Two identical crashes. Same intersection in Cherry Hill, same speed, same injuries. In one, the Uber driver had a passenger in the back seat. In the other, he had just dropped someone off and was sitting there with the app on, waiting.
Same driver. Same car. Radically different insurance coverage. In one case there is a $1.5 million policy. In the other there is a fraction of that.
That is the entire puzzle of a rideshare case, and it is why an Uber accident lawyer in NJ starts by figuring out what the app was doing at the moment of impact. Our personal injury attorneys handle these throughout Camden County, and the first question is never “how bad are you hurt.” It is “was the app on.”
The Three Coverage Periods
Uber and Lyft both structure coverage in tiers based on the driver’s status. Learn these and the rest of the case makes sense.
Period 0. App is off. The driver is just a person driving a car. Their personal auto policy applies, and nothing else. If they carry New Jersey’s minimum, that is $15,000 per person. We explain those limits here: New Jersey’s minimum coverage rules.
Period 1. App is on, no ride accepted. The driver is logged in and waiting. Rideshare contingent coverage kicks in, but it is limited, typically around $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident in liability. Better than nothing, but far from the headline number. This period is where most disputes happen, because personal auto policies frequently contain a livery exclusion that denies coverage the second the app is on, and the rideshare policy is contingent. Two carriers, both pointing at each other.
Period 2. Ride accepted, driver en route to pick up.
Period 3. Passenger in the vehicle.
In periods 2 and 3, the full commercial policy applies. Uber and Lyft both carry $1 million in third party liability, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which is why the practical figure people cite is around $1.5 million.
That coverage protects you whether you were the passenger, the other driver, a pedestrian, or a cyclist. You do not have to be in the rideshare vehicle to reach that policy.
Proving Which Period Applies
The rideshare company has the data. You do not.
Their trip logs, GPS records, and driver status timestamps establish the period, and they are not going to volunteer them. A preservation letter and a subpoena get them, but only if someone sends one before the retention window closes.
If you were the passenger, screenshot everything now. The trip receipt. The driver’s name and photo. The trip map. That receipt is proof of Period 3, and it costs you nothing to save it.
If you were the other driver, look for the decal, photograph it, and note whether the driver was carrying passengers.
The Independent Contractor Wall
Uber and Lyft classify drivers as independent contractors, not employees. That is a deliberate structure, and it means the companies generally cannot be held vicariously liable for a driver’s negligence the way an employer would be.
What that argument does not do is eliminate the insurance policy. The commercial coverage exists regardless of the driver’s employment classification, and that policy is what pays. Defense counsel will still push the contractor point hard, especially where a negligent hiring or negligent retention theory is raised, and those theories are difficult but not always impossible.
At the Scene
The standard steps apply and are laid out here: what to do after a car accident in New Jersey.
Two additions for rideshare. Report the crash inside the app, because that creates a timestamped record the company cannot later dispute. And do not accept the driver’s suggestion to “keep it off the app.” That request is not for your benefit.
Where We Work
- Cherry Hill injury attorneys for the Route 38 and Route 70 corridor
- Marlton personal injury lawyers for Route 73
- Voorhees injury attorneys
- Berlin, NJ injury lawyers
Rideshare volume in Camden County and across South Jersey has climbed steadily, especially around the Philadelphia commute and the Atlantic City corridor. There is a real reason a local attorney matters when the defense is a national carrier with in house counsel who has never set foot in Camden County Superior Court.
Who Handles Your Case
Kevin D. Castro and Henry L. Doner handle rideshare matters directly. Contingency. No recovery, no fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was an Uber passenger. Do I have a claim?
Almost certainly, and it is one of the cleanest cases in personal injury. A passenger is never at fault. The only real question is whether the rideshare driver or the other driver caused the crash, and either way there is coverage. The $1 million commercial policy applies during a trip.
What if the rideshare driver was not at fault?
Then you pursue the at fault driver. If that driver is uninsured or underinsured, Uber and Lyft’s UM and UIM coverage applies during periods 2 and 3. That is a significant protection, and passengers routinely do not know it exists.
I drive for Uber and I was hurt. What do I have?
Depends on the period, and on what coverage you personally carry. Rideshare drivers are frequently underinsured for their own injuries, because a personal auto policy may exclude livery use. Check whether your carrier offers a rideshare endorsement. Most do, and most drivers never bought it.
Can I sue Uber directly?
Usually you are pursuing the insurance policy Uber maintains rather than Uber the company, because of the independent contractor structure. In practice the money comes from the same place. Where a driver had a disqualifying record and was allowed on the platform anyway, a direct negligence theory may be available.
How long do I have to file?
Two years in New Jersey. But the trip data has retention limits, so the useful deadline is much sooner.
Talk to an Uber Accident Lawyer in NJ
If you were hurt in a rideshare crash in Cherry Hill, Marlton, Voorhees, Berlin, or anywhere in Camden County, the coverage question decides the case, and it needs answering early.
Free case review. No fee unless we recover.