Car sharing companies offer the public a welcome alternative to utilization of a Taxi service. Still, few of those that rely on such companies understand fully how any liabilities or protections get handled, at the time of an accident. Indeed, the nature of those liabilities and protections changes from one company to the next.

Varied methods for protecting and ensuring the men and women using ride sharing services:

Some companies have special rules, which get stated in a signed contract. No protection gets offered to someone that signs such a contract, but then fails to follow the rules.

Other companies charge for a waiver of damage fee in the event of an accident. Special restrictions get placed on utilization of that same waiver.

Steps to be taken by a driver at the time of a car-sharing accident:

• Make sure that no passenger has been injured. If necessary, call for an ambulance.
• Contact the appropriate car-sharing company and let them know about the collision.
• Obtain valuable evidence. Speak with witnesses; take plenty of photographs.

Passengers can sue for damages, if defect on vehicle or poor maintenance caused accident.

In such a situation, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Halifax can help the driver that must deal with the insurance company. The damages that the insurer can be expected to cover:

• Passenger’s medical bills.
• Wages lost by any injured passenger
• Pain and suffering sustained by any passenger.

Will the car sharing company pay the costs associated with those damages?

That depends on the method that the charged company has chosen to use, when protecting the paying passengers. It may be that a passenger, an adult that has signed a contract has failed to follow all the rules. It could be that a passenger has talked a driver into letting the same passenger’s hands get placed on the steering wheel. In that case the substitute driver/true passenger would not get compensated for damages.

Alternatively, it could be that a passenger paid a waiver of damage fee, one which could put an end to the company’s right to charge for damages, in the event of an accident. On the other hand, it is possible that the same passenger acted in way that allowed his or her actions to take the form of a distraction. Due to restrictions on the waiver, the distracting passenger could not be freed from the obligation to pay for the accident-caused damages.

Obviously, those passengers that followed the rules, as stated in the contract, or those that remained mindful of the restrictions on a company’s waiver would qualify for the promised compensation. Each of them would have grounds for moving ahead with any plan to file a claim against the appropriate insurance company.