Uber and Lyft crashes. Florida's TNC statute makes coverage turn on app status. Get the trip log before it ages out.
Call 904-383-7448Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104. Last updated .
Rideshare crashes in Florida turn on a single question: what did the driver's app show at the moment of impact? Section 627.748, Florida Statutes — the Transportation Network Company Act — ties Uber and Lyft's commercial coverage to one of three app-status periods. Period 1 (app on, no ride accepted) carries low contingent coverage. Periods 2 and 3 (ride accepted, or passenger on board) trigger the TNC's $1,000,000 third-party policy. App off leaves only the driver's personal auto coverage, which most personal policies exclude for commercial use.
This means the trip log is the single most important piece of evidence in the case. Get a litigation hold letter to Uber or Lyft within days of the crash; trip data is maintained but driver-side phone logs and dashcam footage age out fast.
Florida's TNC statute, codified at section 627.748, was the legislature's response to the patchwork of city-by-city rules around Uber and Lyft. The statute preempts local regulation and sets a state-wide insurance framework that depends entirely on what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash.
Driver is not logged into the rideshare platform. The TNC owes no coverage. Only the driver's personal auto policy applies — and most personal policies contain a "transportation network" exclusion that voids coverage for commercial passenger transport. This is the worst-case scenario for an injured plaintiff, and the reason rideshare drivers are increasingly buying rideshare-rider endorsements.
Driver is logged in and available for ride requests but has not yet accepted one. Section 627.748(7) requires the TNC to maintain at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident in bodily injury liability and $25,000 in property damage liability during Period 1. The driver's personal auto policy may be primary in some cases, with the TNC policy excess.
Driver has accepted a ride request and is driving toward the passenger. The TNC's $1,000,000 third-party policy applies, primary to any personal coverage. UIM/UM coverage of at least $1,000,000 must also be available under section 627.748(7)(b)2 when an at-fault third party is uninsured or underinsured.
Driver has the passenger on board and is en route to the destination. Same $1,000,000 third-party coverage as Period 2. This is the period during which most serious rideshare-injury claims arise — both for injured passengers and for third parties hit by the rideshare driver.
Coverage hinges on what period the driver was in. Driver memory and self-report are not reliable; carriers often dispute the period to push the claim down a tier of coverage. The trip log answers the question definitively. Uber and Lyft both maintain detailed records of:
A litigation hold letter and a request for the trip log should go out within days of the crash. Both Uber and Lyft have established legal-process departments that respond to formal requests. Subpoenas in a filed suit will confirm the data.
Corroborating evidence: the rideshare driver's phone records (carrier billing logs show app data usage), any dashcam footage (often overwritten in 30 to 90 days), the rideshare app on the driver's phone (preserved through the carrier or via screenshot), and the destination passenger's account (the passenger can pull their own trip receipt from the app).
Florida's no-fault PIP system under section 627.736 still applies to rideshare crashes. PIP coverage is tied to the vehicle, the resident-relative household, or the passenger-in-uninsured-vehicle rule. For injured rideshare passengers, the analysis runs:
First, your own household PIP if you have a Florida personal auto policy. Second, the rideshare driver's personal PIP (often excluded for commercial use). Third, statutory passenger coverage under section 627.736(4)(d)4. The 14-day rule (treatment within 14 days, or PIP coverage drops to $2,500) still applies. The EMC determination still applies.
This is why an injured rideshare passenger needs a lawyer who actually knows PIP. Generic "Uber accident" content online often misses the no-fault overlay completely.
Section 768.81, Florida Statutes, as amended by HB 837 in 2023, applies the same modified comparative fault rule to rideshare crashes as to any other Florida negligence claim. A plaintiff more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing. A plaintiff at 50 percent or less recovers, reduced by the percentage of fault.
In a multi-vehicle rideshare crash, fault can be apportioned among the rideshare driver, the at-fault third party, and potentially a non-party (the Fabre defendant) under the apportionment rules. Sorting that out requires early reconstruction and careful pleading.
Section 627.748(9) categorically classifies TNC drivers as independent contractors, not employees, when statutory criteria are met. This limits vicarious liability against Uber or Lyft for the driver's ordinary negligence in driving. The TNC's $1 million Period 2/3 policy is the practical source of recovery against the driver, paid through the TNC's commercial carrier.
Direct claims against the TNC for corporate-level conduct — negligent driver onboarding, defective app design that encouraged speeding, failure to remove a driver with prior reports of unsafe driving — remain available in principle but face the federal Communications Decency Act and other defenses. These are claims to evaluate case by case, not assume.
The litigation hold letter goes out on day one. Specify the trip log, GPS breadcrumb trail, app-on/off timestamps, ride acceptance timestamps, dashcam footage if any, the driver's profile and background check, prior passenger complaints, and any messaging between the driver and Uber/Lyft support around the trip.
Take the Uber/Lyft passenger's account credentials seriously. Pull the trip receipt from the passenger's app. It shows the route, the driver's name, the vehicle, and the timestamp of pickup and drop-off. Photograph it. Sometimes that's the only contemporaneous record before the trip log subpoena comes back.
Watch the two-year SOL. Section 95.11(4)(a) dropped negligence to two years for claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Do not assume the older four-year period applies.
UM coverage matters more in rideshare than in other auto crashes because of the app-off coverage gap. If the rideshare driver's app was off and the third-party driver was uninsured, the only source of recovery may be the rideshare driver's personal UM or the passenger's household UM. Verify UM stacking under section 627.727 early.
Section 627.748 ties coverage to app status. App off: personal policy only. Period 1 (app on, no ride): $50K/$100K BI minimum. Period 2 (ride accepted) and Period 3 (passenger on board): $1,000,000 TNC policy.
The trip log from Uber or Lyft is dispositive. Send a litigation hold letter early, then subpoena once suit is filed. Driver phone records and dashcam timestamps corroborate.
Florida treats rideshare drivers as independent contractors under section 627.748(9), which limits vicarious liability. Direct claims for corporate-level conduct (negligent onboarding, app design) remain available but face additional defenses.
The TNC's $1,000,000 third-party policy covers passenger injuries during an active trip. You can also recover against the at-fault third-party driver. Your own household PIP may apply.
Two years for negligence claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023, under section 95.11(4)(a).
The trip log ages out. Call early so the litigation hold goes out before evidence disappears.
Call: 904-383-7448