California Rideshare Accident Lawyer

Ridesharing has become a popular form of transportation for many. When you choose rideshare, you expect to arrive at your destination safely. However, accidents can and do happen and can lead to serious injuries.

The legal challenges are complex because it's a rideshare vehicle and how they're insured. Instead of worrying about fighting the insurance companies – both the rideshare company and the driver have insurance – let an experienced California rideshare accident lawyer handle your claim.

If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a rideshare wreck, contact Californian rideshare accident lawyers at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos for a free case evaluation.

Why Choose Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

When you are recovering from injuries from a rideshare accident, navigating the legal system is stressful and could contribute to slower recovery times. California rideshare attorneys specialize in these types of accidents and the complexities they bring to recovering the compensation you deserve, including dealing with multiple insurance companies and, possibly, multiple defendants.

The rideshare accident lawyers at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos have extensive knowledge of rideshare accident laws and have handled many claims similar to yours. They can investigate the accident and provide you with insights to help determine a strategy to recover the compensation you deserve.

We have offices in San Mateo, just off the J. Archer Younger Freeway on Borel Avenue; Hayward, just off Foothill Boulevard on C Street; and downtown Santa Barbara on State Street, near the FedEx Office Print and Ship Center.

How Do You Pay for a California Rideshare Accident Lawyer?

We are happy to answer your questions about our settlement and litigation track record when you come for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. Additionally, we handle accident claims on a contingency basis, which means you only pay if you win a settlement or a trial award.

Computing a fair and reasonable compensation includes our fees since the at-fault driver should pay us to represent your interests.

California has a statute of limitations for accident claims. You must contact a California rideshare accident lawyer as soon after the accident as possible, as you only have a certain amount of time to file a legal claim.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a California Rideshare Accident?

California allows you to recover two types of damages: compensatory and exemplary (punitive) damages. Compensatory damages have two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages. Most people recover åeconomic damages after a rideshare accident. However, in most cases, only those who lost a loved one or suffered long-term or permanent injuries can recover non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

Most people who suffered injuries in a California rideshare accident recover economic damages, which the courts sometimes call special damages. Economic damages have a monetary value and include:

Medical Expenses

• Doctors' appointments
• Surgeries and follow-up appointments
• Prescriptions and prescribed over-the-counter medications.
• Ambulatory aids
• Medical equipment, such as oxygen tanks
• Physical therapy appointments
• Cognitive therapy appointments
• Psychological therapy appointments
• Occupational therapy appointments
• Accessibility accessories for your car, including but not limited to hand controls and wheelchair lifts and ramps
• Accessibility accessories for your home, including but not limited to handrails, grab bars, wheelchair ramps, and widened doorways

Income

If your injuries or disabilities caused by accident injuries prevent you from working, you can recover lost wages and loss of future earning capacity. You could recover compensation equitable to your wages or other income until you typically retire.

Sometimes, your disabilities may allow you to work part-time or take a job that doesn't pay as much as your previous job. You could still recover the loss of future partial earning capacity until you would typically retire.

Personal Property

If you had personal property that was destroyed or damaged in a California rideshare accident, you could recover compensation to cover replacing or repairing the destroyed or damaged personal property.

Death-Related Expenses

If you lost a loved one in a California rideshare accident, you could recover:

• Funeral expenses.
• Burial expenses.
• Cremation expenses.
• Certain probate court fees.
• Probate attorney's fees and costs.

Non-Economic Damages

Not everyone can recover non-economic damages. In most cases, only those who lost a loved one or suffered catastrophic injuries – those that last longer than a year or result in your death – can recover non-economic damages, which courts sometimes refer to as general damages.

Non-economic damages include:

• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
• Loss of quality of life if you have to make life-long changes, such as taking prescription drugs or using ambulatory aids.
• Loss of consortium if you can no longer have a physical relationship with your spouse.
• Loss of companionship if you can no longer enjoy time with your family or attend family activities and events.
• Loss of use of a body part, such as an arm or a foot.
• Loss of use of a bodily function, such as your eyesight or bladder function.
• Amputation of a digit or limb.
• Inconvenience if you have to hire someone to do the chores you usually do, including but not limited to lawn maintenance, grocery shopping, home repair and maintenance, and house cleaning.
• Excessive scarring or disfigurement.

Punitive Damages

A court can order a defendant to pay punitive damages to punish grossly negligent actions or inactions. Few people can recover punitive damages, and the process takes longer. However, in some cases, it is worth the extra time and effort.

Where Do Accidents Happen in California?

Like other states, California has roads and highways with more accidents than others.

According to Money Geek, some of the most dangerous roads in the state include:

• I-15 from Exit 138 through Exit 129 in Hesperia saw 19 fatal accidents with 19 fatalities. This distance of 4.5 miles sees 4.2 fatal accidents per mile.
• I-80 from Exit 14A to Exit 8A in Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, and Albany saw 15 fatal accidents that caused 17 fatalities. This distance of 5 miles saw three fatal accidents per mile.
• I-80 from Exit 15 to Exit 21 in the Richmond, El Cerrito, Pinole, and San Pablo areas saw 13 fatal accidents with 18 fatalities. This distance of 5 miles saw 2.6 fatal accidents per mile.
• I-5 from Del Paso Road to Railyards Boulevard in Sacramento saw 13 fatal accidents and 16 fatalities. The distance of 4.9 miles had 2.6 fatal accidents per mile.
• I-215 from Exit 44B to Exit 39 in the Colton and San Bernardino area saw 13 fatal accidents with 13 fatalities. This distance of 4.7 miles saw 2.7 fatal accidents per mile.
• SR-74 from Melba Avenue to 3rd Street in Menifee saw 11 fatal accidents with 12 fatalities. This distance of 4.1 miles saw 2.7 fatal accidents per mile.
• I-605 from Exit 5B to Firestone Boulevard in the Norwalk and Cerritos area saw 11 fatal accidents with 12 fatalities. This 4.3-mile stretch of road saw 2.6 fatal accidents per mile.
• I-280 from Meridian Avenue to McLaughlin Avenue in San Jose had ten fatal accidents with ten fatalities. This 3.7-mile stretch had 2.7 fatal accidents per mile.
• Bear Valley Road from Navajo Road to Tamarski Road in the Apple Valley and Hesperia areas saw ten fatal accidents with 13 fatalities. This stretch of 4.7 miles saw 2.1 fatal accidents per mile.
• SR-22 from Exit 10 to Exit 5 in Garden Grove saw ten fatal accidents with 13 fatalities. This stretch of 5 miles saw two fatal accidents per mile.

What Types of Rideshare Accidents Occur in California?

Rideshare drivers can get into accidents like any other driver on the road. Rideshare companies ensure that their drivers have clean driving records, but you can't predict what others will do, nor can you predict unforeseen medical emergencies. Sometimes, the rideshare driver might be tired or not have kept up with the vehicle's maintenance. In other cases, weather and road conditions could play a part in an accident.

Whether the accident is the rideshare driver's fault or due to the negligence of a third party, you could recover compensation and other losses if you suffer injuries or lose a loved one in a rideshare accident.

Types of rideshare accidents include:

• Head-on collisions.
• Rear-end accidents.
• Sideswipe wrecks.
• Multi-car pile ups.
• Rollover accidents.

What Types of Injuries Do Rideshare Accidents Cause?

Injuries you could sustain in a California rideshare accident include:

• Cuts, scrapes, bruises, bumps, and scratches.
• Strains and sprains.
• Pulled and torn muscles and other soft tissue injuries.
• Simple and compound fractures.
• Crushed bones and other crush injuries.
• Head, neck, and shoulder injuries.
• Face and eye injuries.
• Traumatic brain injuries.
• Internal injuries.
• Road rash.
• Chemical and thermal burns.
• Back and spinal cord injuries.
• Ear injuries, including deafness, if the accident causes an explosion.

You could also suffer secondary injuries, such as infections. The defendant is also responsible for the extra expense and pain and suffering secondary injuries caused, as you would not have to deal with them if not for the defendant's actions or inactions.

Additionally, if your accident injuries exacerbate an existing injury or illness, the defendant is also responsible for the additional cost and pain and suffering to treat those injuries and illnesses.

Fighting Insurance Companies

You will almost always face an uphill battle to recover the compensation you deserve after a California rideshare accident. Insurance companies are in business to make money. Every claim they pay reduces their profit margin, and insurance companies care more about that than ensuring you receive the compensation you deserve.

Insurance companies employ many tactics to deny a claim or offer you a pittance, including:

• Delaying your claim so much that you'll forget about it.
• Delaying your claim, causing you to miss deadlines.
• Twisting what you say to place the blame on you instead of the at-fault driver.
• Telling you that its client is at fault, but "we can only pay this much." This is almost always a lie.

Insurance companies use these and other tactics so they won't have to pay out, especially for claims worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

What Can You Do After a California Rideshare Accident?

After a California rideshare accident, you can take several steps to help your case, including:

• Obtain a copy of the police report.
• Obtain a copy of your medical records.
• If you have trouble getting documents, let your rideshare accident lawyer know – the sooner you can get the documents, the sooner the attorney can start working on a strategy to recover the compensation you deserve.
• Keep a journal of everything that happened from the crash until you win compensation or a trial award. Include accident facts, notes about doctors' appointments, your daily pain threshold, and notes about therapy appointments to help show how fast or slow you are recovering.

Ensure you keep your rideshare attorney at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos updated with your journal. While your attorney can't use it in court, it helps create a strategy to help recover a fair and reasonable agreement or win a trial award.

Always keep every doctor's appointment unless it's an emergency. The defendant's attorneys will argue that your injuries are not as bad as you claim if you do not keep your appointments, including therapy appointments.

Finally, do not post anything on social media, including information and pictures of the accident or your activities. You might be out for an innocent dinner with your family, but the insurance company could troll your profiles and use that to say your injuries are not as bad as you claim.

Contact a California Rideshare Accident Lawyer

If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a California rideshare accident, do not wait to contact a California rideshare accident lawyer at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer. Contact our office today at (650) 345-8484 for your free, no-obligation case evaluation.

GALINE, FRYE, FITTING & FRANGOS, LLP - SAN MATEO OFFICE

Address: 411 Borel Ave #500, San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: (650) 419-0473
Fax: (805)-617-1365