Atlanta Uber and Lyft accident lawyer

In a rideshare crash the money question is answered by the app. If the driver was offline, only their personal policy applies. If the app was on but no ride was accepted, a limited contingent policy applies. From acceptance until drop-off, a $1,000,000 commercial liability policy applies. Establishing which period the crash fell into is the first thing to nail down.

Reviewed by Omar A. Cooper, Esq. · Last updated September 3, 2026

Who is usually responsible

More than one party is often liable for a rideshare crash, and finding the second one is frequently what changes the value of a claim:

• the rideshare driver, under whichever policy was live at the time;
• Uber’s or Lyft’s commercial insurer, during the accepted-ride period;
• another motorist who caused the collision, whether you were a passenger, a driver or a pedestrian;
• your own uninsured-motorist coverage, which can apply even when you were a passenger in someone else’s car.

The evidence that decides these cases

In rough order of how quickly it disappears:

• the trip record in your app — time-stamped, and the cleanest proof of the coverage period;
• the driver’s app status at impact, which the platform holds;
• the crash report identifying the vehicle as for-hire;
• in-car camera footage, which many rideshare drivers now run;
• your ride receipt and driver details, which the app retains after the trip.

Passengers are in the strongest position of anyone in a rideshare crash: they are essentially never at fault, so the only real question is which driver was and which policy responds. That does not make the claim automatic — it makes it a documentation problem, and one worth doing properly given the size of the commercial policy.

Screenshot the trip in your app before anything else. It is the one piece of evidence you hold and the platform does not.

What can be recovered

• Economic lossMedical treatment already received and reasonably expected in future, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage.
• Non-economic lossPain, suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and the loss of the things you used to be able to do.
• Punitive damagesAvailable in the narrower set of Georgia cases involving wilful misconduct or conscious indifference to consequences — drunk driving being the clearest example. They are not part of an ordinary negligence claim.

Every case is different and no outcome can be promised. What we can commit to is that the claim will be documented properly before anyone is asked to put a number on it.

What to do now

If a rideshare crash has just happened, the order of these matters more than people expect:

• Get medical attention, and keep going. Your health comes first, and a documented, continuous treatment record is also what makes the injury provable later. Gaps are the argument insurers make most often.
• Report it. A police report, an incident report or an animal-control report creates a contemporaneous record that cannot be reconstructed afterwards.
• Preserve what will disappear. Photograph the scene, the vehicles or the hazard, and your injuries. Video is usually overwritten within days — a written request to preserve it has to go out early. Georgia crash reports are released through BuyCrash a few business days later.
• Do not give the other side a recorded statement before you have spoken to a lawyer and know the extent of your injuries. You are not required to.
• Get a free review. Call (470) 852-6328 and Omar will tell you honestly whether there is a claim.

Sources: O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 — injuries to the person: two years · O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 — apportionment and comparative fault · Georgia crash reports — BuyCrash

Questions people ask about these claims