The rise of ride share programs like Lyft and Uber has helped many individuals. They can grab a ride after having a few drinks at their local watering hole. They might also get a lift to a doctor's appoint or back from the grocery store if they don't have their own car and don't like taking public transportation.
However, accidents involving these vehicles take place somewhat regularly. You can certainly talk about the common causes of accidents with Lyft drivers, and when you do, you will likely notice some patterns. However, the causes usually don't matter so much as the effects.
In this article, we'll talk about some of the kinds of damages that you might collect if you're in a Lyft-related car accident. If you hire a lawyer who has handled these types of cases before, then they can tell you more about these possible damages.
Pain and Suffering
Let's imagine a situation for a moment. You're in your car, and you're driving to work. Suddenly, you feel a tremendous impact. You realize a Lyft driver just hit you. You can see the telltale Lyft logo on their windshield.
If you're certain the Lyft driver caused the accident, then you can definitely consider suing them. If you do, you can potentially collect several different kinds of damages. What you might get for your pain and suffering probably ranks high on that list.
Pain and suffering can seem like a somewhat nebulous concept. You can't easily put a dollar amount on it like you can with a medical bill or for lost wages after a car wreck.
However, the legal system agrees that if someone caused you pain and suffering, you deserve compensation for that. Exactly how much you get often varies.
You must speak to a competent personal injury lawyer about that. They can probably point to precedent as a way of guessing how much you might receive. These cases have worked their way through the court system many times before, and what others got after similar accidents will likely inform how much you might get.
Disability
In the aftermath following an accident with a Lyft driver, you likely won't know how badly the wreck hurt you. Hopefully, you will feel better after you heal from a few bumps and bruises. However, in some instances, you might sustain permanent injury from a Lyft driver hitting your vehicle.
Obviously, if that happens, you can't go back to your life as it was. You must essentially relearn how to live, but now you must do it with whatever disability the crash inflicted. You might feel frustration, anger, and sadness.
The legal system certainly feels you should get adequate compensation in such an instance. If the Lyft driver acted negligently when they hit your vehicle, it's likely you can collect some serious money in damages. The jury could award you damages in the millions if the case goes all the way to a verdict. More often, the Lyft driver will try to settle.
Lost Income or Future Lost Income
You can also count on getting damages for lost income in these situations. Unlike pain and suffering, you and your attorney can usually more easily put a dollar amount on what the Lyft driver should pay you in such a scenario. You can simply look at how much work you missed, calculate what you would receive in salary during that time, and demand the responsible driver reimburse you.
However, things can become more complicated if you know you must continue missing work for some time to come following the accident. Maybe the wreck injured you pretty badly. You will probably make a full recovery, but perhaps it will take six months or a year. You might need to go through extensive physical therapy or have surgery.
If so, you must try to calculate not just the work you've missed so far, but the work you'll miss till you can return to your job. Your lawyer can help you come up with what seems like a reasonable figure.
Current and Future Medical Expenses
You can get damages from the Lyft driver for current and future medical expenses that the accident caused. Those might include the cost of a surgery, X-rays, an MRI, physical therapy, medication, or even a therapist's bills if you need counseling after the wreck.
Like the wages you've lost when you can't work, you can often figure out these costs relatively easily. Medical expenses can rise quite easily, though, so don't let it surprise you if you must go after the driver who hit you for thousands or sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Also, much like calculating future lost wages as well as the ones you've lost already, you may have to factor in possible future medical bills when you sue the Lyft driver. That can drive up the total amount you and your lawyer feel the driver should pay you.
Other Non-Economic Losses
You can also collect damages for various other non-economic losses. Maybe you feel miserable after the crash, especially if you sustained permanent injuries. Perhaps you must combat those feelings of depression every day. Maybe you can't have a physically intimate relationship with your partner or spouse anymore. Maybe you can't play football in the park with your buddies, go on bike rides, or go on walks with your kids.
Once again, you deserve financial compensation, and the law agrees. However, you might not know exactly how much you should ask for from the Lyft driver. Let your lawyer help you come up with a number. They will probably look at precedent from previous cases again as a reference point.
Remember that in some cases, you might not sue just the Lyft driver. You may sue the company itself if your attorney feels that's justified. You might also try to get financial compensation for not just one of the things we mentioned but several of them.