I Was a Passenger in an Uber Accident

If you were a passenger in an Uber accident, you’re in the same situation as any other victim. You have roughly the same injuries, which affect millions of Americans every year, the same legal principles apply, and your injury claim goes through the same process. More on these things below.

These three areas are very daunting, to say the least. Car crash injuries have physical and emotional consequences which, in many ways, are completely overwhelming. The legal rules governing Uber passenger accident injuries in New Jersey are very complex. Finally, and usually within hours of an Uber accident, the company has a team of lawyers working hard to protect its interests.

A Local Legal Counsel  makes a life-changing difference in all three areas. Attorneys connect accident victims with doctors who focus on injury-related conditions. Furthermore, an experienced lawyer quickly and thoroughly evaluates your case and uses proven methods to obtain maximum compensation. Finally, a North Jersey Uber accident lawyer goes toe-to-toe against corporate attorneys and levels the playing field.
Legal representation for Uber victims in New Brunswick, NJ.

Passenger Injuries

Frequently, back seat passenger injuries are more severe than front-seat occupant injuries. The back seat passenger seat belt use rate is much lower than the front seat occupant seat belt use rate. That non-use might or might not affect the amount of compensation, because New Jersey’s seat belt defense is very complex. More on that below.

Back seat occupants, whether they buckle up or not, are also highly susceptible to three kinds of head injuries:

• mTBIs: Moderate traumatic brain injuries, or concussions, are very common in low-speed Uber accidents. The violent motion usually damages nerves in the head and neck. That damage causes symptoms like disorientation and confusion. These symptoms are identical to accident shock, a temporary condition that goes away on its own. But traumatic brain injuries, even mild ones, never go away on their own.
• sTBIs: The dead nerves, along with adrenaline from the crash, usually mask more severe injuries, such as a serious traumatic brain injury. The sad saga of Allman Brothers bass player Berry Oakley is a good example. In 1973, Oakley was in a motorcycle crash. He told emergency responders he felt fine and declined treatment at the scene. Less than a week later, an undiagnosed brain injury killed him.
• PTSD: The lack of control that Uber passengers feel in the moments before a crash increases their stress levels. That extreme stress usually causes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A chemical imbalance in the brain (the extreme stress) causes PTSD. The symptoms of this imbalance include anger, hypervigilance, and depression. Like other kinds of head injuries, PTSD is difficult to diagnose and treat.

Doctors who focus on injury-related conditions know how to diagnose and treat accident-related head injuries. But such doctors are few and far between, and these specialists are very expensive.

So, a Central Jersey Uber accident lawyer connects Uber passenger victims with top-notch doctors who, in most cases, charge nothing upfront for their professional services.

Liability Issues

These medical bills must be paid eventually. A South Jersey personal injury lawyer works to ensure that the responsible party pays these bills. You break it, you buy it.

Uber accidents don’t happen out of nowhere. Usually, driver error causes these vehicle collisions. This driver error is usually negligence, or a lack of care. People don’t accidentally do things like run red lights and t-bone other vehicles. Such mistakes are intentional, or at least reckless. 

Ordinary negligence is basically a lack of ordinary care. All drivers, especially professional Uber drivers, must go out of their way to avoid accidents. If a breach of duty, such as aggressive driving (turning unsafely, speeding, etc.) or operator impairment (driving while sick, driving while fatigued, etc.) causes physical injury or property damage, an NJ County Uber accident lawyer can go to court and obtain compensation.

This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are also available, in some extreme cases.

The same compensation is available in negligence per se matters. According to this legal theory, tortfeasors (negligent drivers) might be responsible for damages as a matter of law if:

• They violate a safety law, and
• That violation substantially causes injury.

Liability is always difficult to prove, because the burden of proof is high. Liability is especially hard to prove in multi-vehicle Uber accidents.

New Jersey’s confounding joint and several liability law often comes into play in these situations. The law is much too complex to fully address in this post, but we’ll hit some highlights.

Assume Frank (an Uber passenger) was seriously injured when Lisa (the Uber driver) collided with Emily (another driver). Depending on the evidence in the case, and a few other factors, Lisa could be fully responsible for Frank’s injuries, partially responsible for them, or not responsible for them at all.

Legally, joint and several liability is a dispute between Uber and Emily that doesn’t technically involve Frank. However, a joint and several liability dispute will almost certainly delay Frank’s settlement and could affect the amount of compensation he receives.850
Advocating for the injured in East Orange, NJ.

Possible Defenses

Injury matters often involve affirmative defenses, like comparative fault. Uber passenger injury matters often involve another affirmative defense.

As mentioned, the back seat seat belt compliance rate is rather low. In New Jersey, victims who do not buckle up could be legally responsible for their own damages if:

• The victim deliberately wasn’t properly wearing a seat belt, and
• The failure to wear a seat belt substantially caused the victim’s injuries.

Many states don’t recognize the seat belt defense because “properly wearing a seat belt” is a can of worms. For example, some people use the lap belt but not the shoulder harness. Others don’t properly tighten the seat belt. Others don’t wear a seat belt because the latch is broken. Still others. . .well, you get the idea.

The second prong of the seat belt defense, substantial cause, is almost impossible to prove. The aforementioned head injuries are a good example. Motion causes TBIs and stress causes PTSD. So, these injuries would occur whether or not the victim was restrained.

Count on a Tough-Minded Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Elizabeth, NJ, contact CourtLaw. We routinely handle matters throughout the Garden State.