not always fully cover the damages suffered by a victim in a crash. And that’s why it matters that you got hurt in an accident with an Uber.
At certain times, Uber accident victims like you, are also covered by additional liability insurance that Georgia’s transportation network company insurance law requires Uber drivers to carry. Depending upon the Uber driver’s status on the Uber app at the moment of the crash, that extra insurance can supply up to $1,000,000 in additional funds to pay your damages. That means that if you got hurt in an Uber accident in Macon, you likely have a much greater chance of receiving full compensation for your injuries and losses than if the crash had not involved an Uber.
Why You Need a Mason Uber Accident Attorney
The trick is to know how to take full advantage of that extra insurance. You need an Uber accident attorney in Mason who understands the ins and outs of investigating Macon Uber accidents and of securing the critical evidence that establishes your right to tap into the up to $1,000,000 in extra coverage carried by Uber drivers.
Hiring an Uber accident lawyer in Macon with that knowledge and skill-set could mean the difference between getting every dollar you need to pay for your care and healing, and barely receiving enough money to cover the bill for your post-accident emergency room visit.
That’s not the only reason you need a skilled lawyer in your corner. An Uber accident attorney advises you on important decisions affecting your rights, advocates for you in and out of court, and has the resources and talents to take your case to trial and win if that’s what’s needed to get you justice and fair compensation for your injuries and losses.
A lawyer with Uber accident experience can also take over interactions with insurance companies on your behalf, which protects you from the aggressive tactics those companies deploy to try to undermine your claim and gives you the time and space you need to rebuild after your trauma.
Contact a Macon Uber Accident Lawyer Today
The experienced lawyers and legal professionals at John Foy & Associates have decades of experience fighting to secure financial compensation for crash victims like you, with a growing focus on accidents involving rideshare companies like Uber. Over the past twenty-plus years, we have achieved favorable results totaling more than $1 billion for our clients.
Contact us online today or call for a free consultation to learn how we can help after an Uber accident harms you or your loved one.
478-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form