Can you sue Uber if you get into an accident?

Yes, you can often sue Uber after an accident, but doing so is far more complicated than most people realize. Uber operates under a carefully constructed business model designed to shield the company from liability. They classify their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, which means Uber will fight tooth and nail to avoid responsibility for accidents caused by their drivers.

Whether you can successfully sue Uber depends largely on what the driver was doing at the exact moment of the crash. Uber's liability varies dramatically based on the driver's status in their app, and the insurance companies know most accident victims don't understand these distinctions. They're counting on your confusion to lowball your claim or deny it entirely.

How Uber’s insurance coverage works

Uber provides different levels of insurance coverage depending on what the driver was doing at the time of your accident, and these distinctions can make all the difference in your claim. 

Here’s how Uber’s coverage breaks down:

While the above looks relatively straightforward, it creates a handful of issues that can affect your ability to get compensation:

Personal insurance often excludes rideshare accidents.
Most personal auto insurance policies specifically exclude coverage when the vehicle is being used for commercial purposes. This means if the Uber driver's app was on in any capacity, their personal insurance will likely deny the claim entirely — even during that "waiting for a ride request" period when Uber's coverage is minimal.

The gap period creates coverage nightmares.
That window when the driver has their app on but hasn't accepted a ride request is known as "Period 1" in the rideshare industry. Uber's coverage during this time is far less than their $1 million policy, but the driver's personal insurance has probably already denied coverage. This gap has left countless accident victims fighting over inadequate insurance coverage that doesn't come close to covering their damages.

Uber will argue their driver wasn't working.
Even when the app was clearly on and the driver was logged in, Uber will try to claim their driver wasn't engaged in rideshare activities at the time of your accident. They'll argue the driver was driving for personal reasons, that they had logged off moments before impact, or any other excuse to deny their $1 million policy applies.

This is why you need Houston car accident lawyers who understand the rideshare insurance game inside and out. Our team knows how to prove what the driver was doing at the time of your accident, how to hold Uber accountable when they try to dodge responsibility, and how to maximize your recovery from every available insurance policy.

Is it worth getting an attorney after a car accident?

Absolutely — especially when rideshare companies are involved. Here's something to remember: the insurance adjuster who calls you after an Uber accident isn't there to help you. They're there to protect the insurance company's bottom line by getting you to accept the smallest settlement possible, preferably before you even understand the full extent of your injuries.

The bottom line is that accidents involving rideshare companies are fundamentally different from typical collision claims. You're dealing with multiple insurance policies, complex liability questions, and corporations with virtually unlimited legal resources. Without an experienced attorney, you're fighting a losing battle from the start.

This is how rideshare claims often go without a skilled attorney to represent you:

1. The insurance company will pressure you to give a recorded statement, where one wrong word can destroy your claim. 
2. They'll offer you a quick settlement that sounds good until you realize it won't even cover your medical bills. 
3. They'll use their team of lawyers and adjusters to delay, deflect, and deny until you get frustrated and give up.

This isn't paranoia — it's their standard operating procedure, and it works on unrepresented claimants every single day. Our Houston Uber accident attorneys level the playing field. 

We handle all communication with the insurance companies so they can't trick you into damaging your own claim. We investigate every aspect of your accident to build a case for maximum compensation. We bring in accident reconstruction experts, medical professionals, and economic specialists who can prove exactly what you've lost and what you deserve. Most importantly, we're not afraid to take your case to trial if the insurance companies won't offer fair compensation.

How long after a car accident should I get a lawyer?

The short answer: immediately. The longer answer requires talking about how rideshare accident investigations work and why timing is so essential to protecting your rights and maximizing your compensation.

Evidence disappears fast after any accident, but rideshare crashes present unique challenges that make immediate intervention by an attorney even more important. Uber's internal accident data — including GPS records, app status, driver logs, and passenger information — exists only on their servers, and they're under no obligation to preserve it forever. Dashboard camera footage gets recorded over. Witnesses forget details or become impossible to locate. Physical evidence at the crash scene gets cleaned up, repaired, or destroyed.

Every day you wait is another day the insurance companies use to build their defense against you. They're interviewing witnesses, analyzing police reports, and preparing arguments for why they shouldn't have to pay you a dime. Meanwhile, if you're trying to recover from your injuries without an attorney, you may be falling further behind in a fight you didn't even know started.

Texas law generally gives you two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit, but waiting anywhere close to that deadline is a massive mistake. 

Why you need to hire an attorney after a rideshare accident, fast

Here's why you need to contact our team of Houston personal injury lawyers right away:

• Insurance companies use delay as a weapon. The longer you wait to hire an attorney, the more they'll use your delay against you. They'll argue that your injuries must not be that serious if you didn't immediately seek legal help. They'll claim you had time to manufacture evidence or coordinate stories with witnesses.
• Medical evidence is strongest when it's fresh. Your doctors' initial reports, emergency room records, and early treatment documentation provide the most powerful evidence of your injuries. The insurance companies will scrutinize any gaps in treatment or delays in seeking legal help as proof that you're not really hurt.
• We can preserve critical evidence immediately. The moment you hire us, we send preservation letters to Uber, the driver, and all relevant insurance companies demanding they preserve every piece of evidence related to your accident. We can subpoena Uber's internal records before they disappear. We can locate and interview witnesses while their memories are fresh. 

Don't give the insurance companies any more advantages than they already have. Call Thiessen Law Firm today, and let us start building your case while the evidence we need still exists.

Damages available in rideshare company claims

When insurance companies make their first settlement offer after your Uber accident, they're hoping you don't understand the full scope of damages you're entitled to recover. They'll offer to pay your medical bills — or at least some of them — and maybe throw in a few thousand dollars for your "pain and suffering." 

What they won't tell you is that Texas law allows you to recover compensation for a much broader range of damages that could be worth exponentially more.

Catastrophic injuries and traumatic brain injuries often justify the highest damage awards because they result in permanent disability, lifelong medical needs, and complete disruption of victims' lives. The more damage caused by your accident, the more aggressively the insurance companies will fight you, and the more experienced your attorney should be. For instance, in tragic cases where rideshare accidents result in death, an experienced Houston wrongful death lawyer will be better suited to pursue claims on behalf of surviving family members. 

The insurance companies know most accident victims will accept far less than their claims are worth because they don't understand what they're entitled to or how to prove the full value of their damages. That's why having attorneys who have experience fighting giants can make such a dramatic difference in the compensation you ultimately receive.

How Thiessen Law Firm fights the insurance companies

Insurance companies have spent decades perfecting their playbook for minimizing rideshare accident claims. They know that most people are intimidated by the legal process, overwhelmed by their injuries, and desperate for any money they can get. They exploit these vulnerabilities at every opportunity, using tactics like early lowball offers, delay strategies, and aggressive denial of valid claims.

We've studied their playbook, and we've developed our own strategies to beat them at their own game. Here's how we fight for our clients:

1. We investigate thoroughly and immediately. The moment you hire us, our team begins a comprehensive investigation into every aspect of your accident. We obtain the police report and analyze it for inaccuracies that benefit the insurance companies, locate and interview witnesses before their memories fade or they become unreachable, and inspect the vehicles involved to document damage and gather evidence. 
2. We use insider knowledge against them. Our team members spent years working for major insurance companies before joining our team, which means we know exactly how adjusters are trained to minimize claims, what authority they have to settle cases, and which arguments will force them to increase their offers. We use this insider knowledge to anticipate their tactics and counter them before they can damage your claim.
3. We build bulletproof cases. Insurance companies deny claims when they think they can get away with it. We don't give them that option. We gather overwhelming evidence that proves liability, documents your damages, and demonstrates the full value of your claim. By the time we're done building your case, the insurance companies know that taking us to trial would be a massive mistake.
4. We're not afraid to go to trial. Most personal injury attorneys settle every case because they're afraid of the courtroom. The insurance companies know this, which is why they make such terrible settlement offers — they're betting your attorney won't actually fight for you. The insurance companies know that when they're facing Thiessen Law Firm, we mean business. If they won't make a fair settlement offer, we'll take them to trial and let a jury decide what you deserve.
5. We handle everything so you can focus on recovery. Dealing with insurance companies while you're trying to recover from serious injuries is overwhelming and stressful. We take that burden off your shoulders completely, and we don't stop fighting until we've secured every dollar you deserve.

How much is the settlement for an Uber accident?

The honest answer: it depends entirely on the specific circumstances of your accident, the severity of your injuries, and the skill of your attorney in proving the full value of your claim. But we can tell you that the difference between what insurance companies initially offer and what our attorneys ultimately recover is often shocking.

Insurance companies make lowball offers, hoping you'll accept them without understanding what your claim is truly worth. They might offer $10,000 to settle a claim that's actually worth $100,000 — and they're counting on you being desperate, uninformed, and unrepresented. They know that once you accept their offer and sign their release, you can never come back for more money, even if you later discover your injuries are far worse than you initially thought.

Our Houston Uber accident lawyers have secured millions for clients in rideshare accident claims. We've forced insurance companies to pay policy limits when they initially denied the claims entirely, and we’ve taken cases to trial and won verdicts that far exceeded the insurance companies' settlement offers. If you have been involved in a rideshare accident in Houston, the giant killers at Thiessen Law Firm are qualified to get you what you deserve. 

Rideshare claims feature two giants. Let our Houston Uber accident lawyers fight them.

When you're injured in an Uber accident, you're not just fighting one corporate giant — you're potentially fighting two. On one side sits Uber, a multi-billion-dollar technology company with an army of lawyers dedicated to denying liability and protecting their bottom line. On the other side sits the insurance company, an equally massive corporation with decades of experience minimizing claims and exploiting injured victims.

These giants have unlimited resources, sophisticated legal strategies, and zero concern for what happens to you personally. They'll delay your claim until you're desperate. They'll deny valid claims, hoping you'll give up. They'll offer pennies on the dollar, hoping you don't know any better. You need attorneys who aren't intimidated by corporate giants. You need a law firm that has gone toe-to-toe with the biggest companies in the world and won. You need Thiessen Law Firm.

Whether you need a rideshare accident lawyer, a Houston motorcycle accident lawyer, or a Houston truck accident lawyer, our We Fight Giants personal injury division was built specifically to take on powerful opponents who think they can steamroll people at their most vulnerable.

Don't go up against these companies alone. Call Thiessen Law Firm at (713) 864-9000 or contact us online today. When Uber and the insurance companies hurt our clients, they learn a painful lesson: We Fight Giants.