Hurt in a Motorcycle Crash Involving a Rideshare Vehicle?

Who Colvin Accident Lawyers Represents After a Rideshare or Delivery Crash

A motorcycle injury lawyer can help a rider or family find out which insurance may pay after an Uber, Lyft, or delivery driver is involved in a crash. Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury firm based in Bakersfield, California.

This page is for two groups. The first is the rider struck by a driver working through a rideshare or delivery app. The second is the family of a rider killed in that kind of crash.

The firm also handles car, truck, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases. If you’re not sure whether your crash fits, a consultation is the way to find out.

The firm’s first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue. Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this website. The firm works with riders across Kern County, Fresno, Visalia, Lancaster, Palmdale, Delano, and Tehachapi.

Why the App Status Decides Which Insurance May Apply

Insurance after a rideshare crash often depends on what the driver was doing in the app at that moment. The key question is whether the app was off, on and waiting for a request, or had a trip accepted or in progress. Each stage can involve different coverage.

A driver’s personal auto policy may exclude rideshare use. That means a rider may need to look at more than one policy to see what applies.

Your own policy can matter too. If the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, your uninsured motorist coverage may come into play. Under Ins. Code § 11580.2, if you and your insurer disagree about whether you can recover, or how much, the dispute goes to arbitration before a single neutral arbitrator.

Minimum limits are also a factor. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, California requires at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, under Veh. Code § 16056. A serious motorcycle injury can cost far more than those minimums, so each policy deserves a close look.

How Delivery Driver Crashes Differ From Rideshare Crashes

Delivery crashes often turn on the delivery company’s own policies and the driver’s status at the time of the crash. Rideshare rules and delivery rules are different, so a rider should not assume one applies to the other.

Several facts usually matter:

• Whether an order was active when the crash happened
• Whether the driver was between orders
• Whether the vehicle was personally owned by the driver

App records and the police crash report can show these details. A lawyer can ask for these records early, while they are still available.

Missing these steps can hurt a claim, so act quickly after any crash.

Injuries and Claims a Motorcycle Injury Lawyer Can Pursue

A motorcycle injury lawyer can pursue claims for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and, in a death case, losses for the family. The claim turns on the injuries and the facts of the crash.

Riders often suffer road rash, broken bones, head injuries, and spinal injuries.

California law separates losses into two groups. Economic damages are objectively verifiable monetary losses, such as medical expenses and loss of earnings. Non-economic damages are subjective losses, such as pain, suffering, and loss of companionship. Under Civ. Code § 1431.2, each defendant pays non-economic damages only in direct proportion to its own share of fault.

When a rider dies, Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60 lists who may bring the claim. That includes a surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, children, and children of a deceased child; if there are no surviving descendants, those who would inherit under intestate succession (such as parents); certain relatives who were dependent on the decedent; and a minor who lived in the decedent’s household for the 180 days before the death and depended on the decedent for half or more of their support. The decedent’s personal representative may also bring it on their behalf.

Some injuries need long-term care. A catastrophic injury claim may need to account for future medical needs and lost ability to work. If a dangerous road or property condition contributed to the crash, a separate claim may exist against the party responsible for that condition.

What to Expect From the First Consultation Through Resolution

The process starts with a first consultation and moves through investigation, insurance claims, and, if needed, a lawsuit. The timeline depends on the facts of each case.

1. First consultation. The firm reviews the crash facts, the app status at the time, the insurance policies involved, and your treatment to date.
2. Investigation. The firm gathers evidence such as photos, witness statements, the crash report, and app or vehicle records.
3. Insurance claim. The firm presents the claim to the insurers and negotiates on the rider’s behalf.
4. Lawsuit, if needed. If talks do not resolve the claim, a lawsuit can be filed. Deadlines are covered in the questions below.

Keep copies of medical bills, repair estimates, and records of missed work. These documents help show the losses in the claim.

Questions Injured Riders Ask Before Calling a Lawyer

Most riders ask whether they can recover if they were partly at fault, and how long they have to act. The deadline for an action for assault, battery, or injury to, or death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another is generally two years (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1).

How Partial Fault Affects an Injury Claim in California How fault is assessed depends on the facts of each case. To discuss how it may apply to yours, contact Colvin Accident Lawyers for a free, confidential initial consultation, with no obligation to continue.

Talk to Colvin Accident Lawyers About Your Crash

If a rideshare or delivery driver struck your motorcycle and you can’t tell which insurance applies, the next step is a conversation about your crash’s facts. Gather what you have now: the crash report number, photos, the driver’s name, and your own policy information.

Reach out to Colvin Accident Lawyers by phone or through the contact form to set up your first consultation. The firm can review the facts and explain which options may apply to your situation.

Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site.