Pompano Beach Rideshare Accident Lawyer (Uber & Lyft)

An Uber or Lyft crash looks like an ordinary collision and behaves like nothing of the sort. The compensation available can swing from $50,000 to $1 million based on a single fact: what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact. Jacobson Injury Firm represents passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and rideshare drivers themselves across Broward County.

Attorney Adam Jacobson handles every case personally rather than passing it to a case manager. Contact us today for a free consultation, and see our broader Pompano Beach personal injury practice for related claims.

The App Status Decides the Coverage

Florida regulates Uber and Lyft as transportation network companies under Florida Statute 627.748, and the statute sets different coverage depending on what the driver was doing. Three situations produce three very different claims.

App off: the driver is a private motorist

With the app closed, the driver carries ordinary personal auto insurance and the claim runs like any other car accident. Florida does not require private drivers to carry bodily injury liability at all, so coverage can be nonexistent.

App on, waiting for a request: $50,000 per person

Once logged on but not yet assigned a ride, the statute requires primary liability coverage of $50,000 for death and bodily injury per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage. It also requires personal injury protection and, importantly, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Florida Statute 627.727. This is the gap phase, and it is where most disputes over app status happen, because the difference between this tier and the next is roughly twenty times the money.

Ride accepted or passenger aboard: $1 million

From the moment a driver accepts a request through the end of the trip, the statute requires at least $1 million in primary liability coverage for death, bodily injury, and property damage. It also requires personal injury protection at the levels required of a limousine, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. A passenger injured during a trip therefore sits behind substantially more protection than almost any ordinary crash provides.

Florida amended this statute effective July 1, 2025 to require that the policy specifically recognize the driver’s status as a TNC driver. That matters because a standard personal auto policy excludes driving for compensation. A rideshare driver relying on a personal policy alone may find the carrier denies the claim outright, which is one more reason the coverage question gets litigated rather than conceded.

Two Coverages Almost Nobody Explains

Uninsured motorist coverage on the rideshare policy

The TNC statute requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in both the waiting phase and the active ride phase. This is the most overlooked provision in Florida rideshare law. If an uninsured third-party driver runs a light and hits the Uber you are riding in, the rideshare policy’s UM coverage may respond even though the Uber driver did nothing wrong. Passengers routinely assume they have no claim in that situation. They frequently do.

Where a passenger’s PIP actually comes from

A passenger who owns no vehicle, and who is not a resident relative of someone who does, still has personal injury protection available. Under Florida’s no-fault framework in Florida Statute 627.736, coverage follows the vehicle you were occupying, and during an active ride the TNC policy carries PIP at limousine levels. The 14-day treatment deadline still applies with full force. Miss it and the benefit is forfeited entirely, no matter whose fault the crash was.

Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Your Pompano Beach Rideshare Claim?

Command of the Rules That Decide These Cases

Rideshare claims turn on coverage analysis before they ever turn on fault. Establishing which tier applies, whether a personal policy exclusion is in play, and whether uninsured motorist coverage responds usually determines the value of the claim. Florida’s modified comparative fault standard under Florida Statute 768.81 then bars recovery entirely once a claimant carries more than half the blame, so how comparative fault is argued matters as much here as anywhere. Claims arising in Pompano Beach proceed through the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County.

Demonstrated Results for Injured Clients

The firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients, including a $300,000 car accident recovery. Rideshare insurers are sophisticated repeat players who defend these claims constantly, and they price offers according to how prepared the other side appears. Our client reviews describe how the firm communicates through that process.

No Attorney Fees Unless You Recover

Rideshare claims at the firm run on contingency. Nothing is owed at the outset, we advance case costs, and no recovery means no fee.

Key Components of a Pompano Beach Rideshare Claim

Preserving the App Data

The single most important piece of evidence sits on a server the rideshare company controls. Trip records show when the driver logged on, when a request was accepted, the route, and the timing down to the second. That record establishes which coverage tier applies, and it is not something a claimant can obtain by asking politely. Requesting preservation early, before the file is closed out, is what keeps the coverage question from becoming a swearing match. Camera footage from businesses along the corridor is often overwritten within days and should be requested at the same time.

Establishing Negligence

Liability still requires duty, breach, causation, and damages. Negligence in these cases frequently traces to the conditions of the work itself. Drivers watch a screen for the next request, accept pickups on the shoulder of a busy road, and stop abruptly at addresses they are seeing for the first time. Distracted driving is not incidental to the job. It is close to built into it, and physical evidence at the scene supports the reconstruction.

Crossing the Permanent Injury Threshold

Because no-fault applies, Florida Statute 627.737 permits recovery of pain and suffering only where the injury meets one of four categories: significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. That threshold is the gate to the largest portion of most claim values, and it is contested aggressively.

Proving Medical Damages Under the 2023 Rules

Florida rewrote the evidence rules for medical damages in Florida Statute 768.0427, requiring disclosure of letters of protection and the referral relationships behind them and changing what juries see about amounts billed against amounts paid. How and where you treat now affects damages from the first appointment.

Acting Within Two Years

Florida cut the negligence deadline from four years to two in March 2023 under Florida Statute 95.11. Sources published before that change still refer to four years, and that figure has been wrong since 2023. Our statute of limitations resource explains how the clock runs, and where a government vehicle is involved Florida Statute 768.28 adds pre-suit notice to the agency and the Department of Financial Services.

“Excellent service and results. Attorney Jacobson was professional, responsive, and truly cared about my case. They explained everything clearly and delivered great results.”

Isaac M.

Where Rideshare Crashes Happen in Pompano Beach

Rideshare density tracks nightlife, hotels, and the beach. Pickups cluster along Atlantic Boulevard and Federal Highway, around the casino and entertainment district, at the beachfront blocks off A1A, and at hotel entrances where drivers stop in live traffic lanes because there is nowhere else to pull in. Airport runs to Fort Lauderdale add long trips down I-95 at all hours. Seasonal visitors between December and April push volume higher still, and a driver navigating an unfamiliar address while watching a screen is the common thread through most of these collisions. The FLHSMV crash dashboard tracks the results across Broward County, the Florida Department of Transportation publishes the safety data, and the City of Pompano Beach has been redesigning several of these corridors in response.

Who We Represent in Rideshare Claims

Passengers

A passenger is almost never at fault, which makes these the cleanest claims on liability. The complication is coverage rather than blame, and during an active ride the passenger sits behind a $1 million policy plus limousine-level PIP and uninsured motorist coverage. A recent case involving a fatal crash after a rideshare drop-off shows how quickly the analysis shifts as a trip ends.

Occupants of the Other Vehicle

When a rideshare driver causes the crash, everyone in the vehicle they hit can reach the applicable TNC policy. Establishing app status is the entire fight, because the difference between the waiting tier and the active tier decides whether $50,000 or $1 million is available.

Pedestrians and Cyclists

Pickup and drop-off maneuvers put rideshare vehicles at the curb constantly, and doors open into bike lanes and crossings. Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a rideshare vehicle can pursue the same tiered coverage.

Rideshare Drivers

A driver hurt by someone else’s negligence has a claim of their own, and the platform’s uninsured motorist coverage may respond where the at-fault driver carries nothing. Drivers are also the group most exposed to a personal policy denial, since standard policies exclude driving for compensation.

We also handle truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death claims. See all practice areas, or read about our Delray Beach rideshare work.

What to Do After an Uber or Lyft Crash in Pompano Beach

• Get medical care within 14 days without exception. The deadline applies to passengers the same way it applies to drivers.
• Screenshot the trip in the app before anything else. The driver name, vehicle, trip status, and timestamps are the record that determines which policy pays, and the screen changes once the trip closes.
• Report the crash through the Uber or Lyft app rather than relying on the driver to do it. Then photograph the vehicles, the scene, and your injuries, since evidence at the scene cannot be recreated.
• Call law enforcement and get the crash report number. Reports are available through the FLHSMV crash portal, and incidents in the city are typically handled by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
• Decline a recorded statement to any of the insurers involved until you have spoken with a lawyer. Multiple carriers will call, each hoping another one pays. Our guide to insurance companies explains the pattern.
• Follow your treatment plan without gaps, because gaps become causation arguments later in the case timeline, and document soft tissue injuries, broken bones, and back injuries

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Uber or Lyft insurance cover my injuries?

It depends on what the driver’s app was doing. With the app off, only the driver’s personal policy applies. Logged on but waiting for a request, Florida requires $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident. From ride acceptance through drop-off, at least $1 million applies. Establishing which phase was active is the first thing we determine.

How long do I have to file an Uber or Lyft accident claim in Florida?

Two years from the date of the crash for most negligence claims. Florida shortened this from four years in March 2023.

Who pays my medical bills if I was a passenger?

Personal injury protection pays first regardless of fault. If you own a vehicle, your own PIP responds. If you do not, coverage follows the vehicle you occupied, and during an active ride the rideshare policy carries PIP at limousine levels. Either way, you must seek initial treatment within 14 days or the benefit is forfeited.

Can I sue Uber or Lyft directly?

Usually not, because drivers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, which limits direct claims against the companies. This rarely matters in practice. The insurance the statute requires them to carry is what pays the claim, and $1 million during an active ride exceeds what most defendants could satisfy personally.

What if the other driver caused the crash and had no insurance?

The rideshare policy’s uninsured motorist coverage may respond. Florida’s transportation network company statute requires uninsured and underinsured coverage in both the waiting phase and the active ride phase. Passengers commonly assume they have no claim when a third party is at fault and uninsured. Frequently they do.

I drive for Uber. Will my own insurance cover me?

Often not. Standard personal auto policies exclude driving for compensation, and a carrier that learns you were working may deny the claim. Since July 2025 Florida requires that the applicable policy specifically recognize your status as a rideshare driver. Many drivers carry a rideshare endorsement without realizing what it does and does not cover.

How is fault determined in a rideshare accident?

The same way as any crash, through evidence of who breached a duty of care. What differs is that app data, trip records, and platform telematics become central, and that material sits with the rideshare company. Requesting preservation early is what keeps it available.

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?

Yes, provided your share does not exceed 50 percent. Recovery is reduced by your percentage, and more than 50 percent bars it entirely. Passengers are rarely assigned fault, which is part of why passenger claims tend to be the most straightforward.

How much is my rideshare accident case worth?

Value depends on the severity and permanence of your injuries, your medical costs and lost income, whether you cross the permanent injury threshold, and critically which coverage tier applies. The same injuries can support very different recoveries depending on whether $50,000 or $1 million is available.

Should I accept the insurance company’s first offer?

Rarely. Early offers arrive before the full extent of an injury is documented, and the release closes the claim permanently. In rideshare cases an early offer also sometimes reflects the lower coverage tier before app status has been established. Have any offer reviewed before responding.

Speak With a Pompano Beach Rideshare Accident Lawyer

App data does not stay accessible forever, and the coverage question is easier to settle while the trip record is fresh. Reach out today to speak directly with Adam Jacobson about your case before the insurers involved start pointing at each other. Consultations are free and you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Call (561) 567-7163 or send us a message. The firm also serves Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, with the full list on our areas we serve page and further reading in our personal injury resources and blog.