Uber Accident Lawyer in Brooklyn, NY

The single most important fact in a rideshare case is what the driver's app was doing at the moment of impact. Coverage operates in three distinct periods:

• App off. The driver is on personal time and only their personal auto policy applies.
• App on, waiting for a request. A contingent policy applies, at limits well below the full amount.
• A request accepted, or a passenger in the vehicle. The company's commercial policy applies — $1,250,000 in liability coverage for a prearranged trip in New York.

The second thing to know is that the trip data proving which period applied is held entirely by the company on the other side. It should be requested in writing within the first weeks.

The third is that Uber and Lyft treat their drivers as independent contractors, which shapes how liability is argued even where the commercial policy responds.

• Passengers injured while riding — the clearest cases, since a passenger is almost never at fault and period three coverage usually applies
• Drivers of other vehicles struck by a rideshare vehicle
• Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a driver who was on the app
• Rideshare drivers themselves, injured by another motorist while working
• Anyone told that "the app was off" and offered a minimum-limits settlement on that basis
• Cases involving multiple vehicles, where several insurers are pointing at each other

If you were a passenger, keep the trip receipt. It is the cleanest proof of the coverage period there is.

• Medical expenses, past and future
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
• Pain and suffering, subject to the serious injury threshold
• Permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Future care costs in catastrophic cases
• Loss of services claims by a spouse
• Wrongful death damages in fatal cases

Alongside the liability claim, a passenger is entitled to no-fault benefits — $50,000 of basic economic loss covering medical treatment and lost earnings regardless of fault. The application (form NF-2) must reach the insurer within 30 days of the accident.

Legally this is a negligence claim, with the same four elements as any motor vehicle case: duty, breach, causation and damages. What distinguishes it is the insurance framework layered on top.

New York regulates transportation network companies under Article 44-B of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, which requires a TNC to maintain at least $1,250,000 of liability coverage while a driver is transporting a passenger or en route to a prearranged trip. Within New York City, rideshare drivers are additionally licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and TLC licensing, vehicle inspection and complaint records can be obtained.

Two further rules apply to any motor vehicle claim in New York:

• The serious injury threshold in Insurance Law § 5102(d) must be satisfied before pain and suffering is recoverable — a fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation of use, or a 90/180-day disability.
• Pure comparative negligence under CPLR 1411 — partial fault reduces the recovery proportionally rather than barring it.

• 30 days to file the no-fault application (NF-2) with the responsible insurer. This is the shortest and most frequently missed deadline in the case.
• Three years from the accident to bring the personal injury action (CPLR 214).
• Two years for wrongful death.
• 90 days to serve a notice of claim where a City vehicle, an MTA bus or another public entity contributed, with a § 50-h hearing and suit within one year and 90 days (GML § 50-e).
• Where the at-fault vehicle was uninsured or fled, notice to your own UM/SUM carrier is due as soon as practicable, and a hit-and-run should be reported to police promptly, generally within 24 hours.

Cases are filed in Supreme Court, Kings County, 360 Adams Street.

• Get medical attention, and tell the provider you were in a motor vehicle collision.
• Screenshot the trip in the app — driver name, vehicle, plate, route, time — before it scrolls out of view.
• Report the crash through the app as well as to the police. The in-app report creates a timestamped record tied to the trip.
• Make sure a police report is prepared, and get the report number.
• Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the damage and any visible injuries.
• Collect witness details, and note nearby businesses with cameras.
• File the no-fault application within 30 days.
• Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer before speaking with an attorney.

Steps 2 and 3 do the heaviest legal work. VTL Article 44-B ties the $1.25 million coverage to the trip status, and the app record is the fastest way to establish it. A written preservation demand for the company's trip and telematics data should follow within days.

• A clear explanation of the three coverage periods and how they intend to prove which one applied.
• Whether they will demand the company's trip record and telematics data, and how quickly.
• Experience with the no-fault process, including the 30-day filing and the arbitration of denied benefits.
• A plan for the serious injury threshold, since it governs whether pain and suffering is recoverable at all.
• Familiarity with TLC records for New York City drivers.
• Who handles the case day to day, and their Kings County trial experience.

• Preservation demands for trip records, telematics and any in-vehicle camera footage
• Determination of the applicable coverage period and identification of every responsible insurer
• Filing and management of the no-fault claim, including disputes over denied treatment
• Investigation: police report, witness statements, scene and camera evidence
• Accident reconstruction where liability is contested
• Medical documentation directed at the § 5102(d) threshold
• Suit, discovery and depositions of the driver and any other motorists
• Motion practice, mediation and trial
• Resolution of no-fault, health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid liens at the conclusion

Call (800) 669-0060 — free, 24/7, in English, Spanish or Russian.

Have the trip receipt or a screenshot to hand if you were a passenger. We will ask when and where the collision occurred, whether police responded, what injuries you have, and what has been reported so far. The 30-day no-fault deadline is checked on the first call.

We then match you with an attorney in our network who handles rideshare cases in Kings County and make the introduction, usually the same day. The consultation with that attorney is free and carries no obligation.

Nothing upfront and nothing hourly. New York injury attorneys work on contingency — a percentage of the recovery, and nothing if the case does not recover. One-third of the net recovery is the customary arrangement in New York personal injury matters.

What determines the net:

• Whether the claim settles pre-suit, in discovery, or at trial
• Case expenses: accident reconstruction, medical narratives, expert reports, deposition transcripts, index and filing fees
• Whether expenses come off before or after the fee is calculated
• Liens to no-fault, health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid
• Which coverage period applied, since it sets the ceiling on available limits
• Whether more than one vehicle and insurer are involved

Court approval is required for any settlement involving a minor. The consultation and referral cost you nothing.

• Immediate steps — no-fault filing, preservation demands, coverage determination: the first 30 days.
• Treatment and documentation, aimed at establishing the serious injury threshold.
• Pre-suit negotiation. Passenger cases with clear liability and period three coverage sometimes resolve here, within six to twelve months.
• Suit and discovery — typically twelve to eighteen months in Kings County.
• Motions, mediation or trial.

Clear-liability passenger cases move fastest. Cases where the coverage period is disputed, or where several vehicles and insurers are involved, commonly take two to three years. Serious injuries are not valued until the medical picture is stable.

Because a $1.25 million policy and a minimum-limits personal policy can both be the correct answer in the same collision, depending on a detail recorded only in the company's system — and because passengers are usually the least informed party in the case.

• Free consultation; the referral costs you nothing.
• Available 24/7 at (800) 669-0060.
• English, Spanish and Russian.
• Over 30 years matching injured people with attorneys across New York and New Jersey.
• Local case experience in Kings County and throughout New York City.
• Continued involvement after the introduction.

Attorneys in Michael Brook's network give passengers the same advice every time: keep the trip receipt email and report the crash through the app. Those two records establish the coverage period faster than anything else.

• The first call, free and at any hour.
• A check of the immediate deadlines — the 30-day no-fault filing above all, and any 90-day municipal notice.
• The match with an attorney in our network who handles these claims in Kings County.
• A free consultation with that attorney, with no obligation to proceed.
• Preservation and filing, if you retain them — trip data demands, the NF-2, and the investigation.
• Continued access to us throughout, if anything needs to be raised.

You are never charged for the referral, and you will not be routed through a call centre.

Disclaimer: Michael Brook Attorney Referral is not a law firm and provides no legal representation or legal advice. This is general information and does not replace advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. No result is guaranteed.