After a rideshare accident, medical bills are usually the first thing people think about. Lost wages tend to come second, actually, a lot of people don't even think about it until they've already missed a week or two of work and the paychecks stop coming.
The short answer is yes, you can. Lost wages are a recognized part of what you can recover in a personal injury claim and rideshare accidents are no different. But how that actually plays out depends on a few things, including who was at fault, what insurance coverage is in play and how the claim gets handled.
A rideshare accident attorney can help make sure your lost income gets properly documented and included in your claim, not overlooked.
What Lost Wages Can You Recover After an Injury?
Lost wages aren't just about the days you missed right after the accident, it actually covers more than most people expect.
Here's what may be included:
- Hourly wages or salary lost while you were recovering
- Sick or vacation days you had to use because of the injury
- Self-employment income that got interrupted
- Bonuses, commissions or tips you would have earned during that time
- Future income if the injury affects your ability to keep working down the road
The full picture is really what matters here. A rideshare accident attorney won't just look at last week's missed shifts but will also look at what this injury could cost you over time.
How Rideshare Accidents Are Different from Regular Car Accidents
A rideshare accident doesn't get handled the same way a typical two-car crash does. According to NHTSA data, around 2.4 million people were injured in traffic crashes in 2023. When a rideshare vehicle is one of them, figuring out which insurance applies gets complicated fast, because it depends on exactly what the driver was doing at the time.
California law and the rideshare companies themselves break it down into three phases:
- The driver's app is off: their personal auto insurance applies and the rideshare company's policy has nothing to do with it.
- The driver is logged in but hasn't picked up a ride yet: some limited coverage from Uber or Lyft may kick in.
- The driver accepted a ride or has a passenger in the car: the company's full commercial policy is active, which can be up to $1 million in liability coverage.
Which phase your accident falls into changes basically everything about how the claim works and who you're dealing with. For a closer look at how these policies actually work see our breakdown of Uber and Lyft's insurance policies and how they affect passenger claims. This is one of those situations where having an experienced rideshare accident attorney in your corner really does matter.
Who Can Recover Lost Wages After a Rideshare Accident?
It's not just passengers who can make a lost wage claim after a rideshare accident. A few different groups of people may be eligible depending on how the accident happened.
- Passengers who were riding in the Uber or Lyft when the crash occurred
- Drivers of other vehicles that got hit by a rideshare driver
- Pedestrians or cyclists who were injured by a rideshare vehicle
- The rideshare driver themselves in situations where someone else was at fault
Every situation is a little different. A rideshare accident attorney can look at the specifics of what happened and figure out which parties and policies are actually relevant to your claim.
How Lost Wages Are Documented
This is honestly where a lot of claims run into trouble. Lost wages need to be backed up with real documentation. Without it insurance companies will push back or try to pay you less than what you're actually owed.
Things that usually help build the case:
- Recent pay stubs or a statement from your employer showing what you normally make
- A written letter from your employer confirming the days or hours you missed
- Tax returns if you're self-employed or work as a contractor
- Medical records that tie your injury to the time you were out of work
- Doctor's notes or work restrictions that show you physically couldn't do your job
People who freelance, drive for gigs or run their own business tend to get more pushback because their income isn't as straightforward to prove. A rideshare accident attorney who knows how to handle this kind of documentation can make a real difference in how that part of the claim comes together.
What If Your Injuries Keep You from Working Long-Term?
Not every rideshare accident injury clears up in a few days. Broken bones, head injuries, soft tissue damage and nerve injuries can take months and sometimes the effects don't fully go away.
If your injury is affecting your ability to work for a long time or it's permanently changed what you're able to do for a living, the claim can also account for what's called loss of future earning capacity. That involves looking at things like:
- How old you are and how many working years you likely have left
- What kind of work you do and whether you can realistically still do it
- Whether the injury forces you into retraining or a different career entirely
- What an expert analysis says about the long-term financial hit
These cases take more work to put together and need more documentation to support them. Getting a rideshare accident attorney involved early on is really the best way to make sure that part of your losses doesn't get missed.
How Insurance Companies Handle Lost Wages Compensation
Insurance companies, whether they represent the rideshare driver, Uber or Lyft or whoever else was at fault, are generally trying to pay out as little as they can. That's just the reality.
Lost wages are one of the spots where adjusters tend to push back the hardest. They might say the paperwork isn't enough, that you took more time off than you needed to or that the injury wasn't bad enough to keep you from working.
A lot of that isn't made in good faith. It's usually just part of a strategy to lower the value of your claim.
Our post on insurance challenges in rideshare accident cases gets into the specific tactics adjusters use and why having legal help early on tends to change how things go.
When a rideshare accident attorney is handling the communication, it changes the dynamic. Adjusters know an attorney will push back and won't just accept a lowball response.
Steps to Take After a Rideshare Accident to Protect Your Claim
What you do right after the accident can affect how the lost wages piece of your claim comes together later on. A few things that help:
- Get medical attention right away, even if you feel okay at first
- Report the accident through the rideshare app and hold onto everything
- Let your employer know what happened and get something in writing about the time you missed
- Track every day or shift you can't work, including partial days
- Keep records of any freelance or gig work you weren't able to pick up
- Don't give recorded statements to insurance adjusters before talking to an attorney
- Talk to a rideshare accident attorney before agreeing to any settlement
The sooner you get things documented the better. Evidence doesn't stick around forever and the rideshare company's trip records can end up being really important later.
Why a Car Accident Attorney Helps With Rideshare Claims Specifically
Rideshare accident claims have more moving parts than a typical car accident case. There's often more than one insurance policy involved, questions about what phase of the trip the driver was in and a large company that already has legal resources lined up on their end.
A car accident attorney who has handled rideshare cases knows how to work through all of that. They can figure out which policies apply, go after all the available sources of compensation and make sure lost wages actually get calculated properly instead of being left out or undervalued.
Steinberg Injury Lawyers has helped injured people throughout Southern California recover after Uber and Lyft accidents including for lost income that might otherwise have slipped through the cracks.
Talk to a Rideshare Accident Attorney About Your Lost Wage Claim
If you were hurt in a rideshare accident and had to miss work because of it, you have every right to go after compensation for that lost income. It can get complicated, but it's a real and legitimate part of what you're owed.
Steinberg Injury Lawyers offers free consultations for injured people throughout Southern California. Reach out to our team, tell us what happened and we can help you figure out what your claim might actually be worth.
