Saving the Trip Details
Get treated first; someone close to you can capture the details while you're in the hospital.
Your phone holds the most complete record of the trip. Grab screenshots before anything changes: fare receipt, driver profile, car model and tag, where you were picked up and headed, the map of the route, timestamps and chat messages. Hit by a rideshare car while you were driving or walking? Note any Uber or Lyft sticker in the windshield, or anything the driver said about a fare. Write down whether you were in the car, whether the driver was heading to a pickup or said they were between rides. Ask the officer which agency has the report. Get names, numbers and insurance for every driver and witness. A friend can photograph the cars, the lanes and the curb where you got in or out, and you or a family member can track your injuries in photos as they heal. App data can get harder to obtain over time, so asking early that it be kept may help.
Rides Around Myrtle Beach
Visitors lean on rideshare to get between hotels on Ocean Boulevard, restaurants, the Market Common, shows and the airport, often at night and on crowded weekends. Drivers pull over on busy streets to load and unload, and many riders are far from home.
Which Coverage Applies
South Carolina sets different insurance levels depending on what the driver was doing when the crash happened.1 The minimum liability coverage for each stage:45
- App off: the driver's personal auto policy generally applies, under its terms.1
- Logged in, waiting: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage.4
- Heading to a pickup or carrying a passenger: $1,000,000 in liability coverage.5
Uninsured motorist coverage is also part of the rideshare requirements, and the driver, the company or both may carry the coverage.54 The law also provides for exchanging information on the driver's app status and coverage during a claim.6 These are floors, not the value of any claim.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Your Deadline
Most South Carolina injury claims must be filed within three years.2 Phone calls with an adjuster leave that lawsuit deadline running.3 A Tort Claims Act suit against a state or local government entity generally has two years, or three after a qualifying verified claim.7 Special rules and damage limits may apply.8
For the details, see Uber and Lyft claims in South Carolina.
Talk With Us
Tell us where the ride started, where it was going and what happened in between. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand. Our office is on King Street in Charleston. The first conversation can happen by phone.
If you were on foot, see pedestrian injuries in Myrtle Beach. Tell us what each insurer has said so far.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina requires different levels of insurance coverage for rideshare drivers depending on what the driver was doing when the crash occurred: logged into the app but waiting for a ride request, traveling to pick up an accepted passenger, or transporting a passenger. When the app is off, the driver's ordinary personal automobile coverage generally applies, subject to its policy terms.1
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.2
- South Carolina's statute of limitations generally sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit in court. Simply opening a claim with an insurance company or negotiating with an insurance adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.3
- When a rideshare driver is logged into the app and available to accept rides but has not yet accepted a ride, South Carolina law requires at least $50,000 in liability coverage per person for bodily injury or death, $100,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $50,000 for property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage is also required during this period.4
- Under South Carolina law, once a rideshare driver accepts a ride, at least $1 million in primary liability insurance is required until the last passenger exits the vehicle. This coverage applies to bodily injury, death, and property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage is also required, but it does not have to equal the $1 million liability limit. The required coverage may be provided by the driver, the rideshare company, or both.5
- South Carolina law provides for the exchange of relevant information about a rideshare driver's app login status and insurance coverage during a claims investigation.6
- Lawsuits under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years after the loss was or should have been discovered. A three-year deadline may apply if a qualifying verified claim was first filed under the Act.7
- Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter, and there could be caps on damages under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, depending on the facts of the case.8
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every Uber or Lyft covered for a million dollars?
An insurer I've never heard of keeps calling. Who are they?
A rideshare crash can involve the driver's own insurer, a rideshare policy and another driver's carrier. Ask who they represent, whose policy it is and the claim number. Many people talk with a lawyer before a recorded statement or release.
Should I report the crash in the app?
Uber and Lyft both have a way to flag a safety issue from the trip in your history. Stick to what happened, don't guess about fault, don't downplay your injuries, and screenshot what you send. Make sure police were called too.
I was on vacation and I'm back home. Can I still bring a claim?
Yes. Your hometown doctors can take over, and their records count the same. The deadline is for a lawsuit, and an insurance claim doesn't pause it.3 Keep every bill from both states together.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
