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Can I Sue Uber for Emotional Distress After an Accident Under Alaska Law?

Can I Sue Uber for Emotional Distress After an Accident Under Alaska Law?

By and large, Uber cannot be sued directly for personal injuries arising out of auto accidents involving their drivers. Alaska law does not recognize Uber drivers as employees of the rideshare giant, meaning Uber is not liable for the actions of their independent contractors.

You can submit a personal injury claim to Uber’s Alaskan insurer or to the insurance company representing an independent contractor motorist. However, if you are seeking compensation solely for emotional distress, these policies are unlikely to cover non-bodily harm. Your ability to recover is then limited to bringing a lawsuit against the Uber driver who caused your harm.

The attorneys at Libbey Law are trained to work through the legal pitfalls unique to Uber. We will represent your interests at the bargaining in negotiations or in court. Unless you are compensated for your losses, we will not collect money from you.

Financial Responsibility of Uber and Its Drivers for Auto Accidents

In the Alaska Statutes § 28.23.180(4) (2023), rideshare corporations, like Uber, are referred to as transportation network companies (TNCs). The law does not consider drivers who connect with riders through a TNC platform to be employees of the TNC. Accordingly, Alaska Stat. § 28.23.080 insulates Uber from having to answer for the misconduct of its drivers under the principle of respondeat superior.

TNCs and their independent contractors are obligated to maintain insurance satisfying Alaska’s financial responsibility requirements. The TNC itself, its motorists, or a combination of both may carry primary automobile liability insurance. When a driver is simply logged into Uber and available to make trips, primary insurance is necessary. This coverage must, at minimum, amount to $50,000 per person for bodily injury and death, $100,000 per incident for bodily injury and death, and $25,000 reserved for damage to property. The law further mandates that uninsured or underinsured motor vehicle coverage be included.

The requisite primary insurance when a TNC driver is engaged in a trip with a rider is a collective $1,000,000 for bodily injury, death, and property damage. Here, uninsured or underinsured motor vehicle coverage is also compulsory.

Uber’s Liability and Remedies for Emotional Distress

Uber has purchased an insurance policy on behalf of its independent contractors working in Alaska. This contract contains a split-limit policy meeting the 50/100/25 minimums for available motorists, as well as a $1,000,000 combined single-limit policy protecting drivers during trips. The document subsumes uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance, too.

This is problematic for individuals asserting emotional distress without attendant bodily injury. Uber’s Alaskan policy offers no recovery for such claims, and its drivers are not forced to obtain more comprehensive coverage. Your options for compensation are submitting a claim to an individual driver’s insurer in the rare case they have insurance comprehending emotional distress allegations or pursuing litigation against the Uber driver in their individual capacity.

A Seasoned Lawyer Can Help You Plead and Prove Emotional Distress

Libbey Law is dedicated to getting you the compensation you are due for injuries, tangible and intangible. Alaska’s judicial precedent dictates the elements of a cause of action for emotional distress and the damages–economic and noneconomic–to which you may be entitled.

We are unafraid of weaving through the challenges of your emotional distress case and patching together the various experiences that evidence the hardships you have endured because of the unlawful conduct of an Uber driver.

Consult with one of our lawyers to explore your recovery options for emotional distress in spite of the law’s shielding of Uber from direct liability.

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