Why is My Lawyer Taking So Long to Settle My Uber Accident Claim?

Most Uber accident claims take a long time to settle because settlement is a process, not a result. This process can be extremely short, but it’s usually very long. Furthermore, if a claim settles too early, the best evidence, and therefore maximum compensation, is unavailable. Uber lawyers play hide-the-ball a lot. We’ll explore these topics in this post.

They say all good things come to those who wait, and for Uber accident victims, this aphorism is usually true. The compensation in an Uber accident claim usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are available as well, in some extreme cases.

Building a Case

When a New Jersey Uber accident lawyer diligently works every angle throughout the settlement process, good things usually happen. The average lawyer-negotiated settlement is over three times higher than the average nonlawyer-negotiated settlement.

Collecting Initial Evidence

Victim/plaintiffs must prove negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not. Therefore, evidence is critical in Uber crash matters. Some of this evidence is practically there for the taking. 

Initial witness statements are a good example. When eyewitnesses voluntarily come forward at the scene, emergency responders usually record their names and contact information. But the preliminary witness list is almost always incomplete. Most people don’t stop what they’re doing, loiter at accident scenes, and give voluntary statements to police officers. So, a South Jersey personal injury lawyer must find additional witnesses. More on that below.

This part of the process is time consuming. Lawyers cannot simply throw together legal paperwork and file it in court. 

Initial Liability Issues

The initial evidence is usually enough to construct a bare-bones ordinary negligence or negligence per se case.

Ordinary negligence is a lack of ordinary care. This legal principle is based on the moral principle of the Good Samaritan (the guy who went out of his way to help an injured traveler). In New Jersey, an ordinary negligence case has five basic elements:

• Duty: Commercial drivers, like Uber drivers, have a duty of utmost care in New Jersey. To stay with the Good Samaritan analogy, according to the story, the GS paid for a room at a run-of-the-mill hotel. Commercial drivers, like Uber drivers, must go further out of their way and give an injured traveler a room at the nicest hotel in town.
• Breach: Drivers breach their duty of utmost care when they drive aggressively or while impaired. Uber drivers often speed, in order to make as many trips as possible. They often drive while extremely fatigued, because they usually have full-time commitments elsewhere.
• Substantial Cause: There’s a difference between a substantial cause and a contributing cause. Many circumstances contributed to World War II, but Nazi aggression substantially caused it. Likewise, bad weather and other circumstances often contribute to Uber accidents. But, over 90 percent of the time, driver error substantially causes them.
• Damage: Generally, a crash must cause some physical damage (personal injury and/or property loss) to be actionable in court. Even de minimis physical damage, like a dented bumper, meets this requirement. Some exceptions apply, such as the negligent infliction of emotional distress doctrine.

Negligence per se is a violation of a safety law. We mentioned excessive speed above. If an emergency responder cites an Uber driver for speeding or another infraction, and that infraction substantially caused injury, the tortfeasor (negligent driver) is liable for damages as a matter of law.

Subsequent Matters

The aforementioned long process is only the minimum requirement. Usually, n=minimum efforts produce minimal results. To obtain maximum compensation, a Central Jersey personal injury lawyer, like the Good Samaritan, must go the extra mile.

Electronic Evidence

Some evidence is not available until later in the process. Event Data Recorder information, which is often the most persuasive evidence in an Uber accident claim, is a good example.

An EDR is like an eyewitness who’s never wrong or biased. Depending on the make and model, EDRs measure and record information like:

• Vehicle speed,
• Engine RPM,
• Steering angle, and
• Brake application.

This critical evidence usually isn’t available until later in the process because New Jersey has very strong vehicle information privacy laws. Usually, a South Jersey Uber accident lawyer needs a court order to access and download EDR data.

Incidentally, the access/download process is very technical. A screwdriver and a laptop simply won’t do.

Video surveillance evidence may be important as well. Frequently, the critical camera is blocks or miles away from the accident scene. For example, a camera six or eight blocks from an Uber accident may record an Uber driver operating erratically and having a near-miss accident with another driver.

When the case goes to court, a Uber accident lawyer must carefully authenticate all electronic evidence, especially video evidence. Otherwise, the judge will throw this proof out of court.

Comparative Fault

The evidence in a case must be strong enough to meet the burden of proof (a preponderance of the evidence) and the burden of persuasion (convince jurors to award maximum compensation). The proof must also be strong enough to refute legal defenses, such as comparative fault.

This defense usually comes into play in multi-vehicle crashes. Essenatilla, comparative fault shifts accident blame from the tortfeasor (negligent driver) to the victim. For example, Uber lawyers may argue that Fred changed lanes unsafely in front of a speeding Uber driver.

Judges allow jurors to consider this defense if the comparative fault may have substantially caused the crash, a concept we discussed above. To continue with this example, if the Uber driver was zipping in and out of traffic, Fred’s unsafe lane change probably didn’t substantially contribute to the wreck.

If the judge allows the defense, jurors must divide fault on a percentage basis (80-20, etc.). New Jersey is a modified comparative fault state with a 51 percent bar. Victims are entitled to compensation if the tortfeasor was at least 51 percent responsible for the wreck.

Count on a Tough-Minded Lawyer

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