What Happens if You are Injured in an Uber?

Several things could happen after an Uber injury. What Happens if You are Injured in an Uber? These claims are very complex, mostly because multiple liability theories may apply. However, the bottom line is the same. If you are injured in an Uber or other ridesharing vehicle, the company is generally responsible for damages. The same thing is true if you were involved in an Uber crash.

However, we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves. The first step after an Uber injury, at least legally speaking, is to prove the driver was negligent. Because ridesharing operators are commercial drivers, New Jersey law normally holds them to a higher standard, making it easier to prove negligence. More on that below.

No matter what happens if you’re injured in an Uber, a Newark personal injury lawyer can obtain substantial compensation in court. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages maye be available as well, in some extreme cases.

Uber Crashes

Vehicle collisions are the most common kind of Uber injuries. Ridesharing companies promised that their services would reduce the number of drunk driver accidents. But, mostly because of distracted driving, these operators cause more wrecks than they prevent.

Dealing with Injuries

Motor vehicle collisions kill or seriously injure millions of Americans every year. These wrecks cause injuries like:

• Head Injuries: Ridesharing passengers are especially susceptible to motion-related head injuries. Most passengers don’t brace themselves for collisions because they don’t see them coming. As a result, their heads snap back and forth, causing their brains to slam against the insides of their skulls.
• Internal Bleeding: The aforementioned motion also causes internal bleeding. When internal organs slam against each other, even a slight abrasion bleeds profusely. Internal organs don’t have protective skin layers. In fact, exsanguination (excessive blood loss) is often the official cause of death in a fatal Uber driver wreck.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Among passengers, ridesharing crashes often cause PTSD. These victims expect a nice, easy trip to their destinations. This expectation multiplies the emotional damage of a car crash. Available PTSD drugs usually treat anxiety and other symptoms. But they don’t address the chemical imbalance that causes PTSD.

Because of these serious injuries, the medical bills in an average rideshare crash usually exceed $40,000. A Newark personal injury lawyer typically connects victims with doctors who charge nothing upfront for their professional services. So, an attorney helps ensure that victims get the treatment they need, not the treatment they can afford.

First Party Liability

Whether the ridesharing crash victim was a passenger in the back seat or the occupant of another vehicle involved in the wreck, two basic first party liability theories are usually available in ridesharing injury cases.

SInce distracted driving causes so many ridesharing wrecks in New Jersey, let’s use these collisions as an example.

New Jersey, like many other states, has a hands-free law. Drivers usually cannot hold or use electronic devices, including GPS navigation devices, while they’re behind the wheel. If a tortfeasor (negligent driver) violates a safety law, the tortfeasor could be liable for damages as a matter of law.

However, this doctrine (negligence per se) only applies if emergency responders issue a citation. Many responders believe car crashes are civil matters. Since they don’t want to get involved, they don’t cite drivers.

Ordinary negligence is available in such instances. Using a device while driving violates an Uber driver’s duty of care. The responsibility in these cases is a step above reasonable care. If a breach of duty causes injury, the tortfeasor is liable for damages.

Third Party Liability

Uber, Lyft, and other employers are vicariously liable for car crash damages if their employees are negligent during the course and scope of their employment. New Jersey law recently changed on this point. So, it’s easier for an Atlantic County personal injury lawyer to establish third party liability in Uber collision cases.

Most ridesharing operators are independent contractors for most purposes. However, these drivers are employees for negligence purposes, because the company has some control over their actions. For example, the app informs drivers where to pick up passengers and where to drop them off.

Furthermore, any act that benefits the employer in any way is within the scope of employment. Deadheading operators driving around waiting for fares are acting within the course and scope of employment. The company benefits since drivers are in the field.

Uber Driver Assaults

Usually, the same steps apply in Uber driver assaults, passenger-on-passenger assaults, and falls that occur while entering or exiting a vehicle. However, the rules are slightly different.

First Party Liability

Sexual assaults are a major issue in this area. For negligence purposes, a ridesharing vehicle is basically a house on wheels, and the driver is basically an owner. Therefore, under New Jersey law, Uber drivers have a duty to provide safe and secure environments for passengers.

This duty includes a responsibility to break up arguments before they become violent. It definitely includes a responsibility to avoid assaultive behavior, like kidnapping, false imprisonment, and sexual battery.

Doctors often immediately treat car crash injuries. But sexual abuse injuries, especially the emotional injuries, often go untreated for years or even decades. The law recently changed on this point as well, giving sexual assault victims much more time to file legal actions and obtain compensation for their injuries.

Third Party Liability

The same basic rules discussed above apply to unintentional injuries, like falls. These ridesharing injuries are quite common. Drivers often pick up or drop off passengers in unsafe locations, like a dark, wet streetcorner. These rules also apply to a failure to prevent passenger-on-passenger assaults.

Intentional torts, like assaults, clearly aren’t within the course and scope of employment. However, the ridesharing company could still be liable for assault and other damages, under one of two theories. In this context, both are related to driver turnover. According to one report, fewer than 5 percent of Uber drivers stay with the company for more than twelve months.

Negligent hiring is employing an incompetent person. Since driver turnover is so high, and rider demand in 2025 is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, Uber officials usually don’t ask too many questions during the onboarding process. They often fail to spot red flags, like disciplinary issues at another job.

On a related note, since Uber and Lyft drivers have little experience, their customer relations skills are often shaky. The wrong situation easily brings out the worst in them.

Negligent supervision is failing to properly monitor employees, or former employees. If a passenger alleged that Mike committed an assault, the company has a duty to promptly, thoroughly, and transparently investigate that allegation, no matter how far-fetched it seems.

More than likely, when Mike finds out about the investigation, he’ll quit. His move doesn’t change Uber’s obligation. The company still has a duty to investigate the complaint and take action based on the results of that investigation, and nothing else.

Contact a Savvy Bergen County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Newark, contact CourtLaw. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.