Truck Accident Lawyer
Uber Accident Lawyer
Lyft Accident Lawyer
Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
When an Uber or Lyft ride ends in a crash, the claim that follows looks very different from a typical fender-bender between two private drivers. There may be three or four insurance policies in play at once: the rideshare driver’s personal policy, the transportation network company’s commercial policy, your own auto coverage, and the policy of any other driver involved. Which one pays — and how much is available — depends on what the driver was doing in the app at the exact moment of the collision. That single fact drives most rideshare cases in New Jersey.
New Jersey answered these questions by statute. The Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, N.J.S.A. 39:5H-1 et seq., sets mandatory insurance minimums for rideshare driving, requires background checks and vehicle standards, and prevents the company’s coverage from hiding behind a denial by the driver’s personal insurer. Understanding that law is the first step in protecting your claim — whether you were a passenger, the rideshare driver, an occupant of another vehicle, or a pedestrian or cyclist. Riders and drivers in Montclair face the same insurance questions, and our Montclair rideshare accident page covers those claims locally.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has represented injured people across New Jersey since 1973. From our main office in Rochelle Park, and our offices in Montclair and Englewood Cliffs, our trial lawyers handle serious car accident claims — including the layered insurance disputes that rideshare crashes create. This page explains the rules that will govern your claim, the evidence that matters, and the deadlines you cannot afford to miss.
Under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10, the insurance that applies to a rideshare crash changes with the driver’s status in the app. Lawyers and adjusters divide rideshare driving into three periods, and the period at the moment of impact often decides whether a claim is covered by a modest personal policy or a commercial policy worth $1.5 million.
If the driver was not logged into the Uber or Lyft app, the trip was not a rideshare trip in the eyes of the law, no matter what windshield sticker or phone mount was in the car. The driver’s personal auto insurance is the only coverage in play, and the claim proceeds like any other New Jersey car accident claim. Off-app rides arranged informally for cash fall outside the Act entirely.
Once a driver is logged on and available to receive a ride request, but has not yet accepted one, N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b) requires primary liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death or bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage. The same period requires personal injury protection (PIP) benefits at the amounts the driver selected under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as required by N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1. These limits are far better than nothing, but a serious injury can exhaust them quickly — which is one reason fault and every other available policy must be investigated.
From the moment a driver accepts a prearranged ride and is traveling to the pickup, and throughout the trip until the passenger exits, N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c) requires primary liability insurance of at least $1,500,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage. The statute also requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $1,500,000 and at least $10,000 per person per incident in medical payments benefits for the rideshare driver. Two protections in the Act are easy to overlook: if the driver’s own coverage has lapsed or falls short, the company’s insurance must pay from the first dollar and defend the claim, and the company policy cannot be made to wait for the driver’s personal insurer to deny the claim first.
These tiers explain why rideshare insurers fight so hard over timestamps. A crash logged at 8:04 p.m. may be worth $1.5 million in coverage; the same crash at 7:58 p.m., before the ride was accepted, may sit under limits a fraction of that size.
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Almost anyone injured by a negligent rideshare driver — or injured while riding with one — may have a claim. The categories below describe the people our New Jersey personal injury lawyers most often represent in Uber and Lyft cases.
Passengers are in the strongest coverage position. A passenger injured during a trip is covered by the $1.5 million liability and $1.5 million UM/UIM policies required during a prearranged ride, whether the rideshare driver caused the crash or another driver did and fled or carried too little insurance. Passengers rarely bear any fault, so their claims usually turn on documenting injuries and damages rather than fighting over liability.
Drivers injured while working face a harder puzzle. The Act requires $10,000 in medical payments benefits for the driver during a trip, the driver’s own PIP responds, and the $1.5 million UM/UIM coverage can apply if another motorist caused the crash. Because Uber and Lyft classify drivers as independent contractors, workers’ compensation is usually unavailable — which makes identifying every liability policy, and any negligent third party, essential.
If a rideshare driver hits your car, your claim runs against the rideshare coverage in force at that moment — the full $1.5 million tier if the driver was on a trip, the 50/100/25 tier if the driver was waiting for a request, or the driver’s personal policy if the app was off. Your own PIP pays your initial medical bills regardless of fault under New Jersey’s no-fault system, and your UM/UIM coverage may add a further layer.
The same rideshare policies respond when a rideshare driver strikes a person on foot or on a bicycle. Pedestrians may also qualify for PIP benefits through a household member’s auto policy or, if none exists, through the New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association. Because these injuries are often severe, early investigation of the driver’s app status can be the difference between personal-policy limits and $1.5 million in commercial coverage.
Uber and Lyft operate under the same New Jersey statute, but their claims machinery is not identical. Both companies require the crash to be reported in the app, both route claims to adjusters, and both will ask for a recorded statement early. You are not required to give one to the other side’s insurer before speaking with a lawyer — and doing so can lock you into descriptions of your injuries before their full extent is known.
Uber’s claims are commonly administered through its insurer partners, and the app’s trip record — pickup and drop-off times, route, and driver status — becomes the central exhibit. Lyft’s process is similar, though drivers often report longer response times and more document requests before coverage is confirmed. In both systems, the first coverage letter matters: it states the period the company says the driver was in and the limits it says apply. Those letters are sometimes wrong, and they should be tested against the raw trip data rather than accepted.
Another difference appears when a driver was working two apps at once — a common practice called “double-apping.” When two companies’ periods overlap, each insurer may point at the other. Sorting out overlapping periods requires the app records from both platforms, which our firm demands early, before routine data-retention limits become a problem. And while both companies may deactivate a driver after a serious crash, a deactivation does not prove fault — what moves these claims is evidence, built the way a jury would see it.
The steps you take in the first hours and days after an Uber or Lyft crash protect both your health and your claim. If you are able, work through as many of these as you can.
If injuries keep you from doing any of this, an attorney can reconstruct much of it from police, medical, and app records. What matters most is not waiting: New Jersey deadlines run from the date of the crash, and trip data is not kept forever. Our car accidents page walks through what happens after these first steps.
Rideshare cases are won and lost on records that do not exist in ordinary car accidents. The app itself is a witness: it logged when the ride was requested, accepted, started, and ended, and where the car traveled. Both companies also collect telematics — braking, acceleration, and phone-use data — that can corroborate or contradict a driver’s account.
The most important evidence to secure includes the complete trip record and driver-status timestamps; in-app communications between driver and passenger; dashcam or surveillance video from nearby businesses; the vehicle’s event data recorder; cell phone records where distracted driving is suspected; and the driver’s background-check and driving-history file, which the Act requires the company to maintain. Maintenance and inspection records matter too, because the Act imposes vehicle safety requirements that a bald tire or failed brake can turn into a separate theory of liability against the company.
Medical evidence carries equal weight. Insurers routinely argue that a passenger’s injuries are exaggerated or pre-existing, especially soft-tissue and concussion claims where vehicle damage looks modest. Consistent treatment records, imaging, and specialist evaluations translate injuries into the damages numbers that settle cases. Our firm’s writing on who pays after a New Jersey rideshare accident and on suing Uber and Lyft after an accident explores both issues further.
One caution: do not repair or sell a damaged vehicle, delete the rideshare app, or change phones before the data is preserved. An early preservation letter from counsel puts the companies and insurers on notice that trip data, telematics, and driver files must be kept.
The Epstein Law Firm can review the evidence, insurance issues, and next steps that may matter in your rideshare accident claim.
Because so much money turns on technical questions, rideshare claims generate a predictable set of disputes. Knowing them in advance is half the battle.
The most common fight is over the driver’s period. An insurer may claim the ride had ended, had not yet been accepted, or was being conducted off the app. The answer is in the timestamped trip data and the passenger’s own app records — GPS breadcrumbs, fare records, and in-app messages usually settle the question.
The Act forecloses this delay tactic: coverage under the company’s policy is not dependent on the driver’s personal insurer denying the claim first, and if the driver’s coverage lapsed or is insufficient, the company policy applies from the first dollar with a duty to defend. When adjusters stall on this point, citing N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(d) and (e) tends to end the argument.
Uber and Lyft classify drivers as independent contractors and sometimes suggest this insulates the company. It does not eliminate the statutory insurance the Act requires the company to maintain, and in some cases — negligent hiring, retention, or failure to enforce safety and background-check standards — the company’s own conduct is directly at issue.
Expect this argument in nearly every case. It is answered with medical records from before and after the crash and treating physicians who can explain causation. Cases fall apart when claimants hide prior injuries; they get stronger when the medical story is documented and consistent.
Multi-car crashes add another layer: a negligent third driver, an uninsured or underinsured motorist, or a commercial vehicle may all share fault. Each insurer will try to shift its share onto the others. Sorting the stack — liability policies, UM/UIM coverage, PIP, and any umbrella — is where experienced car accident counsel earns its keep, including on corridor cases along routes such as Interstate 280.
New Jersey gives most injured people two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. The clock generally runs from the date of the crash. Miss it, and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case no matter how clear the liability or how large the rideshare policy is. Insurance claims should be opened long before the lawsuit deadline — but the two-year date is the one that cannot be extended by an adjuster’s promises.
One trap catches rideshare passengers off guard: if a government vehicle or public employee is involved — a municipal bus that clips your Uber, a county vehicle, a public transit collision — the New Jersey Tort Claims Act requires a formal notice of claim within 90 days of the crash, under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8. Ninety days passes quickly, and late notices are granted only in narrow circumstances. Identifying any public entity in the chain of events is a first-week task in these cases, not an afterthought.
Other clocks matter too. PIP claims must be opened promptly, and UM/UIM policies can require notice “as soon as practicable.” Evidence also operates on a deadline: app data, telematics, and surveillance video are retained for limited periods. Treat the first two weeks as the evidence window, the first 90 days as the notice window, and the two-year statute as the outer wall.
New Jersey follows a modified comparative negligence rule, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1. You may recover damages as long as your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of the parties you are suing — in practice, you must be 50 percent or less at fault — and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. A passenger found 10 percent at fault recovers 90 percent of the damages; a claimant found 51 percent at fault recovers nothing.
In rideshare cases, comparative fault shows up in familiar ways: a passenger who was not wearing a seat belt, a driver following too closely on Route 17 or the Turnpike, a pedestrian crossing mid-block. Insurers raise these arguments aggressively because every percentage point of fault assigned to you reduces what they pay. Passengers are almost never at fault for a crash — but insurers occasionally test seat-belt arguments against them anyway, and they should be answered with evidence, not conceded in a recorded statement.
A successful rideshare claim can recover the full measure of losses the crash caused. Economic damages include past and future medical bills, rehabilitation and therapy, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, property damage, and out-of-pocket costs such as rides to medical appointments or help at home during recovery. Non-economic damages compensate for pain, suffering, disability, scarring, and the loss of enjoyment of the activities that made up your life before the crash.
Two New Jersey features shape what is recoverable. First, the verbal threshold (limitation on lawsuit option) on your own auto policy may restrict non-economic damages unless your injury falls within one of the statutory categories in N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8 — such as significant disfigurement, displaced fractures, or permanent injury. Passengers are generally bound by their own policy’s threshold election, so that document should be reviewed early. Second, liens and reimbursement claims from health insurers or benefit plans must be accounted for in any settlement so a resolved case stays resolved.
In the most serious cases — catastrophic injury or wrongful death — damages extend to future life-care needs and the family’s losses under New Jersey’s wrongful death and survival statutes. These are the cases where the $1.5 million rideshare policy matters most, and where settling early, before the long-term picture is clear, can be an expensive mistake. When the at-fault vehicle is a commercial truck instead, different rules apply — see our truck accidents practice. A rideshare accident attorney can explain how these claims are evaluated under New Jersey law.
Our approach starts with the coverage map: within days, we identify every policy in the stack, demand the trip data and driver-status records, and send preservation letters to the rideshare company and insurers. We coordinate your medical documentation, review your own auto policy for PIP, UM/UIM, and threshold issues, and check for the traps — the 90-day Tort Claims notice, policy notice conditions, and liens — that quietly destroy otherwise strong claims.
Most cases settle, but they settle for what a jury might do — which is why we prepare rideshare cases for trial from the start. The firm is led by Michael J. Epstein, selected to the Super Lawyers Top 100 list for New Jersey for 2026. If the rideshare insurer will not pay fair value, we file suit in New Jersey Superior Court and put the evidence — app data, telematics, medical proof — in front of a jury.
Selected motor vehicle results obtained by The Epstein Law Firm include a $4.25 million confidential settlement in a wrongful death and survival action for a Teaneck husband and father who died after a tire fell from his car, causing it to flip and catch fire — a major mechanic operations company was at fault for failing to attach the tire properly — and a $4.195 million jury verdict for a 59-year-old Oradell resident who suffered multiple fractures to his legs as a passenger of a drunk driver who had been served while visibly intoxicated at a bar in South Hackensack. The firm’s results also include a $10 million settlement, obtained working as local counsel with a Baltimore firm, for a Maryland woman who lost both of her legs after being struck by an NJ Transit bus in Lakewood, New Jersey. Read more on our verdicts and settlements page. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case is different and must be evaluated on its own facts.
Michael J. Epstein has been selected to the Super Lawyers Top 100 list for New Jersey for 2026. The firm has also been recognized by TopVerdict, which ranked one of its results among the Top 10 New Jersey Personal Injury Settlements of 2024 and among the Top 20 U.S. Medical Malpractice Settlements of 2024.
“Throughout the experience, I felt supported, well informed, and confident in the guidance I received. I truly appreciate your diligence, professionalism, and commitment to achieving a fair and favorable outcome. I would confidently recommend your firm to anyone seeking high-quality legal representation.”— Elisa, Google review
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The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. represents rideshare accident victims throughout New Jersey. Our main office is at 340 West Passaic Street, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662, and we also meet clients in Montclair and Englewood Cliffs. Call (201) 231-7847 for a free case evaluation, or reach us through our contact page. If your injuries make travel difficult, tell us — we will make arrangements to meet you.
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Selected case results obtained by The Epstein Law Firm include a $10 million settlement, obtained working as local counsel with a Baltimore firm, for a Maryland woman who lost both of her legs after being struck by an NJ Transit bus in Lakewood, New Jersey; a $13.585 million confidential settlement; and a $4.25 million confidential settlement in a wrongful death and survival action arising from a motor vehicle crash. Every case is different, and these results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other matter.
Below are answers to common questions about Uber and Lyft accident claims in New Jersey. This information is general and not legal advice — the driver’s app status, the policies involved, and your injuries can all change the analysis, so contact our office for guidance about your situation.
In most cases, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. That deadline applies whether the claim is against the rideshare driver, another motorist, or the rideshare company’s insurer, and missing it will almost certainly end the case no matter how strong the evidence is.
Insurance claims should be opened far sooner. Your PIP claim, any UM/UIM claim, and the rideshare claim all have their own notice requirements, and evidence such as app trip data is retained only for a limited time. Treat the two-year statute as the outer wall — not the plan.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, via NJ Courts — Appellate Division opinion quoting the two-year injury limitation; Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-1 et seq.)
If you were a passenger on an active trip — from acceptance of the ride through drop-off — New Jersey law requires primary liability coverage of at least $1,500,000, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $1,500,000, under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c). That coverage applies whether your rideshare driver caused the crash or another driver did.
Your own auto policy also matters. Personal injury protection (PIP) pays initial medical bills regardless of fault, and if you were driving another vehicle or are a household member on a family policy, that coverage may add protection. Sorting out which policy is primary is one of the first things a lawyer does in a rideshare case.
Sources: Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — auto insurance consumer information
If the driver was logged into the app and available to receive a ride request but had not accepted one, N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b) requires primary liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage, along with PIP benefits and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
Because these limits are much lower than the $1.5 million trip-period coverage, drivers and insurers sometimes dispute exactly when a ride was accepted. The app’s timestamped records — the request, the acceptance, and the GPS trace — usually answer that question, which is why preserving them early matters so much.
Sources: Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b)); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — auto insurance consumer information
Most rideshare claims are resolved against the insurance the law requires, without needing to prove the company itself was negligent. The Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act obligates the company to maintain the coverage — and if the driver’s coverage lapses or falls short, the company policy must pay from the first dollar and defend the claim.
In some cases the company’s own conduct is directly at issue: negligent hiring or retention of a dangerous driver, or failure to enforce the background-check and vehicle-safety standards the Act requires. Those claims are fact-specific, and the driver’s company file becomes important evidence.
Sources: Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(d)–(e)); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — Auto Insurance Consumer Information
During an active trip, the Act requires at least $10,000 per person per incident in medical payments benefits for the driver, and the $1.5 million uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can protect you if another driver caused the crash and lacked adequate insurance. Your own PIP benefits also respond, and your personal policy’s position depends on its rideshare endorsements and exclusions.
Because Uber and Lyft classify drivers as independent contractors, workers’ compensation is usually not available — which makes third-party claims and UM/UIM coverage especially important if another party contributed to the crash.
Sources: Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c)); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — auto insurance consumer information
This is exactly what uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is for. During a prearranged ride, New Jersey law requires at least $1,500,000 in UM/UIM coverage, so a passenger hurt by a hit-and-run or minimally insured driver is not limited to that driver’s small policy.
Your own UM/UIM coverage may provide an additional layer, and the order in which these policies apply depends on your role in the crash and the policy language. Notice deadlines in UM/UIM policies can be short, so these claims should be opened promptly — before settlements with any other insurer complicate your rights.
Sources: Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c)(3)); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — auto insurance consumer information
Screenshot the trip screen before you close the app: the driver’s name and photo, the vehicle and license plate, the route map, the fare, and the trip status. Save the emailed trip receipt, any in-app messages with the driver, and the trip ID. These records prove a prearranged ride was in progress — the fact that triggers the $1.5 million coverage tier.
Also keep photographs of the vehicles and scene, the police report number, medical records and bills, and proof of missed work. Do not delete the app, change phones, or discard records until the data is preserved; a lawyer can send a preservation demand for the company’s own trip and telematics data, but your screenshots are the fastest independent proof.
Sources: Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26; New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — Auto Insurance Consumer Information
Claims involving a public entity — a municipal bus, a county vehicle, or another government agency — fall under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, which requires a formal notice of claim within 90 days of the crash, under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8. That deadline is far shorter than the normal two-year statute of limitations, and late notices are excused only in narrow circumstances.
A rideshare crash can involve a public entity even when the rideshare driver did nothing wrong — for example, if a transit bus struck your Uber. Identifying every vehicle and agency involved in the first days after the crash is essential, because the 90-day clock starts running immediately.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature — N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 (claims against public entities); Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26
New Jersey follows a modified comparative negligence rule under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1: you can recover damages as long as your fault is not greater than the fault of the parties you are suing — in practice, 50 percent or less — and your award is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Passengers are rarely at fault for a crash, but insurers sometimes argue that a passenger’s conduct, an unfastened seat belt, or a driver’s own driving contributed to the loss. These arguments are answered with the crash evidence — and they are a good reason not to give a recorded statement before you understand how fault may be allocated.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature — N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 (Comparative Negligence Act); Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, P.L. 2017, c. 26
Your case evaluation at The Epstein Law Firm is free, and there is no obligation to hire us. Personal injury cases in New Jersey are typically handled on a contingency-fee basis, meaning the legal fee is a percentage of the recovery rather than an upfront or hourly charge — if there is no recovery, there is generally no legal fee, though case costs are explained in writing before you sign anything.
Be cautious with any early settlement offer before your medical picture is clear. Once a release is signed, the claim is over, even if your injuries turn out worse than expected. A free evaluation can tell you whether an offer is fair — call (201) 231-7847.
Sources: New Jersey Courts — Attorney Resources; New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance — auto insurance consumer information
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