What to Do if You’re Injured in an Uber Accident in North Carolina

Required Insurance Coverage for Uber Drivers

In North Carolina, all personal vehicle owners must carry a minimum of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in coverage for any injury or death they cause.

If an Uber driver is involved in an accident, but they are not currently working (the Uber app isn’t open on their phone and they aren’t waiting for, driving to, or transporting a passenger), only their personal auto insurance policy applies. In practice this usually means the state minimum liability coverage mentioned above, although it could be more if the driver purchased more.

However, in North Carolina, Uber also provides additional liability coverage for drivers who are engaged in work activities, if the driver’s own coverage doesn’t meet the minimum criteria. The Uber insurance policy includes:

• $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, if the driver’s app is open but they are only waiting for a fare. (In other words, they haven’t accepted a job yet.)
• $1 million in total injury coverage from the moment the driver accepts a fare (i.e., driving to pick a passenger up) to the moment the passenger is dropped off at their destination.

The same levels of insurance coverage apply for Uber delivery drivers who are involved in an accident. The only difference is that they are transporting goods rather than passengers.

The good news is that, if you are injured by an Uber driver who has accepted a job (whether that’s yours or someone else’s), you’ll have access to a larger pool of insurance coverage than you would likely have available for a typical passenger vehicle accident. However, Uber accident cases are frequently complicated, and insurance companies will aggressively defend cases, particularly for large claims.

Other Uber Safety Regulations

Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare companies, known under North Carolina law as “transportation network companies,” are also subject to additional legal regulations. These include:

• Obtaining appropriate permits
• Performing background checks on drivers and their vehicles (including driving history, vehicle registration, insurance information, and criminal records)
• Re-performing background checks on all drivers at least every five years
• Ensuring rideshare vehicles are inspected annually
• Maintaining records of all rideshares provided for at least one year
• Maintaining complete records of all drivers, including name and address

If an investigation reveals that Uber failed to meet its legal obligations, you may have an additional liability claim against the company. However, even when all these regulations are followed, it is not a guarantee that every Uber driver will drive safely and responsibly.

Statute of Limitations

After any North Carolina car accident, injury victims have a three-year time limit to settle an injury claim or file a personal injury lawsuit. This is called the Statute of Limitations.

Although three years might seem like a lot of time, you do not want to wait until the last minute to begin building your Uber or Lyft accident case. If you think you may end up needing to file a lawsuit, it’s best to speak with a personal injury attorney and begin working on your case as soon as possible.

If you don’t take steps to preserve evidence quickly after an Uber or Lyft accident, it might not be available for you to collect later. Furthermore, it will take time to heal from your injuries, collect and analyze crash evidence and medical bills, and go through multiple rounds of negotiation with the insurance company. And, if settlement negotiations fail, you may need additional time to prepare to sue. The earlier you and your attorney begin this work, the more likely it will result in a good outcome.