Can I Sue Uber After An Accident?

Albert Conforzi - Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer: Uber is a hot topic these days, both for the convenience it provides riders, and the anger it stirs up among professional driving services.

An example of the latter can be found in a $410 million class-action lawsuit that was launched last week by a Toronto taxi driver seeking an injunction against Uber on behalf of all taxi and limousine drivers. The suit alleges that Uber is breaking the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, which requires licenses and permits as prerequisites for picking up passengers for compensation. We will follow the lawsuit as it unfolds.

Suing Uber

As for Uber's popularity among the public, one question that I'm hearing more often is, "If I get in an accident in an Uber car, can I sue Uber?"

The first part of the answer is that there is a difference between Uber Black, the classic option with licensed chauffeurs in expensive sedans, and Uber X, the option where Steve shows up in his 2005 Corolla and gives you a lift. Indeed, Uber is mutating at a very quick pace, with Uber Black, Uber Select, Uber car pools, and even Uber Eats on the menu (they pick up your food).

Let's look at Uber X, which uses regular people driving their own vehicles. Ordinarily, the insurance that all motorists carry for private passenger vehicles in Ontario prohibits carrying passengers for hire. It is a breach of the insurance policy to do so. There is an endorsement that can be purchased to allow for carrying passengers for hire, but it is very expensive, which would defeat the whole point of being an Uber X driver.

If you have an accident in an Uber X vehicle, there is a high likelihood that the driver's insurance company will claim a policy breach. This will severely limit compensation recovery if the Uber X driver is solely at fault.

What Is Uber, Anyway?

As for suing Uber itself, neither Uber nor its employees are owners or operators of the motor vehicle. The drivers are independent contractors. As such, Uber would arguably not have vicarious liability for the operation of the motor vehicle. Additionally, Uber is not even a taxi broker according to the Superior Court decision released at the beginning of July involving the city of Toronto's challenge. But then, that decision was followed by reports of Uber drivers in Toronto facing fines anyway, while a new question about Uber paying HST has cropped up, too. Where's this all going? Good question.

While Uber apparently carries a substantial umbrella policy in case of accidents, access to it may prove to be very difficult, unless the nature of the loss arises from a breach of Uber's obligations regarding background checks for drivers or vehicles. Obviously the entire Uber situation is evolving and access to additional information regarding how the company does business is likely to become more readily available in the near future.

Unfortunately, there's a good chance that we won't know the answer to some of these questions until someone is severely hurt in an Uber car and the case makes headlines. Then we will hear the arguments and see on which side of the law Uber ends up.

I am a personal injury lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto. Contact me if you have any questions.