Reno Uber Accident Attorneys
Have you used an Uber to get to Reno Tahoe International Airport, go out to dinner in the Riverwalk District, or pop from one casino to another? You’re not alone. The popularity of using rideshares to get around Reno, Sparks, Carson City and the surrounding areas continues to grow.
Unfortunately, so does the number of accidents involving Uber cars. If you or a loved one suffered injuries in an accident involving an Uber car—as a passenger in the Uber, as a driver passenger in another vehicle, or as a pedestrian or cyclist—you may have the right to significant financial compensation for the harm done to you.
The experienced Reno Uber accident attorneys at Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC want to help you. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn about your rights, and read on to learn more about the legal services we provide to Uber accident victims like you.
Meet Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC
For nearly 20 years, Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC has represented personal injury victims in Nevada in securing the compensation they deserve from the parties who harmed them. We pride ourselves in providing personalized client service that keeps our clients happy, knowing they have lawyers on their side who care about their cases and know how to get results.
Since its founding, our firm has secured more than $500 million in settlements, judgments, and jury awards for our clients. We have often represented clients who suffered injuries in motor vehicle accidents, but more and more, those accidents have begun to involve rideshare cars. The increase in ridesharing accidents has led us to develop a detailed familiarity with the laws, regulations, and insurance aspects of the rideshare industry, so that we can ensure our clients receive the best possible advice and advocacy when they come to us for help.
About Uber
Over the past few years, the percentage of Americans who have used ridesharing services like Uber has more than doubled. Due to increases in road traffic and the demand for easy, comfortable transportation, rideshare industry watchers predict that growth will continue, and that half a billion people will use rideshares worldwide over the next year.
Uber is the world’s largest ridesharing company (also known as a transportation network company), controlling about 69 percent of the U.S. market share for ridesharing services. Through a smartphone-based app and website, Uber pairs drivers of private cars with riders seeking local transportation. According to the Pew Research Center, people use Uber and other ridesharing services for a variety of purposes, including transportation to and from social activities (43 percent of rides), the airport (22 percent), and work (11 percent).
Uber is especially popular in urban areas like Reno, where it has operated since 2015. Reno residents and visitors alike value the convenience of on-demand transportation that saves them the trouble of driving, parking, and appointing a designated driver when they head out for a night on the town. Driving for Uber has also become a valuable source of income for many Reno-area residents.
Reno Uber accident estimates
Data on the number of Uber accidents that happen in Reno each year are hard to come by. For now, Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) traffic crash data does not distinguish rideshare-involved traffic accidents from accidents involving non-rideshare vehicles. However, we do know, based on recent research, that as of several years ago, rideshares likely accounted for about 0.6 percent of total vehicle miles traveled nationally, that those numbers are higher in urban areas than rural ones, and that they’re rising.
NDOT reports that in a recent year, over 2,000 crashes resulting in injuries or fatalities happened in Washoe County. If (based on the research above) we estimate that 1 percent of those crashes involved rideshares, and that (based on Uber’s market share) seven out of every ten of those were Uber rides, we can extrapolate that at least 14 Uber accidents kill or injure people every year in Reno, and that the number of those accidents is probably rising fast.
Fourteen injury-causing or fatal accidents might not seem like a lot compared to the heavy annual toll of motor vehicle crashes in Reno, but their devastation is all-too-real for Uber crash victims and their families.
At Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC, we think even one Uber accident in Reno is too many. We’re always prepared to advocate on behalf of Uber crash victims and the families of those who tragically died or were injured in an Uber-involved accident, and invite anyone who has been affected by a Reno accident to contact us today for a free consultation.
What Makes Uber Accidents Different From Non-Uber Accidents?
How They Happen
One thing that makes Uber accidents different is that the likelihood that many (although, not all) of them stem from driver behaviors and errors that are especially common among rideshare drivers.
For example:
- Driver distraction likely plays a prominent role in Uber accidents. Why? We suspect it’s because Uber drivers often drive at night and in locations that are unfamiliar to them, and rely on an app to match them with a rider. They spend a lot of time looking for passengers, whether staring at their Uber app, GPS map, or responding to ride requests on their app, rather than at the road itself. These kinds of visual, manual, and cognitive distractions can easily lead to dangerous collisions with other vehicles, cyclists, or pedestrians.
- Driver fatigue that impairs driving ability also figures to account for many Uber accidents due to the nature of Uber driving. Many Reno-area residents drive for Uber as a side-gig, after they’ve already done a full day’s work at another job. They also frequently choose to drive in the evenings or the early mornings, when demand for trips around downtown or out to the airport are highest, but also when their circadian rhythms tell them they ought to be sound asleep. Uber drivers also sometimes work marathon hours. Nevada regulations limit drivers to 16 consecutive hours on call and 12 consecutive hours of actual driving in any 24 hour period, but those limits hardly guarantee that an Uber driver will be awake or alert enough to drive safely.
- Speeding, including exceeding the speed limit and driving too fast for road conditions, also likely contributes to the cause of many an Uber accident in Reno. Uber drivers get paid by the trip, which gives them a powerful incentive to complete rides quickly and return to high-demand locations as fast as possible.
As we said, these factors likely contribute disproportionately to Uber accidents, but other factors also no doubt play a role. At Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC, we dig into the facts of our clients’ accidents to determine exactly what happened, to give our clients the best possible chance of securing compensation for their injuries and losses.
The Compensation Available
The other prominent feature of Uber accidents in Reno that makes them different from other traffic accidents here is that Uber accident victims may have the ability to recover compensation from a much larger pool of insurance funds than other crash victims can ordinarily draw from.
Under Nevada law, all transportation network companies and/or their drivers must carry insurance in addition to the insurance Uber drivers must normally carry on their personal vehicles.
This extra insurance must include the following coverage:
- No less than $1,500,000 for bodily injury to or death of one or more persons and injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident or motor vehicle crash that occurs while the driver is providing transportation services.
- No less than $50,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person, not less than $100,000 for bodily injury to or death of two or more persons, and not less than $25,000 for injury to or destruction of property of others, in any one accident or motor vehicle crash that occurs while the driver is logged into the Uber app and available to receive requests for transportation services, but is not otherwise providing transportation services.
That extra insurance can make the difference in many cases between a crash victim receiving full compensation for Uber accident injuries and receiving less than what the victim deserves.
In a typical legal action seeking compensation for injuries and losses in an Uber accident, it can help pay for:
- Medical care related to Uber accident injuries and any secondary health complications they cause.
- Other expenses an Uber accident victim faces due to the accident or injuries, such as the cost of repairing or replacing damaged property, or of hiring someone to help with everyday tasks while the victim heals.
- The loss of any income the Uber accident victim would have earned were it not for the injuries the accident caused.
- The accident victim’s pain, suffering, and diminished enjoyment of life and relationships.
- The wrongful death of the victim and the harm suffered by the victim’s family from that tragedy.
- In some cases, punitive damages.
How We Help Reno Uber Accident Victims
At Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC, our job is to secure the maximum compensation available for our clients after they suffer injuries and losses in preventable accidents.
For clients who have fallen victim to a Reno traffic accident involving an Uber car, our team puts its knowledge of Nevada law and extensive investigative resources to work to uncover the evidence necessary to prove the right to coverage under the extra insurance Uber provides its drivers. Importantly, we know how to act quickly to secure data showing the Uber driver’s status on the Uber app at the time of an accident, which triggers the different levels of coverage described above.
Once we know who owes our clients compensation, and how much compensation our clients should receive, our team gets to work preparing, filing, and pursuing legal actions to get them the money they deserve. Our team negotiates top-dollar settlements whenever possible, and knows how to win in a Reno, Sparks or Carson City courtroom when necessary to see justice done for our client.
Experienced Reno Uber Accident Lawyers for You
If an Uber accident injured you or someone you love in Reno, do not wait to seek the legal help you need. Contact Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC online or call us at (775) 600-6000 for a free consultation about your case.
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