Atlanta Uber and Lyft accident lawyer

Uber and Lyft cars are part of everyday traffic in Midtown, Buckhead and Downtown, and they crowd the curbs at Hartsfield-Jackson. When one is in a crash, the people hurt face a question an ordinary wreck doesn't raise: which of several insurance policies is responsible? The answer depends on the driver's app status at the moment of impact, and the rideshare company holds that data.

Gary Huggins, the attorney at Huggins Accident Injury Lawyer, works as an Atlanta Uber and Lyft accident lawyer for passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and rideshare drivers. He finds the policies that apply and builds the proof. Call (240) 421-5511 any time; the phone is answered around the clock.

Which insurance pays after an Uber or Lyft crash in Georgia?

Georgia's rideshare insurance law, O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24, sets minimum coverage based on what the driver was doing in the app when the crash happened:

The $1 million coverage starts when the driver accepts a ride request, not when the passenger gets in. A driver on the way to a pickup is already covered at that level.

A 2023 amendment (HB 529) lowered the uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage required during an accepted ride. For crashes on or after July 1, 2023, the minimum is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for injuries, plus $25,000 for property damage. Before then it was $1 million, and you may still see that figure online.

These amounts are floors. The actual policy can be larger, so we get the policy itself instead of guessing.

Why the app status is the first fight

Each insurer has a reason to say the crash belongs to someone else. The driver's personal insurer may point to the rideshare policy. The rideshare insurer may say the app was off, or that no ride had been accepted yet.

The answer is in the records: when the driver logged on, when a request was accepted, where the car was, and when the trip ended. Uber and Lyft keep that data. We send a written demand to preserve it right away, then pursue it through the claim and, if needed, a lawsuit.

If you were the passenger, your own app already shows the ride was underway. Screenshot it today.

Call (240) 421-5511, and Gary can send those preservation demands before the trail goes cold.

If you were a passenger

Passengers rarely share the blame for a crash. A passenger's claim usually comes down to two questions: who caused it, and how much coverage is there?

• Your rideshare driver caused it. The $1 million liability coverage applies to an accepted trip.
• Another driver caused it. That driver's liability insurer pays first. If that coverage is too small, the rideshare policy's UM coverage may help, and so may your own.
• Both drivers share the blame. You can claim against both, and a jury can split fault between them (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33).

When several people are hurt in one crash, they may have to share each policy's per-accident limit. If the at-fault driver carries only Georgia's minimum, for example, $50,000 per accident has to cover every injured person, which is one more reason to find every policy that applies.

If you were riding for work, say, to a client meeting, workers' compensation may also be involved. A separate claim against the driver who caused the crash is often still possible.

Since Georgia's 2025 tort reform, courts can admit evidence that an injured person wasn't wearing a seat belt (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d)). Tell us honestly whether you were buckled in. Our article on seat-belt evidence under SB 68 explains the rule.

Hurt in the back seat of an Uber or Lyft? Call (240) 421-5511, and Gary can tell you which policies are likely in play for your trip.

Other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists hit by a rideshare car

Rideshare driving creates its own hazards. Drivers stop in travel lanes and bike lanes for pickups, make sudden U-turns after accepting a request, and glance at the app while moving. Passengers swing doors open into cyclists.

Georgia law covers the basics. A driver may not hold or support a phone while driving, even to accept a trip (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241; see our article on the Hands-Free Georgia Act). Georgia also requires drivers to stop, and remain stopped, for a person in a crosswalk who is on the driver's side of the road or coming close from the other side (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-91).

Which policy pays you follows the same app-status table above. If the app was off, look to the driver's personal policy; if it was on, the rideshare coverage for that stage applies.

Fault matters in these claims. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, a person found half or more to blame recovers nothing, and anyone less at fault has the award cut by their percentage. If you were walking or on a bike, see our pages on pedestrian accident claims and bicycle accident claims.

If you drive for Uber or Lyft and got hurt

Rideshare drivers get hurt too, often by someone else's mistake. If another driver caused the crash, you have a claim against that driver's liability insurance, like anyone else.

If that driver had no insurance or too little, look to UM coverage. During an accepted ride, Georgia requires the rideshare coverage to include UM; whether it covers your own injuries depends on the policy terms.

When the app was on but no ride had been accepted, Georgia's required minimums are liability limits that protect other people. Coverage for your own injuries then depends on the at-fault driver's insurance and on the terms of your own policy and the company's. Your personal policy may also treat rideshare driving differently from ordinary driving, so let us read it before you assume anything.

Be careful with statements. Your own policy, and possibly the rideshare policy that covers you, may require you to cooperate with that insurer.

The other driver's insurer is different: no law requires you to give it a recorded statement. Our article on recorded statements to adjusters explains the difference.

Driving for a living and hurt on the job? Call (240) 421-5511 before you speak with any adjuster, including the company's.

Where rideshare crashes happen in metro Atlanta

Rideshare traffic piles up wherever people go out, fly or watch a game:

• Midtown: Peachtree Street, West Peachtree, Spring Street and 10th and 14th Streets, with pickups outside offices, the Fox Theatre and Piedmont Park events, plus heavy pedestrian and scooter traffic. Read more about Midtown injury claims.
• Buckhead: Peachtree Road near Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, and late-night drop-offs around Buckhead Village.
• Downtown: crowds leaving Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena, Five Points, and the ramps to the Downtown Connector.
• Hartsfield-Jackson: congested pickup zones at the terminals, plus drivers circling or waiting nearby with the app on, which puts them in the middle coverage tier.
• Event venues in the suburbs: Truist Park and The Battery near Smyrna, Gas South Arena in Duluth and Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta.

On city streets, Atlanta Police Zone 5 covers Midtown and Downtown, and Zone 2 covers Buckhead; the Georgia State Patrol works many interstate crashes. Most of those reports post to BuyCrash.com within a few days, for a small fee.

In town for a convention, a game or a layover? You can still pursue a claim for a crash here after you fly home, and Georgia's deadlines still apply.

Hurt after a game, a concert or a night out? Call (240) 421-5511. If you can't get to the office, Gary can meet you at home or by video.

Evidence to save: screenshots, trip records and more

Do these things while the details are fresh:

• Screenshot the trip in your app: driver name and photo, car and plate, pickup and drop-off points, times and the route map.
• Save the email receipt and any in-app messages with the driver.
• Report the crash in the app, sticking to basic facts. Don't guess about fault or say you're fine.
• Photograph the vehicles, the scene, any rideshare sign in the windshield, and your injuries.
• Get names and numbers of witnesses and other passengers.
• Ask whether the driver has a dashcam. Some do, and footage gets recorded over.
• See a doctor the same day if you can, and keep every record.

On our end, we press Uber or Lyft to preserve the app-status logs, location data and trip timestamps, and we look into the driver's phone use when distraction is suspected. Send us what you've saved, or call (240) 421-5511 and we'll tell you what else to grab.

What if the other driver is uninsured or underinsured?

Georgia is an at-fault state, but its minimum policy covers only $25,000 per injured person, and some drivers carry nothing. That's where UM coverage comes in.

• During an accepted ride, the rideshare policy must include UM coverage at the minimums described above.
• Your own auto policy's UM coverage may also apply, even though you weren't in your own car. Unless the policyholder chose “reduced-by” coverage in writing, Georgia UM is “added-on,” meaning it pays in addition to what the other driver's policy pays.
• Optional medical payments (med-pay) coverage pays medical bills regardless of fault.
• After a hit-and-run, report to police right away. UM claims for unknown drivers have reporting and proof requirements.

UM claims also have procedural traps; one is the requirement to serve your own UM carrier with the suit papers (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11). Read more about how UM coverage works in Georgia.

Have your own insurance card handy and call (240) 421-5511; we'll check whether your UM coverage reaches a crash in someone else's car.

What you can recover after a rideshare crash

Rideshare passengers usually sit in the back, where a side impact or a hard stop can mean head strikes against a window or seatback, neck and back injuries, broken bones and seat-belt bruising. A Georgia injury claim can include:

• ER visits, follow-up care and future treatment
• Paychecks you missed and earning power you lost
• Vehicle repair or replacement, if you were driving
• Physical pain, anxiety after the crash, and the things you can't do while you heal

In an ordinary Georgia injury case, there's no ceiling on those non-economic damages. Punitive damages may be available against a driver who was impaired by alcohol or drugs, and in that situation they aren't capped (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1).

If your crash was on or after April 21, 2025, the defense can show the jury the amounts your health plan paid (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1), which makes complete billing records important.

How long do you have to file a rideshare accident claim in Georgia?

Count two years from the crash: that's Georgia's usual deadline to file an injury lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Claims for vehicle damage get four years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-31), as does a spouse's claim for loss of consortium.

If a government vehicle was involved, like a MARTA bus or a city truck, written notice may be due within six months for a city or twelve months for a county or the State, and special rules can apply to MARTA.

App data, dashcam video and witnesses don't wait for those deadlines. The sooner the records are preserved, the stronger your proof can be.

Talk to an Atlanta Uber and Lyft accident lawyer today

Gary's office at 1050 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 500, Atlanta, GA 30338 is in Perimeter Center, about 15 to 20 minutes up GA-400 from Buckhead outside rush hour. If getting there is hard, he can talk by phone, meet by video, or come to your home or hospital, in English or Spanish.

The first conversation is a free consultation, with no attorney's fee unless we recover compensation for you. Call (240) 421-5511 at any hour, and have your trip screenshot handy if you can.