A car accident can be a major inconvenience that turns one’s life upside down. If you’re traveling alone, filing a personal injury claim for any injuries or property damage sustained in a motor vehicle crash is fairly straightforward. But what about when you’re carpooling with a group of people – whether colleagues or coworkers – and a crash occurs? If you’re an injured carpooling passenger, who should you sue to recover financial compensation for things like hospital or medical bills? Furthermore, what should you do if you’re the driver and multiple people sustain injuries in a carpooling accident?
Below we’ll provide answers to all your carpooling questions, and also include information regarding how to ensure your personal injury civil lawsuit is filed properly to ensure maximum financial compensation is recovered for any losses.
Carpooling can be an efficient and affordable means of getting to and from a particular destination – whether work, an event, or a mutual place of interest. By sharing the ride, carpoolers reduce the number of cars on the road, helping to decrease traffic as well as pollution. Many roadways throughout the Golden State have designated HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes, part of what the state’s Department of Transportation refers to as a “traffic management strategy to promote and encourage ridesharing; thereby alleviating congestion and maximizing the people-carrying capacity of California highways.”
With gas prices continuing to rise, and the benefit of being able to freely use the HOV (or diamond) lane, many people choose carpooling as a preferred means of transportation,
Uber and Lyft began offering carpool options (UberPool and Lyft Shared) for rideshare users a few years ago (although technically commercialized carpooling is illegal in the state of California). Shortly after UberPool was rolled out in 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that the carpooling option accounted for 25% of all Uber trips taken in L.A.
Hopefully you’re never the victim of a carpooling accident, but in the unfortunate event that such an incident occurs, it’s important to understand your rights and how liability is determined. In general, carpooling accidents are treated just like any other motor vehicle crash, with the at-fault party or parties being held liable for any injuries or physical damages that occurs.
An exception to this rule could apply if the carpool was work-related (meaning your employer arranged the carpool group or the driver was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time of the crash). In such scenarios, the employer may be held liable for some or all of the resulting damages. However, in most carpooling accident cases, what’s known as the ‘coming and going’ rule of employment applies, and the at-fault driver is actually the liable party (rather than the employer).
California is a pure comparative fault (comparative negligence) state, which means that when a car accident occurs, a percentage of fault is assigned to all involved parties. Unless one driver is found to be 100% at fault for a car accident, the involved parties will share a portion of the liability. This percentage of fault will then be used to determine how financial compensation is awarded.
For example, if you’re a carpool passenger and the driver of your vehicle is rear-ended by a distracted driver, it’s possible (even likely) that 100% liability would be imposed on that individual. In such a case, any injuries sustained by you and the members of your carpool would be compensable – meaning that by filing a personal injury civil lawsuit you could seek to recover financial compensation for resulting damages. Carpooling accident damages can be economic and non-economic. Some common examples include:
Economic Damages:
Non-Economic Damages:
If your carpool driver was partly responsible for the accident – maybe he or she was traveling a bit over the speed limit at the time of the incident – an appropriate portion of fault would be assigned. Accordingly, any settlement or verdict awarded to the injured parties would then be determined according to that percentage of fault (i.e. if you were awarded $10,000 for your injuries and the driver of your carpool was found to be 10% liable for the crash, he would be responsible for $1,000 and the other driver would be responsible for the remaining $9,000).
If you’re injured in a carpool accident and your driver is at fault, it might feel inappropriate to sue someone you know and like. You probably travel with that person every day, and may have developed a close relationship over time.
However, if they are indeed at fault for your injuries, the only way to be properly compensated for those above mentioned economic and non-economic damages is through a personal injury lawsuit. That said, it’s important to remember that your carpool driver is most likely insured, and any settlement or verdict awarded to you wouldn’t necessarily be paid directly out-of-pocket by him or her. Rather, their insurance policy would likely cover the bulk of any damages awarded to the injured parties involved in the carpool accident.
By hiring a qualified and competent car accident lawyer, you can focus on your physical recovery and overall well-being while issues like insurance policies and financial compensation are sorted out on your behalf. Having a third-party like a personal injury lawyer involved in the process can take any uncomfortable matters out of your hands, making them the responsibility of your attorney.
Ready to file a claim and pursue justice through a financial damages award? Our expert attorneys are available online or by phone now.
Whether your carpool driver is responsible for your injuries, or a total stranger was the one who caused the crash, securing an experienced, dedicated, and proven car accident lawyer is absolutely essential to ensuring that your rights are protected and you aren’t left with mounting medical bills or lost wages. Proving fault in any car accident case can be challenging, particularly when it comes to recovering non-economic damages that are difficult to quantify.
In such cases, having a carpool accident attorney like Sam Dordulian with experience and proven results can be so important. As a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, Sam Dordulian has secured over 100 jury trial victories. That’s a level of experience that can’t be found at other settlement mill law firms that are often quick to accept any financial compensation offer available – regardless of whether or not it may leave the injured victim with financial hardships in the future.
With Dordulian Law Group (DLG), clients can have peace of mind knowing that we’ll always fight to recover the maximum financial compensation they deserve, even if it means taking their carpool accident case to trial.
DLG’s Car Accident Division features an in-house Chief Investigator, Moses Castillo, who recently retired after nearly 30 years spent as a detective with the LAPD’s Central Traffic Division. When you bring your carpool accident claim to DLG, we’ll listen to the facts of your case, launch a thorough investigation led by Chief Investigator Castillo, and develop a precise legal strategy seeking to recover maximum financial compensation for your injuries. In car accident cases, the smallest piece of evidence can be the difference between winning and losing (and recovering maximum financial compensation). That’s why we employ an experienced in-house investigator who works tirelessly to uncover any bit of evidence that can help prove our clients’ cases and increase their damages awards.
With a 98% success record and more than $100,000,000 recovered in settlements and verdicts, it’s easy to see that DLG’s carpool accident attorneys are not only dedicated to helping injured victims, but also passionate about ensuring justice is served. We fight for each and every client, working to secure the financial compensation you deserve for all applicable damages – economic and non-economic – and helping you make a complete recovery – physically, emotionally, and financially.
If you believe you have a personal injury case and wish to pursue a claim, don’t hesitate to contact our award-winning expert attorneys online or by phone today.
Contact DLG’s experienced and dedicated carpool accident lawyers today for a free consultation. We’re available 24/7 online or by phone at 866-GO-SEE-SAM. And with our No Win/No Fee Guarantee, you never have to worry about upfront costs or hidden fees. With DLG, injured carpool accident victims never pay a penny until we recover maximum financial compensation on their behalf.
Don’t put your important carpool accident claim in the hands of an inexperienced or undedicated firm that could jeopardize your financial outcome and future recovery. Be selective when searching for the very best carpool accident lawyer in the Los Angeles, California-area by confirming the attorney’s experience, win/loss record, overall settlements and verdicts recovered, years of practice, client testimonials, and more.
With DLG, our past results and satisfied client reviews are an indication of the level of experience, personalized attention, compassion, discretion, and dedication we bring to each and every claim we handle.
For your carpool accident injury, the best call you can make is to DLG.
Client Review
“I was hit by a car while crossing the street at a 4-way stop. Pretty cut and dry. I was fairly banged up but ended up with only a broken foot. But I couldn’t go back to work and I knew I’d have a lot of medical bills. I didn’t know what to do. A friend, an attorney herself, suggested I call Arpi Yeremian, at Dordulian Law Group. Arpi took care of everything, from dealing with the hospital to working with the driver’s insurance company. There’s no way I could’ve done this myself. Three months later we reached a very satisfactory settlement and I could not be any happier. I highly recommend to contact Arpi Yeremian any concerns about your case.”
A. Karapetyan
Do you have a case? Let's find out.
Do you have a case? Let's find out.
Contact DLG’s experienced and dedicated carpool accident lawyers today for a free consultation. We’re available 24/7 online or by phone at 866-GO-SEE-SAM. And with our No Win/No Fee Guarantee, you never have to worry about upfront costs or hidden fees. With DLG, injured carpool accident victims never pay a penny until we recover maximum financial compensation on their behalf.
Don’t put your important carpool accident claim in the hands of an inexperienced or undedicated firm that could jeopardize your financial outcome and future recovery. Be selective when searching for the very best carpool accident lawyer in the Los Angeles, California-area by confirming the attorney’s experience, win/loss record, overall settlements and verdicts recovered, years of practice, client testimonials, and more.
With DLG, our past results and satisfied client reviews are an indication of the level of experience, personalized attention, compassion, discretion, and dedication we bring to each and every claim we handle.
For your carpool accident injury, the best call you can make is to DLG.