Getting hurt as a rideshare passenger raises a question that doesn’t come up in a typical car accident: who do you actually pursue for compensation, and which insurance policy applies. The answer depends less on who you’d assume, Uber or Lyft directly, and more on which of several overlapping insurance periods was active when the crash happened, a detail that recently got a lot more complicated under a new 2026 California law.
Quick answer: Fault in a rideshare accident falls on whoever was actually negligent, whether that’s your rideshare driver, another motorist, or another party entirely. You generally can’t sue Uber or Lyft directly, since California law classifies rideshare drivers as independent contractors, but the company’s insurance policy, not just the driver’s personal policy, usually covers the claim once a ride is underway.
Why You Usually Can't Sue Uber or Lyft Directly
California’s Proposition 22 allows rideshare companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, and the California Supreme Court upheld that classification as constitutional in the 2024 case Castellanos v. State of California. Because of this, the traditional legal doctrine that makes an employer liable for an employee’s on-the-job negligence generally doesn’t apply to Uber or Lyft directly. That doesn’t leave injured passengers without a remedy, though: it shifts the claim toward the driver and the substantial commercial insurance policy the rideshare company is required to maintain on their behalf, rather than toward the company as an employer.
The Three Insurance Periods That Determine What Coverage Applies
How much insurance coverage is available after a rideshare accident depends heavily on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of the crash, since California recognizes three distinct coverage periods. When the app is off, only the driver’s personal auto policy applies, the same as any other driver. When the app is on but the driver hasn’t yet accepted a ride, a lower level of contingent coverage from the rideshare company applies, generally $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for injuries. Once a ride has been accepted, whether the driver is en route to pick up a passenger or already has one in the vehicle, the rideshare company’s commercial policy applies at a much higher level, generally up to $1 million in third-party liability coverage for injuries the driver causes to a passenger, pedestrian, or other motorist. Identifying exactly which period applied at the time of your accident is one of the first things that needs to happen in a rideshare injury claim, since it directly determines how much coverage is actually available.
Not sure which insurance period applies to your accident? We can help you figure out where your claim stands. Call (949) 776-2856.
The New 2026 Insurance Gap: SB 371 and Uninsured Drivers
A significant change took effect on January 1, 2026, under California Senate Bill 371. Previously, if you were injured as a rideshare passenger by an uninsured or underinsured third-party driver, Uber and Lyft’s uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage provided up to $1 million in protection. Under SB 371, that coverage has been reduced substantially, to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. This change doesn’t affect the $1 million third-party liability coverage that applies when your own rideshare driver is at fault, but it creates a real gap for passengers hurt by an uninsured or underinsured motorist while riding in an Uber or Lyft. If you regularly use rideshare services, it’s worth reviewing your own personal auto policy’s uninsured motorist coverage, since it may now need to fill in where the rideshare company’s coverage no longer reaches.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
An injured rideshare passenger can generally recover the same categories of damages available in any personal injury claim: medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and non-economic harm like pain and suffering and emotional distress. Because multiple insurance policies can potentially be in play, including the at-fault driver’s personal policy, the rideshare company’s commercial coverage, and possibly your own uninsured motorist coverage, sorting out which policy pays what, and in what order, is often more complicated than a standard two-driver car accident claim, and insurers on any side of a multi-policy claim have an incentive to point toward someone else’s coverage first.
This is especially true when an accident happens near the boundary between two coverage periods, since both the rideshare company’s insurer and the driver’s personal insurer may each try to argue the other’s policy should apply first. Documenting exactly what the app showed at the time of the crash, whether a ride had been accepted, whether a passenger was already in the vehicle, becomes important evidence in these disputes, since it’s often the single fact that determines which policy actually has to pay.
Hurt as a rideshare passenger? We can help you sort out which insurance policy actually covers your claim. Call (949) 776-2856 for a free consultation.
Talk to a California Rideshare Accident Lawyer
Rideshare accident claims involve more overlapping insurance policies than a typical crash, and you shouldn’t have to sort out which one applies alone, especially with coverage rules that just changed. DKB Lawyers helps injured rideshare passengers identify every available source of coverage and pursue full compensation.
Call (949) 776-2856 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.