Did you guys call the police and have them file a report? I feels like that's important in case the driver decides later to change his story or back out of his promises.

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Matt

A common way to screw someone over is to promise to pay them in cash for their expenses, delay it for a few days, and decide not to follow through. Now can't file with their own company because the deadline has passed and it wasn't reported.

Immediate notification to the police and all insurance companies is a best practice, IMO.

Without a police report, things will likely be more difficult. He and his insurance company can deny fault and you have nothing with which to go against them. Generally, I would have my insurance company deal with his. If you are not injured I would suggest your homeowners or renters insurance because they will likely cover the new replacement cost of the bike while auto insurance often calculated a highly depreciated used price.

If you are injured, I think you need the auto insurance to cover medical expenses, unless you want to out it on your health insurance.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I can assure you no Lyft driver can afford buying a new bike, at least not the ones most of the people here ride along with all the medical expenses. I'd definitely go through insurance and if the driver wasn't looking to screw you over than he must have a horrible record or some crazy reason to not want to go through insurance. He may lose his job if you report it to lyft but he shouldn't have the job in the first place if that's how he is driving. I'm sure lyft has some kind of disclaimer that they aren't responsible for accidents so I'd just treat it as a normal accident (you and the driver's insurance). Maybe if you report it lyft will give you some sweet coupons though.

great, thank you.

You didn't answer the question from a previous poster - did you get a police report? If not, get one if the police will still take one. Ideally, the police would have cited the driver, too. Then, get a lawyer. Given the driver's statements about looking at his phone, I don't think it would be a stretch to try to hold Lyft liable. Admittedly, I don't know if Lyft/Uber/etc could be held liable in a situation like this despite the waivers probably signed by the driver, but they may make a settlement offer based on nuisance value.

obviously, the driver is liable. further, though, i don't see how Lyft / Uber could NOT be liable; the driver is an agent of the company, and thus, represents it. never mind what waivers the driver may sign with the company, that has nothing to do with the injured party.

I think liability depends on timing and yes, witness reports and if possible the police report.

Uber and Lyft have insurance with their drivers but it's only active at the time the driver is working or on the clock. So unless there's a tech and/or time trail the exact timing and whether or not the driver was active will be pretty hard to prove. Hopefully the driver's tracking data from his phone can corroborate that he was on a request at the exact time he took the illegal u-turn and stopped driving due to the accident.

Good luck with the case/claim/recovery and be grateful that it wasn't much worse.

Companies like Lyft and Uber try very hard to stay away from any liability whatsoever, for reasons such as this. The driver most likely (haven't read the terms and agreement) signed to take all responsibility for any actions while delivering his service. Being that he is not a "driver for Lyft" he is just a driver who is supplied work by Lyft. It is also not Lyft's fault for the driver looking at his phone as it is not necessary to use your phone to drive someone and if you did indeed need to use it I'm sure they promote pulling over first to do so. The main theme of these types of companies is that you are "self-employed" you just tell them when you want to work and they supply the job, the rest is on you. I'd say there might be a case if one were to try and sue Lyft for this accident for reasons such as not regulating cell phone use while driving or something similar but I don't believe they should or would be liable for a driver's accident.

you missed my point: while i'm sure Uber / Lyft would love to be "insulated" from liability, commerce doesn't work that way. if one procures services from Uber / Lyft, via an app or phone call or whatever, then it is that company that is providing a service delivered by its agent, the driver. does the driver have an Uber or Lyft logo on his car ? that further defines the driver as an agent of that company. that means they are essentially one and the same, and the company would be liable. pretty basic contract law. the injured party doesn't give a rat's ass of whatever arrangement the driver has with the company, and it is not relevant anyway.

this is no different that one calling a maid service for home cleaning. the maid shows up, you catch her stealing from your home. she is personally liable as is the maid service that sent her to your home. same scenario.

  
The amount of bad information in this thread already is staggering!

First of all, always get a police report at the scene, especially if it is bike vs. car. The police will get witness statements, contact info, insurance info, etc. that will be much harder to get later. People will often take responsibility at the scene, but then once they have had some time to think, they tend to formulate alternate stories and refuse responsibility. The police report helps to combat that. Also if the driver receives a citation it helps to establish liability.

As to what your insurance will do for you. If you have a personal auto policy, the medical payments coverage will apply because you were struck by a car. If the other driver's insurance won't play ball, you can utilize your medical payments coverage. Hopefully you have a decent limit on it, it typically goes anywhere from $1k to $25k depending on state.

The Uber/Lyft Component:
No, there are no waivers of liability or any of the other wild speculations in this thread. In fact, Uber and Lyft provide auto insurance for their drivers while they are working. There are still some issues to consider.

A typical personal auto policy specifically excludes coverage if you are acting as a livery or being paid to drive, which is exactly what Uber/Lyft is. So a personal auto policy will not cover anything when the driver has a fare in their car. This is where Uber/Lyft provide coverage, their coverage takes over from the minute you pick up the fare to when you drop them off. There is a loophole that the industry is slowly working on responding too. Technically speaking, while a driver is looking around for a fare and has the app on and available to pick someone up, they are acting as a livery. The Uber coverage doesn't take effect until the butt is in the seat, but the personal auto policy stops when the app is turned on, so there is a window of no coverage. Some companies are responding with an endorsement that applies to this gap. Uber/Lyft is supposedly also working on a solution for this gap.

So back to the OP. More than likely if the driver had personal auto insurance it is going to deny any claim due to the fact that he was acting as a livery (fare was in the car). Lyft will be the insurance to cover your damages. Below is a link to contact Lyft's "Trust and Safety Team". Click the link and contact them to file a claim.

https://help.lyft.com/...308-Insurance-Policy

If you don't have a police report and the driver changes his story you may still have troubles. Hopefully you got witness contact info that can help. Good luck, I hope the driver does the right thing and you get taken care of.

(One poster mentioned homeowners insurance to cover your bike, it is possible but not likely unless you scheduled the bike or have "Special Form Personal Property" coverage. Worth a check if the Lyft thing doesn't work out.)

Thank you for bringing sanity of yet another thread where people don't know what they are talking about. We have handled claims against Lyft and Uber and your analysis of the coverage is right on the money.

Please allow me to re-emphasize the importance of carrying good insurance yourself as a cyclist - that includes med pay, Un/Underinsured coverage, Health and maybe consider disability, long term care, and which homeowners coverage is best for you. I cover some of that on http://www.IronmanLawyer.com and also some videos here: https://www.youtube.com/...t=PLEC4E3C5E5C2A78BF (sorry if you also saw this on a previous thread but it is relevent here).

NOTE - in some states there are homeowners policies that DO cover bicycle damage without a "listed" property rider or "special form personal property." For example, some policies in some states cover accidental damage to personal property (with some exclusions) that will cover bicycles. I have helped with several of those claims including a cracked carbon frame when a rider hit a pothole because it was "accidental damage to personal property."

Lastly, find an insurance agent or other qualified advisor who actually knows what they are talking about!

Best wishes,

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Thank you so much for the helpful reply. I really appreciate it. This is exactly the information that I was looking for with regards to how to handle it. Cheers.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! Yep, all covered with all insurance on my end (everything you describe). I didn't know if the driver had tried to pay me then so it didn't get to his insurance or to lyft. In any case, I do have a police report, etc, and will go from there. Thanks again.

Glad to help. PM me if you run into any other troubles. I work the insurance side of things so I can help with that, sounds like David is the man for the legal side of things.

Pretty cool info, thanks. I did mention that I didn't really know what I was talking about and was just making assumptions. Probably should've just kept my mouth shut but wanted to be apart of the topic as I found it interesting. Sorry for my misleading statements.

 
No problem. Insurance is one of those things that draw a lot of speculation. Some things people just figure are/should be a certain way, or some crazy tales get started and then made even crazier until people adopt them and think that is how insurance works. Unfortunately I see a lot of bad info on insurance on forums. Add in the different laws and coverages in different states and it can really turn into a mess. I'm glad to help where I can but my expertise is in the Pacific Northwest states. They do some crazy stuff in Cali, NJ, NY, etc.

Best thing to do is to buy your insurance from a local independent agent instead of trying to save 15% from a Gecko. Our job is to guide people through things like this, and if we don't know the answer we will find it and get back to you. Only reason I know all about Uber is because a client of mine wanted to drive for them. The online companies try to make it all seem very simple, and it can be, but there are lots of situations where it can get complex, better to have someone working for you who has time to read Uber contracts. :)

My daddy was a Lyft driver / But he never hurt nobody / He just loved to lie that way / And he loved to promise you money...

Hahaha

First of all, I am glad you are O.K. I used to live in San Francisco back in the '90s and rode a bike there. It's nuts.

You said you have a police report now, but I was wondering if there is any word on whether the driver has changed his story or if the witnesses are being contacted. I don't see the SFPD spending much time on this, considering the other things they have to deal with and the reputation for cyclists riding so terribly in the city.

My guess is that SFPD will take your statement and try to contact the other guy, but then let the whole things slide. I'm also guessing the Lyft driver changes his story since he has so much more to lose than you do.

So the statements to the insurance companies are what will matter. And my understanding of California insurance law is that his insurance companies determine fault, and I doubt the driver's company is going to accept responsibility if the driver claims you suddenly swerved and that there were no witnesses.

Best of luck.