Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles

What insurance applies in an Uber or Lyft crash?

California regulates Uber and Lyft as transportation network companies under Public Utilities Code section 5430 and following. The insurance that applies is decided by the state of the app at the moment of impact. There are three periods:

• App off. The driver is simply a private motorist. Their own personal policy applies, with no rideshare coverage at all, and California’s minimum limits are $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident since 1 January 2025.
• App on, no ride accepted. A contingent policy applies, well above the state minimum but far below the figure most people have heard of. This is the gap period, and it is where most arguments happen.
• Ride accepted, or passenger aboard. The platform’s primary liability coverage applies, with a limit of one million dollars.

Which period applied is a factual question answered by the platform’s own trip data, not by the driver’s recollection. Getting that record is usually the first substantive step in the case, and it is one of the reasons these claims are not well suited to being handled alone.

One thing has moved recently and is worth checking rather than assuming. California reduced the uninsured motorist coverage that rideshare companies must carry, down from the one million dollar floor that applied for years. The figure now depends on when the policy was issued or renewed, so if the at-fault driver was uninsured, the applicable limit should be confirmed against the actual policy rather than what was true a year ago.

Who is liable for an Uber or Lyft accident?

Usually more than one party can be responsible, and each can bring its own insurance:

• The rideshare driver, whose negligence caused the crash, such as speeding, running a light or distracted driving.
• The platform, through the layered coverage that depends on the three periods above.
• Another driver, where the rideshare vehicle was hit by someone else. If that driver is uninsured, the platform’s coverage can matter too.
• A public agency, for a dangerous road condition or a failed signal, under Government Code section 835. These claims carry the six month deadline.

California follows pure comparative fault, so partial responsibility reduces a recovery by your share instead of barring it.

What if you were the passenger, the driver or another road user?

• If you were the passenger, your position is usually the clearest of all. You almost never carry any fault, and the platform’s large policy was active by definition because you were aboard.
• If you were the driver, the situation is more complicated. Under Proposition 22, app drivers in California are independent contractors with limited benefits, not employees with full workers’ compensation. That leaves real gaps in medical and lost income cover. Being at work does not stop you claiming against the other driver, and in many cases against the platform’s own coverage.
• If you were hit by an Uber or Lyft driver while in your own car, on a bicycle or on foot, the same three period logic decides how much coverage is available to you.

What compensation can you recover after a rideshare accident?

• Medical expenses, past and future, including surgery, therapy and long term care.
• Lost earnings and loss of future earning capacity.
• Property damage to your vehicle and belongings.
• Pain, suffering and emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
• Punitive damages under Civil Code section 3294 where a driver acted with malice.
• Wrongful death damages for the family under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 when a collision is fatal.

A claim’s value cannot be known before the medical picture is clear, and nothing here predicts a result.

How long do you have to file an Uber or Lyft accident claim in California?

• Two years from the date of injury to file an injury lawsuit, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
• Three years for property damage only, under Code of Civil Procedure section 338.
• Six months to present a written claim if a public entity is involved, under Government Code section 911.2. This shorter deadline governs, and missing it usually ends the claim.

Under Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(A), an unlimited civil injury or wrongful death action is filed in the judicial district where the incident arose. A collision in Los Angeles County is not filed downtown by default, and the Court’s filing locator settles which courthouse hears it.

How much does an Uber or Lyft accident lawyer cost in Los Angeles?

No fee unless there is a recovery. Broukhim Legal PC takes rideshare cases on a contingency fee, so there is nothing to pay up front and the fee is paid out of what is recovered. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed. The fee agreement is put in writing and signed before any work starts, as California law requires (Business and Professions Code section 6147). Your first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation.

Personal injury lawyers across Los Angeles County

Broukhim Legal PC represents people hurt in rideshare collisions throughout Los Angeles County. Each city page sets out the courthouse an incident in that city is filed in, how a claim against that city is presented and the deadlines that apply:

See all locations we serve, or tell us about the crash for a free case review.

Meet your Los Angeles Uber and Lyft accident lawyer

Bejan Broukhim, Founder and Lead Attorney
State Bar of California, license number 183036

Bejan Broukhim brings years of California legal experience to injury and mass tort cases and personally reviews each one. He earned his J.D. at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, served as a judicial extern in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Van Nuys Superior Court, and appeared in preliminary hearings as a certified law clerk with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial.

Office: 550 S Hill Street, Suite 1390, Los Angeles, CA 90013, serving all of Los Angeles County and California. Get directions