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Who’s Liable in a Rideshare Accident? Understanding Uber and Lyft Legal Responsibility

Maryland plays by a ruthless rule: 1% fault can kill your claim. In a contributory-negligence state, the tiniest allegation—“You looked at your phone,” “You edged the line”—can zero out compensation. If that’s the battlefield, the first objective is in a rideshare accident case is simple: prove who pays. Keep reading to see how liability shifts by app period, which insurers are on the hook, and what evidence you should lock down in the first 24–72 hours.

If you’re needing the best accident lawyers in Maryland to secure app data and medical proof before records cycle out, the next move is simple and decisive. Schedule a free consultation. With disciplined evidence work, coordinated benefits, and clear medical documentation, your claim can move forward with strength. The Law Office of Ben Evan will handle the legal lift while you heal—start your no-obligation case evaluation.

Are Drivers Liable?

Yes. 

A rideshare driver is liable when their conduct breaches ordinary driving duties and causes harm. Maryland applies familiar negligence rules to every motorist, including those using Uber or Lyft. If the driver runs a red light, fails to yield, changes lanes without clearance, texts while driving, speeds in poor weather, or follows too closely, they can be held responsible for the injuries and losses that follow.

What makes a rideshare case in Maryland different is which policy responds at the moment of the crash:

• App on, no ride accepted (Period 1). The platform’s policy provides baseline third-party limits for bodily injury and property damage, plus Maryland-required first-party benefits were not waived. Many personal auto carriers exclude transportation-network use during this window, so your proof that the app was on is critical. That means saving timeline screenshots, push alerts, and the trip log. 
• Trip accepted or passenger onboard (Periods 2–3). Coverage typically rises to a higher third-party limit (often up to $1,000,000), and UM/UIM protections usually apply for riders during the trip. For serious injuries, this tier often funds the outcome.

Maryland’s pure contributory negligence rule adds pressure to get the facts right: if an injured person is even 1% at fault, recovery against another party can be barred. Passengers rarely face that issue; injured motorists and pedestrians sometimes do. Defense teams may argue you glanced at a phone, exceeded the limit by a few miles per hour, or executed a quick lane change. The counter is clean proof: intersection diagrams, vehicle photos, black-box or Event Data Recorder downloads where available, witness statements, and phone-record analysis that shows you were not using the device. The best injury lawyer in Maryland will assemble a precise liability narrative and a chronological medical file so your damages track directly to the collision.

Damages in driver-fault cases include medical expenses, wage loss, diminished earning capacity, property damage, and non-economic harms. For lasting conditions—orthopedic surgeries, spinal pain with injections, TBI symptoms—your Maryland rideshare injury lawyer will coordinate facility records, specialist notes, and life-care projections. That structure supports a demand for full value and counters insurer arguments about “gaps” or unrelated conditions. 

Are Uber and Lyft Liable?

Often through insurance; rarely through direct corporate negligence. 

Maryland treats Uber and Lyft trips as transportation network services, and the platforms are expected to ensure primary, period-based coverage whenever a driver is providing those services. That duty makes the app period the hinge of most claims:

• Period 1 (available, no acceptance). Lower third-party limits apply. Because personal carriers commonly exclude rideshare activity here, the platform policy is—practically speaking—primary. Your Maryland injury attorney will press the platform carrier to defend and indemnify if a personal-policy denial cites a TNC exclusion. 
• Periods 2–3 (en route or on trip). Coverage typically rises to a higher third-party limit (often up to $1,000,000), and UM/UIM protections usually apply for riders during the trip. This is decisive for passengers and for other motorists struck by an in-service rideshare.

Can you sue Uber or Lyft directly for negligent hiring or supervision? Plaintiffs try, but courts often treat drivers as independent contractors, which limits direct corporate liability. Most recoveries flow through insurance rather than platform negligence claims. The practical mission is to prove the period and trigger the correct coverage.

How your lawyer makes that real:

• Lock the period evidence. Request/accept timestamps, pickup/arrival stamps, GPS tracks, and driver-status logs. 
• Map every layer. Platform third-party coverage, the at-fault driver’s policy, any commercial or fleet policy, and your own UM/UIM if stacking is possible. 
• Send preservation demands to stop routine deletion of telematics and in-app logs. 
• Sequence demand and suit. If the carrier stalls, filing suit unlocks subpoenas for platform data and third-party videos—often the leverage that moves offers.

Contributory negligence still shadows every claim. Even with strong coverage in place, defense counsel will probe for tiny slices of fault. Expect your attorney to neutralize those theories with traffic-signal timing, lane geometry, and human-factors analysis if needed. 

Are Other Drivers Liable?

Very often, yes. 

Many rideshare injuries are caused by a third-party motorist—the driver making an unsafe left, running a red, rear-ending at a light, or drifting while distracted. In that scenario:

• You pursue the at-fault driver’s liability policy first. 
• If the limits are low or the driver is uninsured, UM/UIM connected to the rideshare trip can fill the gap during an active ride. 
• If you were off-trip or outside the vehicle, your own UM/UIM may respond depending on policy language.

Serious collisions also look beyond the individual driver to commercial defendants: contractors, delivery fleets, or service companies whose vehicles are involved. Those cases may add higher commercial limits and produce electronic data like maintenance records and GPS. If a tractor-trailer or box truck plays a role, coordinating with an attorney can surface federal safety issues (hours-of-service, inspection lapses) that strengthen negligence and open additional coverage.

Your Maryland personal injury lawyer will also evaluate roadway conditions, temporary traffic control, and construction staging that can affect visibility and stopping distance. If public-entity issues are present, strict notice rules apply, so timing becomes crucial. 

Are Passengers Ever Liable?

Rarely. 

Passengers are not operating the vehicle, so they are seldom assigned blame. Maryland’s contributory negligence doctrine technically applies to everyone, but passenger conduct usually does not cause a traffic collision. Unusual exceptions might include physically grabbing the wheel or obstructing the driver’s view—scenarios that are uncommon and highly fact-specific.

For injured passengers, the main issues are which insurer pays and how much. That means your case hinges on:

• Period proof (ride receipt, request/accept timestamps, pickup/drop-off times, and route). 
• Medical clarity (same-day evaluation, imaging when indicated, consistent therapy, specialist referrals). 
• Valuation evidence (work-loss documentation, role-specific duties you can’t perform, and notes that show how pain or restrictions affect daily routines).

Passengers often resolve claims within policy limits when liability is clean and medical documentation is strong. An experienced personal injury attorney in MD will coordinate PIP (if not waived), health insurance, and potential liens to protect your net recovery.

Are Employers, Government Entities, or Property Owners Liable?

Potentially, yes—when their actions contribute to the crash or to later harm.

When fault extends beyond the rideshare driver, these third parties may also bear responsibility—and the right early steps make their coverage and records available to your claim:

• Employers / Commercial Owners

If a working driver in a company vehicle hits an Uber or Lyft, the employer can be liable under agency principles. That matters because commercial policies usually carry higher limits. Fleets also store evidence that can win liability fights: GPS tracks, electronic logs, maintenance histories, and dash-cam video. In rideshare claims, your attorney will pair that fleet data with app-period proof (request/accept timestamps, route) and send immediate preservation letters so nothing is erased.

• Government Entities

Crashes cluster at intersections, airport roads, and work zones where poor sight lines, missing signage, mistimed signals, potholes, or bad detours raise risk. If those conditions contributed, a city, county, or authority may share fault. These cases have strict notice rules and shorter deadlines than the standard three-year limit, so early scene work matters: photos, measurements, witness contacts, and quick requests for traffic-camera or 911 CAD data. In construction areas, traffic-control plans and contractor logs can show deviations that pushed rideshare pickups into danger.

• Property Owners

Pickups and drop-offs at hotels, garages, apartments, and retail centers can turn hazardous: broken pavement, hidden wheel stops, poor lighting, ice, or pooling water. Those conditions may support a separate premises claim against the owner or manager, on top of the motor-vehicle case. Proof focuses on condition, notice, and repairs. Exterior security video is time-sensitive; preservation demands should go out immediately. At airports or stadiums, both a private operator and a public authority may be involved—creating multiple defendants and insurance layers.

In a rideshare crash, widening the lens beyond the drivers can unlock stronger insurance and better evidence. A Maryland personal injury attorney will secure the records, lock the app period, and press every liable party.

Prove Liability After an Uber or Lyft Crash with the Best Injury Lawyer in Maryland

Liability answers who caused the harm; the app period answers whose policy pays. With period status verified, fault established, and medical proof in order, you can pursue full value under Maryland law without delay. The Law Office of Ben Evan aligns those steps from the first call—contact us today to secure platform data, structure your benefits, and advance a claim built to finish strong.