Ann Arbor Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyers

Why Injured Ann Arbor Rideshare Riders Trust Lee Steinberg Law Firm

An Uber or Lyft ride is supposed to get you home safely, but a single careless driver can turn it into a serious crash. For more than 50 years, the Lee Steinberg Law Firm has fought for injured people across Michigan and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.

As rideshare use grows around the University of Michigan and along State Street, Main Street, and I-94 in Washtenaw County, so do the crashes that come with it. Whether you were a passenger, the driver of another vehicle, or a pedestrian or cyclist struck by a rideshare driver, our Ann Arbor rideshare accident attorneys are ready to help.

Ann Arbor generates rideshare demand that few Michigan cities of its size match. Students who do not keep a car on campus rely on Uber and Lyft between the Central and North campuses, downtown fills with riders on Main Street weekend nights, football Saturdays at Michigan Stadium turn the whole south side into pickup and drop-off congestion, and I-94 carries a steady stream of trips to Detroit Metro Airport. Riders hurt in serious crashes here are usually taken to University of Michigan Health or Trinity Health Ann Arbor.

The Lee Steinberg Law Firm has Ann Arbor rideshare accident lawyers with outstanding results and awards:

• Our trial lawyers are routinely awarded the Super Lawyers designation, a peer-reviewed honors list of the best personal injury lawyers in Michigan.
• Founder, Lee Steinberg, is a nationally recognized trial lawyer, trying cases throughout the country, and has been a powerful voice in Michigan law since the 1970s.
• Co-President, Eric Steinberg, is a former past president of the Michigan Association for Justice, the umbrella organization for Michigan personal injury lawyers.
• We have been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Association, a prestigious invitation-only organization that recognizes the nation’s top civil plaintiff lawyers.

No Fee Guarantee

Our clients never pay any costs or fees until we obtain compensation from the negligent parties and insurance companies. This is our promise. There are never any upfront fees, retainers, or hourly bills. Our Ann Arbor rideshare accident attorneys work strictly on a contingency fee basis. We advance the expenses needed to investigate and pursue your claim, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

Free Consultation

When you contact the top-rated car accident lawyers after your Ann Arbor Uber accident, the consultation is always free. We have multiple lawyers and paralegals standing by, ready to answer your questions and provide real answers.

Free Consultation With an Ann Arbor Rideshare Accident Lawyer

After an Uber or Lyft crash, you likely have urgent questions about medical bills, lost wages, and which insurance company is responsible for your injuries.

Our consultations are always free. During your case review, an experienced Ann Arbor rideshare accident attorney will listen to what happened, explain your rights, answer your questions, and outline the best path forward. There is no obligation, and everything you share stays confidential.

Our Results

Our firm is dedicated to achieving results for our clients. We’re proud to share some recent results that show our commitment to securing large settlements for injured people. These settlements and results include:

• $5,750,000 for a man injured at a work site
• $3,250,000 for a woman injured at a major retailer
• $2,500,000 for a man injured by a semi-truck
• $2,000,000 for a woman killed in a car accident
• $1,300,000 for a man injured at a construction site
• $1,250,000 for a tenant injured at her rental complex

Common Causes of Ann Arbor Uber and Lyft Accidents

Most rideshare crashes are caused by driver negligence, either by the Uber or Lyft driver or by another motorist on the road. Common causes include:

• Distracted driving while using the rideshare app
• Speeding to complete more trips
• Fatigued driving during long shifts
• Sudden stops and pickups in traffic
• Negligent drivers of other vehicles
• Failure to yield and unsafe lane changes

Another cause for rideshare accidents for passengers is unsafe drop-off or pick-up locations. Drivers may stop suddenly, double-park, block traffic, pull into bicycle lanes, or let passengers out in an unsafe location. In addition, drivers are often in places that are unfamiliar to them. They rely on their navigation app to tell them where to go instead of paying attention to the road. This has become a major contributor to ride share accidents in Michigan.

Where Rideshare Crashes Happen in Ann Arbor

Rideshare crashes in Ann Arbor cluster where heavy pedestrian traffic, unfamiliar drivers, and constant curbside stopping overlap. The stretches where those pressures converge most sharply include:

• State Street and the campus crossings near the Diag, where riders step out into moving pedestrian and cyclist traffic
• Main Street between Huron and William, where late-night pickups double-park in travel lanes
• The I-94 interchanges at State Street and Ann Arbor-Saline Road, on airport and out-of-town trips
• Washtenaw Avenue through the Arborland corridor, with frequent lane changes and turning conflicts

How Uber and Lyft Insurance Works in Michigan

Rideshare accidents are more complicated than ordinary car crashes, because the available insurance depends on exactly what the Uber or Lyft driver was doing at the moment of the collision.

Michigan's rideshare law sets coverage in periods. When the app is off, only the driver's personal auto insurance applies. When the driver is logged in but still waiting for a ride request, Uber and Lyft provide limited contingent coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident. Once the driver has accepted a trip and is on the way to or carrying a passenger, a $1 million commercial liability policy applies.

Uber & Lyft Accidents and No-Fault Benefits

Just like a passenger in a car or truck, a passenger injured during a rideshare ride from a motor vehicle crash is eligible for first-party no-fault benefits. These benefits consist of economic losses, such as:

• Medical expenses reimbursement, such as hospital bills and doctors’ bills
• Lost wages for up to 3 years
• Replacement services or payment for household chores
• Attendant care or nursing care provided by friends, family, or nursing professionals
• Out-of pocket expenses - payment for prescriptions, co-pays, medical mileage, and other medical expenses.

Which Auto Insurance Company Pays No-Fault Benefits?

Michigan law sets an order of priority to determine which insurance company is responsible for paying no-fault benefits. In general, a person always starts with their own auto insurance. This is true even if you were injured inside an Uber or Lyft. If you don’t have auto insurance of your own, then the carrier for a resident relative must pay your benefits. This includes individuals like a spouse, parent, child, or sibling.

If there is no insurance at that level, only then do you turn to the insurance for the Uber or Lyft driver. If there is no insurance at any of those levels, then an injured passenger can still make a no-fault claim. In this situation, which occurs more frequently than you think, you file a claim with the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MACP). The MACP is a quasi-state-run organization that works with the auto insurance industry. The injured person will have an insurance carrier, like Citizens or Farm Bureau, assigned to up to $250,000 in benefits. MACP claims are complicated, and it is wise to talk to an experienced Ann Arbor ride share injury lawyer to help properly set up a case.

How Much Time Do You Have to File a First-Party Claim?

Under Michigan law, specifically MCL 500.3145, a person must file a claim for no-fault benefits within one (1) year of the accident. The notice must be in writing, and the name and address of the claimant must be given. The notice must also indicate the name of the person injured and the time, place, and nature of the injury.

This rule is strict. If a person fails to give proper notice to the correct insurance carrier within one year, they forever lose the right to seek no-fault benefits.

Ann Arbor Uber and Lyft Accident Lawyers - Pain and Suffering Compensation

If another motorist, or your Uber driver, is responsible for causing the crash that leads to your injuries, you can hold that driver responsible. Pain and suffering refers to cases resulting from mental or physical distress sustained by an injured person due to another driver’s or company's negligence. They are not the same thing as economic losses, such as wage loss and outstanding medical bills. Examples include:

• Physical pain from the body, such as low back pain, neck pain, or a broken bone
• Headaches
• Emotional distress
• Anxiety and depression
• Limitations on activities and hobbies
• Grief as a result of the death of a loved one

Pain and suffering can be split into two components - physical and mental. Physical pain is more than just the discomfort from actual injuries. It encompasses any pain the plaintiff is likely to endure in the future as a result of the accident. In less severe cases, it is compensation for discomfort. In severe cases, it is compensation for extreme suffering.

What Documentation Do I Need to Prove Pain and Suffering?

You must provide the insurance company with proof to validate your personal injury claim. Here are some of the important documents you should gather:

• Photos of the accident and your subsequent injuries
• Medical reports and medical records
• Any medical bills and receipts
• Lists and receipts for prescriptions/medications
• Proof of lost wages
• Log of treatment undergone, both physical and psychological
• Journal or a pain log
• List of missed activities, hobbies, and important life events.
• Written evaluations from your therapist or mental health professional

A good Ann Arbor rideshare accident lawyer will obtain their client's medical records, imaging studies, medical bills, photographs of the injuries, before-and-after photographs, prescription records, over-the-counter drug receipts, and wage-loss information. The documentation and proof provided for your pain and suffering claim makes the difference between a great settlement or not.

In addition, letters or testimony from friends, family, and co-workers are extremely important. These people know you the best and can explain to the world how the car accident upended your life. This can be some of the most powerful evidence in a pain and suffering lawsuit.

Who Is Responsible for Paying Pain and Suffering from an Uber or Lyft Accident?

When you are injured inside an Uber or Lyft, multiple people could be held accountable. First, it depends on who caused the crash. If the Uber driver were negligent, that person would be a defendant. If another person owned the vehicle the Uber driver operated, that individual is also a potential defendant. Because drivers are considered independent contractors (1099), in very rare cases a lawsuit can be brought against Uber or Lyft itself.

Naturally, if another vehicle causes a crash, then the driver and the owner of the other vehicle are defendants and responsible for paying for pain and suffering. Sometimes the other driver was within the scope of their employment. In those cases, the driver’s employer is a potential defendant. It is important to contact an Ann Arbor Uber and Lyft accident lawyer to identify all the different parties and insurance avenues when getting started with a case.

Deep Resources and Aggressive Investigation

Winning a serious rideshare accident claim takes far more than filing paperwork. Uber, Lyft, and their insurers have teams of lawyers, and beating them requires attorneys with real resources and determination.

The Ann Arbor rideshare accident lawyers at Lee Steinberg Law Firm work with nationally recognized experts to build strong cases. Depending on the circumstances, we may retain accident reconstruction specialists, medical experts, economists, and life-care planners to establish how the crash happened and document the full extent of your injuries.

Our team begins preserving evidence right away, including the rideshare trip records and app data, witness statements, traffic-camera and surveillance footage, vehicle data, and documentation showing how the driver's negligence caused the collision.

Trial-Ready Ann Arbor Rideshare Accident Attorneys

Many firms focus on quick settlements. At Lee Steinberg Law Firm, we prepare every Ann Arbor rideshare accident case as though it will be decided by a jury.

Our attorneys bring decades of courtroom experience and are ready to litigate aggressively when an insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation. We conduct thorough discovery, take depositions, retain credible experts, and build persuasive cases that prove fault and demonstrate the real impact of our clients' injuries.

Insurance companies know which firms are willing to go to trial. Our reputation for preparation and courtroom advocacy often creates valuable leverage during settlement negotiations.

Where An Ann Arbor Rideshare Injury Case Is Filed

A serious Ann Arbor rideshare case is generally filed in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court in Ann Arbor, with smaller claims heard in the 15th District Court.

Built to Take on Insurance Companies

The Ann Arbor Uber and Lyft accident lawyers at the Lee Steinberg Law Firm have the financial strength, experience, and expert support necessary to take on well-funded insurance companies. We collaborate with leading experts across the country to develop strong liability theories, prove causation, and present compelling evidence of how a crash changed our client’s life. We leave nothing to chance and fight for the full compensation our clients deserve.

Proven Results for Injured Michigan Clients

Our firm has recovered substantial settlements and verdicts for injured people throughout Michigan, including cases involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, broken bones, permanent disabilities, and wrongful death.

While every case is different and past results do not guarantee future outcomes, our track record reflects our commitment to holding negligent parties accountable and pursuing maximum compensation for people hurt in rideshare crashes.

You can review our recent results to see examples of what our firm has recovered for injured Michiganders.

If you were injured in an Uber or Lyft accident in Ann Arbor or anywhere in Washtenaw County, our legal team is ready to help.