Rideshare accidents can occur in many driving scenarios and may involve passengers, third-party motorists, or vulnerable road users.

Liability in rideshare accident cases depends on the circumstances of the crash and the driver’s status within the rideshare app at the time of the accident. Responsibility may involve the rideshare driver, another motorist, or multiple parties.

Determining liability often requires examining driver conduct, traffic laws, app activity logs, and the relationship between the driver and the rideshare company.

Rideshare accidents can cause injuries similar to other motor vehicle crashes, affecting passengers and non-passengers alike.

Common injuries may include:

• Head and brain injuries
• Neck and back injuries
• Broken bones
• Soft-tissue injuries
• Internal injuries

Damages may include medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering.

Insurance coverage is one of the most complex aspects of rideshare accident claims. Coverage may vary depending on whether the driver was logged into the app, waiting for a ride request, or actively transporting a passenger.

Rideshare companies typically maintain commercial insurance policies that may apply in certain situations, while personal auto insurance may apply in others. Coverage disputes are common in these cases.

Many rideshare accident claims are resolved through insurance settlements after liability and coverage issues are evaluated. Settlement outcomes often depend on injury severity, available insurance limits, and the driver’s app status at the time of the crash.

In some situations, rideshare-related injuries may also give rise to broader litigation, including mass tort lawsuits, when claims involve systemic issues such as vehicle safety defects, app-related design problems, or company-wide practices affecting multiple injured parties. When disputes cannot be resolved through settlement, individual claims or larger coordinated actions may proceed through the court system to determine responsibility and compensation.

In addition to individual accident claims, some serious incidents involving rideshare vehicles have led to large consolidated lawsuits against rideshare companies. For example, thousands of passenger lawsuits alleging sexual assault, harassment, or other violent misconduct by drivers have been centralized into a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) known as Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation (MDL No. 3084) in the Northern District of California. As of late 2025, this MDL includes thousands of cases asserting common legal questions about driver screening, safety policies, and company responsibility for harms that occurred during rides arranged through the platform.

In an MDL, many individual cases are coordinated in one court for pre-trial proceedings to streamline discovery and legal rulings before individual cases return to their home districts or reach potential settlement. Plaintiffs in these consolidated actions argue that companies like Uber had a duty to implement more effective safety measures and enforce them consistently to protect riders.

Lyft has faced similar lawsuits in state and federal courts, and plaintiffs have sought to coordinate those claims in a centralized proceeding as well, though formal federal MDL consolidation for Lyft remains in development in some jurisdictions.

Rideshare accidents share legal principles with other motor vehicle accident cases but involve additional insurance and liability considerations.

Learn more about related accident types:

• Car Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Truck Accidents

The resources below explore common questions and scenarios related to rideshare accident claims in more detail.