Do I Need a Lawyer After a Rideshare Accident in Studio City?

Brian Liu, Esq. — Founding Partner

Local Studio City Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Brian Liu is a founding partner at L&F Brown. He previously lived in Studio City and knows the Ventura Boulevard corridor and surrounding neighborhoods firsthand. He graduated from UCLA Law School and has spent his career representing injured clients across Los Angeles.

Uber and Lyft drivers are a constant presence on Studio City streets. They pick up and drop off passengers along Ventura Blvd, navigate the US-101 through the Cahuenga Pass interchange, and wind through neighborhood roads like Coldwater Canyon Ave and Laurel Canyon Blvd at all hours. When a rideshare vehicle is involved in an accident, the insurance situation is significantly more complicated than a standard car crash, and that complexity is exactly why having a lawyer matters.

Why Rideshare Accidents Are Different

In a typical car accident, you deal with one driver and one insurance policy. In a rideshare accident, the coverage that applies depends on what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash. California law and Uber and Lyft's own insurance policies create a tiered system:

If the driver's app was off, the driver's personal auto insurance is the only coverage. If the driver's app was on but they had not accepted a ride yet, a limited amount of Uber or Lyft contingency coverage applies. If the driver had accepted a ride or a passenger was in the vehicle, Uber and Lyft each maintain up to $1 million in liability coverage per incident.

Determining which coverage tier applies, getting Uber or Lyft to acknowledge their responsibility, and navigating their claims processes requires knowledge and persistence that most people do not have without legal help.

When to Hire a Lawyer

You should contact a Studio City rideshare accident lawyer as soon as possible if you were injured in a crash involving a rideshare driver, whether you were a passenger in the rideshare vehicle, another driver, a bicyclist, or a pedestrian hit by the rideshare car.

Rideshare companies employ large teams of claims handlers and attorneys whose job is to minimize payouts. They will look for any reason to argue that the driver was not actively engaged in a ride at the time of the crash, which would shift coverage from their $1 million policy to a much smaller personal policy. An attorney who knows how to document the driver's app status and ride status at the time of impact is essential to countering that argument.

What a Rideshare Lawyer Does

Your attorney will obtain the driver's app activity logs from Uber or Lyft through formal discovery. They will identify all applicable insurance layers. They will handle all communications with Uber or Lyft's claims team and their insurers. They will calculate your complete damages, including medical care at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys and beyond, lost income, and pain and suffering. And if a fair settlement cannot be reached, they will file suit in Van Nuys Courthouse West.

LAPD North Hollywood Division officers who respond to rideshare crashes on Studio City streets will document the scene, and CHP handles incidents on the 101. Your attorney will obtain those reports and any available traffic camera footage as well.

Contact L&F Brown's Studio City team for a free consultation after any rideshare accident. We handle the complexity so you can focus on recovery.