Skip to main content
Personal Injury

Injured in an Uber DUI Accident – Know Your Rights

By August 17, 2020February 2nd, 2024No Comments
rideshare driving app

When you order an Uber of Lyft, you expect a level of professionalism and care for your safety as a passenger. What you do not expect is your driver to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they pick you up. It is not something that happens often, but there have been cases of rideshare drivers getting in DUI accidents in the past. If it happens to you, you need to be prepared to take action. An Uber/Lyft DUI accident should not go unpunished, so in this post, we are going to tell you what you should do when you’re injured in an accident like this. It can be confusing to know who exactly is at fault and how the scenario will shake out, so keep reading and we will fill you in so you can get on with your life.

Don’t want to read the full blog? Watch the video.

So, You’ve Been in an Uber/Lyft DUI Accident?

No one gets into an Uber or Lyft thinking that their life might be at risk. Whether an accident happens or not, you should never feel unsafe in a rideshare that you have paid to get into. Both the driver and Uber/Lyft should be taking measures to ensure the safety of their customers.

So, if you are injured because of a DUI, who should you be going after? The driver, or Uber, or both?

The Uber/Lyft/Driver Relationship

Uber and Lyft have an unorthodox relationship with their workers, who the companies claim to be independent contractors of sorts. When the company hires a driver, they are supposed to do background checks to ensure that the driver has no prior DUI offenses. They are also supposed to suspend drivers that have been suspected of driving under the influence.

Unfortunately, they rely heavily on their customers to send in videos as evidence of the DUIs, unless there was an arrest, or the driver admits they were drunk. This is completely unrealistic, and it has been found that investigations into DUIs are almost never conducted by Uber.

So, What Do You Do?

When the injury occurs, the driver of the Uber/Lyft is absolutely at fault and should be punished as a result of their actions. As a transportation service, the driver is considered a commercial driver, so their penalties are much steeper because they have endangered you, the passenger. It may result in big fines or even jail time.

You do not have to stop there, though. Since Uber has had such shady dealings with these types of offenses, you are well within your rights to sue them for your injuries.

Although they almost always deny fault in these cases, Uber can be found vicariously liable for a driver’s actions. This is especially true if the driver in question has had a complaint against them in the past that Uber has neglected.

Talk To a Personal Injury Lawyer Immediately

Do not let your injury slip through the cracks because you do not know who is at fault in your Uber/Lyft DUI accident. Contact Beltz and Beltz to talk about your case with experienced auto accident attorneys in the Tampa area. We can help you get what you deserve so you can put your accident in the rearview mirror and focus on recovery.