What You Should Know if Injured in a Collision With a Taxi
In some respects, an accident with a taxi cab is similar to any other two-car collision. You exchange information with the driver, talk to witnesses, file an insurance claim, and if the insurance company doesn’t deal fairly with you, filing a lawsuit is an option. The two main things you need to determine are liability for the accident (i.e., who is at fault), and damages, which refers to the extent to which you are hurt.
However, the aftermath of a collision with a taxi can also be more complex because you not only have to deal with the other driver and the insurance company but the taxi company as well.
Damages
In some areas, taxi companies are required to carry more insurance coverage on their vehicles than ordinary drivers do. Therefore, depending on the circumstances, you may be able to recover more in damages than you would otherwise. However, if there were passengers in the taxi at the time of the accident who were also injured, the insurance coverage will have to cover everyone’s injuries. The same holds true if there were injured passengers in your car. When the coverage has to be divided among multiple injured parties, it can mean that each recovers less in damages.
Liability
Liability for the accident may rest with the taxi driver who, as someone who drives for a living, owes a heightened level of care to other passengers on the road as well as his or her own passengers. If you can prove that your injuries were the result of a breach in the taxi driver’s duty to drive in a reasonable and safe manner, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against him or her personally. It may also be possible to bring a lawsuit against the taxi company that employs the driver. The individual details of your case will dictate what is appropriate, but you could theoretically bring a lawsuit against either the driver or the cab company, or both.
However, your own responsibility for the accident may also factor into the determination of damages. Some jurisdictions have comparative negligence laws that reduce your award amount for damages if you are partially to blame for the accident.
Attorneys understand the confusion you may feel after a taxi accident, and they want to help make everything more clear to you. Contact a law office today to schedule an appointment to speak with Memphis car accident attorneys.
Thanks to Patterson Bray for their insight into personal injury claims and collisions with a taxi.