Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft provide convenient transportation options for people across the country. However, the rise in rideshare usage has also led to an increase in rideshare accidents, especially here in Washington state. These accidents can cause severe injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) that lead to long-term health complications.
What Causes Rideshare Accidents?
There are a few key factors that contribute to accidents involving rideshare vehicles:
- Distracted driving – Rideshare drivers often toggle between GPS systems, passenger apps, and driving simultaneously. This divided attention leads to distracted driving errors.
- Fatigued driving – The nature of rideshare driving results in long hours on the road. Drivers may become drowsy and less reactive behind the wheel.
- Reckless driving – Some rideshare drivers speed, follow too closely, or drive aggressively to make more trips. This increases the risk of an accident.
- Impaired driving – Despite policies prohibiting it, some rideshare drivers operate vehicles while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- Poor vehicle maintenance – Lacking commercial driver oversight, some rideshare drivers neglect basic vehicle maintenance and safety checks.
- Adverse weather – Treacherous road conditions like rain, snow, and ice also contribute to rideshare crashes.
The most dangerous rideshare trips occur at night and on weekends, when risks like impaired driving, drowsy driving, and reckless driving peak. Unfortunately, these are also the most popular times to use rideshare services for social outings.
Prevalence of TBIs in Rideshare Accidents
According to studies, traumatic brain injuries occur in about 50% of serious motor vehicle accidents. TBIs can range from mild concussions to severe, life-altering brain damage.
In rideshare crashes, passengers are especially prone to TBIs as they are often unsecured by seatbelts in the rear passenger cabin. The abrupt impact in an accident can throw passengers forcefully into interior vehicle surfaces, causing head trauma.
Additionally, rideshare drivers are also at high risk for TBIs as they are often the least protected occupants in frontal collisions. Safety features like airbags and collapsible steering columns mitigate driver injuries, but TBIs still occur frequently in high-speed or offset crashes.
Common Causes of TBIs in Rideshare Accidents
- Striking heads on doors, windows, seat backs, or other interior surfaces
- Driver/passengers ejected from vehicles in rollover crashes
- Heads impacting steering wheels, dashboards, and windshields
- Objects penetrating vehicle cabins and striking heads
- Forceful whiplash motions that rip or damage brain matter
- Coup/Contrecoup injuries where the brain impacts the inside of the skull
TBI Effects and Symptoms
TBIs encompass both the immediate physical brain damage caused at the time of injury as well as the evolving symptoms that emerge hours, days, or weeks later as a result of disrupted brain function.
Common immediate symptoms include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Altered cognitive function – confusion, disorientation, slurred speech
- Headache or head pressure
- Dizziness, loss of balance
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sensory problems like blurred vision or ringing ears
After the initial injury, TBI patients frequently experience:
- Chronic headaches and mental fatigue
- Dizziness, light/noise sensitivity
- Memory and concentration impairment
- Mood changes – depression, anxiety, irritability
- Sleep disruption and insomnia
- Slowed cognitive processing and reaction time
While mild TBIs generally resolve within a few weeks, moderate to severe TBIs show little improvement over time. Patients are often left with permanent disabilities affecting memory, cognition, mobility, and quality of life.
TBI Complications in Washington
Recovering from a traumatic brain injury is extremely difficult due to the complexities of brain damage. Patients in Washington face considerable challenges like:
- High medical costs – Extensive neurological treatment and rehabilitation is expensive, with typical costs exceeding $85,000. Many rideshare accident victims end up buried in medical debt.
- Loss of income – Inability to work due to chronic TBI symptoms severely impacts earning capacity. Households suffer without reliable income.
- Strain on families – Caring for a relative with a TBI leads to emotional, physical, and financial stress for families. Caregiver burnout is common.
- Social isolation – Cognitive and behavioral changes make it hard for TBI patients to maintain social connections and independence.
- Legal disputes – Seeking compensation for injuries through insurance claims or lawsuits is often necessary but adds further stress.
- Reduced access to care – Inadequate access to TBI specialists means patients don’t always receive optimal treatment and therapy. This hinders recovery.
- Ongoing medical needs – Even after initial treatment, TBI patients require medications, assistive devices, and therapies for years to manage symptoms. This causes financial strain.
- Risk of repeat injury – Research shows that suffering one TBI makes you more susceptible to sustaining additional brain trauma. Repeat TBIs worsen outcomes.
TBI Lawsuits Against Rideshares
To help recover damages, TBI victims increasingly pursue legal action against rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. These lawsuits allege:
- Negligent driver screening and hiring practices
- Failure to adequately train drivers on safe operating policies
- Lack of sufficient vehicle maintenance requirements
- No policy enforcement to prevent distracted driving
- Algorithms that encourage drivers to work dangerously long shifts
Successful claims can recover compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other accident costs. Yet legal disputes are complex, so pursuing fair compensation with an experienced personal injury attorney is key.
The Process of Building a Rideshare TBI Case
Those seeking compensation face a lengthy legal process that requires extensive evidence and expert testimony. Key aspects include:
- Gathering police reports, medical records, accident reconstructions, and other documentation to prove liability and damages.
- Consulting medical experts like neurologists to assess the extent of brain injuries and outlook.
- Utilizing vocational rehab specialists to calculate long-term income loss from disabilities.
- Retaining economists to project lifetime costs of medical treatments and assistance.
- Employing investigators to examine rideshare driving histories, training, and employer policies.
- Interviewing witnesses to establish accident details.
- Researching previous similar cases and verdicts.
- Negotiating thoroughly with insurance carriers. Most cases settle out of court.
- Taking depositions from parties involved if the case goes to trial.
A qualified lawyer handles these demanding legal tasks so the TBI victim can focus on recovery.
Get Legal Help After a Rideshare Crash in Washington
The combination of traumatic brain injuries and the application of rideshare accident law highlights why obtaining legal representation is so crucial. The attorneys at Monge & Associates have decades of experience helping injury victims recover damages and navigate TBI treatment.
If you or a loved one suffered a rideshare accident TBI here in Washington, contact our office for a free case evaluation at (888) 477-0597. With 32 offices located in 19 states, including Washington, Kansas, and Georgia, our team is here to help you get your life back on track after a traumatic crash.