Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer in Hollywood

Which Insurance Applies: Florida’s Three Rideshare Periods

Florida’s rideshare law, section 627.748 of the Florida Statutes, sets insurance minimums for Uber and Lyft drivers. The coverage that applies depends on what the driver was doing in the app at the moment of the crash.

• App off: Only the driver’s personal auto policy applies, and it may include little or no bodily injury coverage.
• App on, waiting for a request: The law requires primary liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury and death, plus $25,000 for property damage, PIP, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage as required by Florida’s UM statute.
• Ride accepted until the last rider gets out: The law requires at least $1,000,000 in primary liability coverage for death, bodily injury and property damage, plus PIP and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage as required by Florida’s UM statute.

These minimums can be met by the driver’s policy, the rideshare company’s policy, or both. If the driver’s insurance has lapsed or doesn’t provide the required coverage, the company’s insurer must provide it starting with the first dollar of the claim. Personal auto policies may also exclude coverage while a driver is logged on.

How a Rideshare Injury Claim Works, Step by Step

Rideshare claims follow the same basic path as other car accident claims in Florida, plus one extra step: pinning down the driver’s app status.

• First 14 days: Get medical care. PIP medical benefits require initial treatment within 14 days of the crash, as our article on the PIP 14-day rule explains.
• First few weeks: We notify every insurer involved and request the driver’s app status and log-on records.
• While you treat: PIP pays first. We gather records and bills while your doctors evaluate whether the injury is permanent.
• Demand and negotiation: Once your condition stabilizes, we present the claim to the liable insurers. Many cases resolve here, often after several months.
• Lawsuit, if needed: If no fair offer comes, we can file suit before the deadline. Litigation can add a year or more.

For most crashes on or after March 24, 2023, you have two years to file a negligence lawsuit in Florida. Claims under your own UM coverage are contract claims with a five-year deadline, but waiting rarely helps you.

Florida Rules Every Rideshare Passenger Should Know

Whose PIP pays?

No-fault rules still apply. If you own a car with Florida PIP, your own policy generally pays, even when you’re a passenger. If you don’t own a car, the PIP of a relative you live with may cover you. If neither applies, the PIP on the rideshare vehicle can. PIP pays 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost income, up to $10,000 total.

Fault and the injury threshold

To recover pain and suffering from an at-fault driver, you need a permanent injury, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, or death. If you were in another car, on a bike or on foot, Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule also applies: your recovery drops by your share of fault, and you recover nothing if you are more than 50% at fault. If a rideshare car hit you while you were cycling, see our page on bike accidents.

Is Uber or Lyft itself responsible?

Florida law says a rideshare company is not considered to own, control or operate its drivers’ vehicles unless it agreed to that in a written contract, and drivers are independent contractors when certain conditions are met. That makes suing the company directly difficult; in most cases, the path to compensation runs through the insurance the law requires.

Evidence to Gather After an Uber or Lyft Crash

Timing matters: a few minutes can decide whether $50,000 or $1,000,000 in coverage applies.

• Screenshots of your trip: the driver’s name and photo, the license plate, pickup time and route
• Your electronic receipt, which by law lists the ride’s origin, destination, time, distance and fare
• The driver’s insurance information. Florida law requires rideshare drivers to share it after a crash and, on request, to say whether they were logged on or on a trip
• The crash report. Officers complete a long-form report when someone is hurt, and reports can take up to 10 days to appear on the FLHSMV Florida Crash Portal
• Photos, witness names and any dashcam footage
• Medical records, bills and proof of missed work

In a claims investigation, the rideshare company must also provide, on request, the exact times the driver logged on and off in the 12 hours before and after the crash. We ask for those records early.

Damages You May Recover

• Medical expenses beyond what PIP pays, now and in the future
• Lost wages and reduced ability to earn
• Pain and suffering, if you meet the injury threshold
• Damage to your vehicle, if you were in another car
• Wrongful death damages for families after a fatal crash

If the at-fault driver’s coverage is too low, your own UM coverage may help; read more about uninsured motorist coverage in Florida. See how we handle insurance claims.

Rideshare Crashes Around Hollywood and Broward

Rideshare traffic clusters around Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Hollywood Beach and A1A, and downtown Hollywood near Young Circle and ArtsPark. Sudden stops for pickups and doors opened into traffic can cause injuries.

Location decides who writes the report. Inside Hollywood, it’s the Hollywood Police Department; outside city limits, the Broward Sheriff’s Office or the Florida Highway Patrol. Lawsuits in Broward go to the 17th Judicial Circuit: the Broward County Judicial Complex (201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale) or the South Regional Courthouse (3550 Hollywood Blvd).

For example (hypothetical): A passenger leaving the airport in a Lyft is hurt when another driver runs a red light on US-1. That driver has PIP but no bodily injury coverage. Because her Lyft driver was on an active trip, we would look at both her own UM coverage and the uninsured motorist coverage on the rideshare policy, depending on what each one provides.

When to Call a Rideshare Accident Lawyer

Call as soon as you can if you were hurt, if someone is blaming you, or if an insurer asks for a recorded statement. Calling early helps us secure app records.

Consultations are free, and we work on contingency: no fee unless we win, no upfront costs. We help passengers, drivers and people in other vehicles, in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Russian and Ukrainian. Read what to do after a car accident in Hollywood, or contact us any time.