Taxi
ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS

When two or more personal autos collide, the damages can be devastating. However, the insurance claims for this type of accident are somewhat straightforward as compared to those involving commercial or government vehicles. Taxi accidents have complexities associated with them that you may be unable to handle on your own.

Multiple Parties Are Potentially Liable

Taxis are typically considered as common carriers. Drivers are usually employees of a taxi company. Any commercial or company vehicle can have many responsible parties if it causes an accident:

• The driver: driver error causes many accidents.
• The taxi company: drivers should have proper training, experience, and a good driving record. Companies that don’t properly screen their drivers can be held liable if the taxi driver causes an accident.
• The leasing company or party that owns the taxi: the taxi’s owner is responsible for providing safe vehicles.
• Taxi or parts manufacturers: if parts or system failure causes a collision, that manufacturer can be a responsible party.
• Those responsible for taxi maintenance: if a taxi isn’t serviced or repaired when needed, the party responsible for maintaining it is potentially liable.

It takes an in-depth investigation to determine who is at fault. This investigation takes time, money, effort, and resources. Don’t worry, Big Auto will take care of it for our clients.

Taxi Passenger vs. Driver or Occupant of Another Car

If you’re the driver of another car when a taxi causes an accident, you’ll need to determine who is at fault to request compensation from the appropriate parties as mentioned above.

If you’re a passenger in another involved vehicle, the driver of the car you’re riding in should have insurance to cover your injuries. However, if the taxi caused the wreck, that person’s insurance company will attempt to get the taxi’s insurance to pay you.

Taxis can be involved in accidents while carrying passengers. The taxi or another car can cause those wrecks. The taxi company should carry insurance to cover passenger injuries, but the other car’s driver is added to the potentially liable parties in case of an accident.

Several insurance companies can wind up arguing over who’s responsible, but all you want is compensation for your damages. A skilled attorney can sort out the issues to get you paid.

Governmental Involvement

Various government entities are responsible for maintaining roads and highways. With so many miles of road to keep up, potholes, cracks, and other dangerous issues often take time to repair. These agencies are also responsible for traffic lights and stop signs and road design. A malfunctioning traffic light or missing stop sign can make drivers think they’re good to go when they’re not.

If poor road maintenance or other governmental involvement contributed to causing the taxi accident, you can attempt to obtain compensation from the government agency. Personal injury cases like these that involve the government are subject to strict regulations and typically shorter timeframes.

Why Does Fault Matter?

Laws require drivers in some states to maintain personal injury protection insurance policies to pay for certain damages regardless of who causes an accident. Even in these no-fault states, exceptions to the PIP coverage apply in some cases.

Each state has laws that govern who is eligible to recover compensation in personal injury cases like taxi accidents. If you didn’t contribute to causing the collision, your claim won’t be as complicated. However, the amount of compensation you might receive is lessened if you’re partially responsible. Ask your attorney about your state’s laws.

After an investigation, all responsible parties are assigned a percentage of fault. Say that you’re 10% to blame for your accident with total damages being $150,000. After deducting 10% or $15,000, the most you can receive is $135,000

When multiple parties are at fault, that means multiple insurance companies must negotiate and pay your damages. Insurance companies are notorious for not wanting to pay even when their policyholder is to blame.

Insurance company representatives often make unreasonably low settlement offers, hoping that injured accident victims will accept less than they’re due. They can also try to trick you into admitting a degree of fault or state that your injuries aren’t serious. They may even say that the accident didn’t cause your injuries.

When you hire Big Auto attorneys to represent you they know how to deal with such insurance company tactics.

The vast majority of personal injury cases involve negligence. Drivers, taxi companies, and others have a duty of care to provide safe travels for their passengers and others in surrounding traffic.

To prove negligence, your attorney needs to show that:

• The responsible party or parties owe you a duty of care.
• That duty of care was breached.
• You sustained injuries in an accident.
• The breach caused the accident; therefore, it also caused your injuries.

Legally, negligence is failing to act in the way most reasonable people would in order to protect others from harm. In the case of a taxi causing an accident, examples of negligence and breaching the duty of care include:

• Various types of driver error
• Faulty brakes that someone knew about but failed to fix
• The company hiring an unqualified driver

Many things a driver can do or fail are considered “driver error.” Licensed drivers should follow all traffic laws and pay full attention to driving. Failing to do so is driver error.

Distracted Driving

Anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the act of driving is a distraction. Common examples of distracted driving include:

• Using a cell phone to talk, text, or read
• Eating, drinking, and smoking cigarettes
• Interactions with passengers
• Daydreaming
• Grooming activities like putting on makeup or fixing hair
• Gazing at the landscape or otherwise looking away from the road

Failing to Follow Traffic Laws

Drivers must adhere to several laws, and failure to do so can result in a collision. Some examples are:

• Speeding
• Failing to yield the right of way
• Improper merging
• Failing to obey traffic light signals and yield or stop signs
• Following too closely behind the vehicle in front of you
• Driving recklessly

Driving While Fatigued or Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol

Alcohol, drugs, and fatigue can produce several bodily changes that are likely to result in a wreck:

• Inability to focus
• Delayed reaction times
• Poor judgment
• Blurred vision

Reckless Driving

Unfortunately, all drivers don’t drive safely. Reckless drivers may weave through traffic at high speeds, cutting off other vehicles. They can pull in front of another car suddenly, not giving the other driver time to avoid hitting them. They may experience road rage. Any of these actions can cause a collision, often involving multiple vehicles if they occur in heavy traffic. Pedestrians can even be hit.

You don’t have to hire an attorney to handle your case, but why go it alone? Most competent taxi accident lawyers assist clients by doing several tasks so those injured can focus on their recovery:

• Provide legal advice
• Prepare and file paperwork related to your case
• Thoroughly investigate the accident
• Gather evidence
• Assign fault appropriately
• Serve as your spokesperson with insurance companies
• Negotiate with liable insurance companies to obtain maximum compensation for your damages
• File a lawsuit if warranted

Insurance companies don’t want you to know that you’ll probably receive more compensation with a lawyer on your side than if you handle your claim on your own.

Each state has a statute of limitations (deadline) for filing a claim after a taxi accident. If you miss that deadline, you likely lose your right to seek compensation. Cases involving government entities (such as accidents involving city buses or state vehicles) typically have a shorter timeframe. A taxi accident lawyer can tell you the deadline that applies to your accident.

While you don’t have to contact an attorney immediately after your taxi accident, it’s beneficial to contact immediately because:

• Your lawyer can give you helpful advice throughout the claims process, beginning with your initial consultation.
• Your attorney can speak to insurance companies for you to avoid unintentional mistakes that could damage your claim.
• Big Auto will begin investigating the accident and gathering evidence as soon as you hire us. This gives us longer to prepare your case and allows us to obtain evidence such as witness statements that might become unclear over time.