A rideshare crash can look like any other car accident at the scene, yet the question of who pays for your injuries often follows a different route. Seeing how the state approaches these situations can help you understand where your claim might stand.
Liability layers in rideshare collisions
In a standard car accident, liability tends to fall on one or two drivers. A rideshare crash can involve more parties, including the rideshare company, because of the commercial nature of the service at the time of the wreck.
Arizona treats rideshare drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. That status limits when the company can face direct liability for a driver’s actions, based on how much control the company holds over how drivers operate. The state also makes use of an at-fault system, which means the party responsible for the crash, along with that party’s insurer, covers the resulting losses.
Insurance tiers in the state
Arizona’s Transportation Network Company statute requires rideshare companies to carry minimum insurance coverage that changes based on the driver’s activity at the time of the crash. Three phases of a trip determine these amounts.
When a driver logs into the app but has not yet accepted a ride, the required minimums sit at $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident and $20,000 for property damage. Once the driver accepts a request, coverage jumps to $250,000, alongside uninsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $75,000 per incident. When a passenger is in the vehicle, the minimum rises to $1,000,000.
This tiered setup can make it hard for you to know which policy applies to your case. In some cases, the driver’s personal auto insurance may come first, while in others the rideshare company’s policy serves as the primary source of coverage.
Fault lines between drivers and companies
Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence model, which means you may still recover compensation even if you share some fault for the accident. The court reduces your total damages by your percentage of fault.
In a rideshare case, fault can land on more than one party at the same time. The driver, another motorist, the company and even a third party such as a vehicle maker or a local government could each hold some share of liability.
Steps within the claims process
You generally have two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit in Arizona, and some circumstances carry shorter deadlines. The timeline can move faster than expected, which is worth keeping in mind while you focus on recovery.
Because more than one insurer may be involved, these claims can take longer to untangle than a routine crash. Some injured people work with an attorney to identify the policy that applies and to manage the back-and-forth with the companies.