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Getting hurt in an Uber accident near Valley View, Texas changes everything fast. Medical bills pile up, you may miss work, and suddenly you’re dealing with insurance adjusters who ask a lot of questions but offer very little. Uber accidents are different from standard car crashes because multiple insurance policies may apply, and the rules that govern those policies are set by Texas law. If you or someone you love was injured in a rideshare collision on U.S. Highway 77, Farm-to-Market Road 922, or anywhere else in the Valley View area, you need to understand your rights before you talk to any insurance company. Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys in Denton, Texas, serves people throughout Cooke County and the surrounding region, and we are ready to help you pursue every dollar you are owed.
Table of Contents
- How Texas Law Governs Uber Accidents and Who Can Be Held Liable
- The Uber Insurance Coverage Periods That Determine Your Compensation
- What Damages You Can Recover After a Valley View Uber Accident
- Steps to Take After an Uber Accident in the Valley View Area
- Why the Filing Deadline Makes Acting Quickly Essential
- FAQs About Valley View Uber Accident Attorney
How Texas Law Governs Uber Accidents and Who Can Be Held Liable
Uber is classified as a Transportation Network Company, or TNC, under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2402. That law, enforced by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), sets the rules for how companies like Uber must operate throughout the state. A TNC is a company that allows a passenger to arrange a ride through a digital network, and the driver receives compensation that exceeds the driver’s costs of providing the ride. Understanding this classification matters because it directly affects who can be held responsible after a crash.
Liability in an Uber accident does not automatically fall on just the driver. Determining who is legally responsible for damages after a rideshare accident depends on the circumstances of the crash, and liability can extend to several parties, including the rideshare driver if their negligence caused the crash, or another motorist if that driver crashed into the rideshare vehicle. In some cases, Uber itself may bear direct responsibility, particularly if the company approved a driver who had a disqualifying history.
Texas House Bill 1733, enacted in 2016, requires Transportation Network Companies to conduct background checks on all drivers before deployment. When Uber approves a driver with disqualifying criminal history, prior DWIs, or a reckless driving record, the corporation, not just the driver, may be held directly liable for resulting injuries. This is a powerful legal theory that many accident victims never hear about.
Under Texas Occupations Code Section 2402.114, a TNC driver is considered an independent contractor if the company does not prescribe the hours the driver is required to be logged into the digital network, or impose restrictions on the driver’s ability to use other transportation network companies’ digital networks. That independent contractor status can complicate a claim, which is exactly why having an attorney who knows this area of law makes a real difference. The personal injury lawyers at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys understand how to cut through these issues and build a case that holds the right parties accountable.
The Uber Insurance Coverage Periods That Determine Your Compensation
The single most important fact in any Valley View Uber accident case is which insurance period was active at the moment of the crash. Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1954 establishes the coverage framework that controls this question, and getting it wrong can cost you a significant amount of money.
Texas law requires ride-sharing companies, such as Uber, to have insurance that covers people or property the driver injures if the driver does not have insurance. But the amount of coverage available depends entirely on what the driver was doing at the time of the collision.
There are four distinct periods. When the Uber app is completely off, only the driver’s personal auto policy applies, which must meet Texas’s standard minimums. When the driver is logged in and waiting for a ride request, contingent coverage of $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage activates, but only if the driver’s personal insurer denies the claim first. Once a ride is accepted and the driver is en route or actively carrying a passenger, the stakes change dramatically.
While a driver is on the way to pick up a rider or has a passenger in the car, the required liability is much higher: $1 million for bodily injury and property damage total per accident. Uber also provides $1 million of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage per accident during this period.
Among the most time-sensitive actions after a crash is screenshotting the Uber app immediately after impact and before closing it. That single screenshot locks in which coverage period applies and removes the insurer’s most common defense, which is that the app was inactive at the time of the collision. Take that screenshot the moment it is safe to do so. Evidence like this, along with the Texas Department of Transportation’s CR-3 crash report form filed by law enforcement, forms the foundation of a strong insurance claim.
What Damages You Can Recover After a Valley View Uber Accident
Texas law allows injured Uber passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to pursue both economic and non-economic damages after a rideshare collision. Economic damages are the financial losses you can document with bills and records. Non-economic damages cover the human cost of the injury, things like pain, suffering, and lost quality of life.
Economic damages typically include past and future medical expenses, lost wages while you recover, costs of rehabilitation, and any future care your injuries require. If you suffered a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, or serious burns in an Uber crash near Valley View, those future care costs can be substantial. A catastrophic injury may require a lifetime of treatment, and your claim needs to account for all of it.
Non-economic damages are harder to calculate but equally real. Texas does not cap non-economic damages in standard personal injury cases, which means your pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life all have real value under Texas law.
Texas also follows a modified comparative fault rule under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. Under the 51% rule codified in the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, you can recover damages only if you are less than 51% responsible for your injury, and your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. This means Uber’s insurer may try to shift blame onto you to reduce what they pay. Having an attorney who anticipates that strategy and counters it with solid evidence is critical.
In cases where Uber’s negligent hiring created the conditions for the crash, punitive damages may also be available under Texas law. Punitive damages are designed to punish particularly reckless or malicious conduct, and they go beyond simply compensating you for your losses.
Steps to Take After an Uber Accident in the Valley View Area
What you do in the hours and days after an Uber accident directly affects the strength of your claim. Valley View sits along U.S. Highway 77, a corridor that sees regular traffic between Gainesville and Denton. Crashes can happen anywhere along that stretch, on FM 922, near the Valley View community center, or on any of the county roads running through Cooke County. No matter where the collision occurs, the steps you take next matter.
Call 911 immediately. A law enforcement officer will complete a CR-3 crash report form, which is the official Texas Department of Transportation accident report. That document records the facts of the crash, identifies all parties, and can be critical evidence in your case. Request a copy as soon as it is available through TxDOT’s CRIS system.
Get medical care right away, even if you feel fine. Some injuries, including concussions and internal trauma, do not produce obvious symptoms immediately. A medical record created the day of the crash ties your injuries directly to the accident, which strengthens your claim significantly.
Photograph everything at the scene. Take pictures of vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signs, skid marks, and any visible injuries. Screenshot the Uber app before closing it to document which coverage period was active. Collect contact information from witnesses near the scene, whether that is someone at the Valley View grain elevator, a passing driver, or a nearby resident.
Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that can reduce your claim’s value. Contact Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 before you say anything on the record.
Why the Filing Deadline Makes Acting Quickly Essential
Texas law sets a firm deadline for filing personal injury lawsuits, and missing it almost always means losing your right to compensation entirely. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a), a person must bring suit for personal injury not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. The clock starts on the day of the accident.
Two years may sound like plenty of time, but Uber accident cases involve layers of investigation that take real time to complete. Attorneys need to subpoena Uber’s trip records, obtain the driver’s background check history under HB 1733, gather medical records, work with accident reconstruction professionals, and identify all liable parties. TNCs are required to keep all individual ride records for five years and driver records for at least five years after the date the driver ceases to be authorized as a driver for the TNC. Those records are obtainable, but only if you act before they become harder to access or before evidence disappears.
Wrongful death claims follow the same two-year window. A person must bring suit not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues in an action for injury resulting in death, and the cause of action accrues on the death of the injured person. If a loved one died in an Uber crash near Valley View, your family’s right to pursue a wrongful death claim is also time-limited.
Courts in Denton County, where many Cooke County cases may be litigated, follow strict procedural rules. Building a case that meets federal pleading standards, including the plausibility standard established in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), requires careful preparation. Expert witnesses used to establish causation and damages must also meet the reliability standards set out in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993), meaning your legal team needs to retain qualified experts early in the process.
The attorneys at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. There is no reason to wait. Call us at (940) 800-2500 or reach out online to schedule your free consultation today. Past results in other cases do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case, as every claim depends on its own unique facts and applicable law.
FAQs About Valley View Uber Accident Attorney
Can I sue Uber directly after an accident in Valley View, Texas?
You may be able to bring a direct claim against Uber under Texas House Bill 1733 if the company failed to conduct a proper background check and approved a driver with a disqualifying history. This is separate from any claim against the driver personally. Whether Uber can be held directly liable depends on the specific facts of your case, including what the driver’s record showed and when Uber last verified it. An attorney can review Uber’s hiring practices and the driver’s history to determine whether a direct corporate liability claim is viable in your situation.
What if I was a passenger in the Uber when the crash happened?
As a passenger in an active Uber ride, you are in the most protected position under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1954. Once a driver accepts a trip and is en route or carrying a passenger, Uber’s full $1 million commercial liability policy applies. You are not at fault for the collision as a passenger, which means you do not have to worry about the 51% comparative fault rule reducing your recovery. You can file a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance, Uber’s commercial policy, or both, depending on who caused the crash.
What if the Uber driver was between rides when the accident happened?
This is where Uber accident cases get complicated. If the driver had the app open but had not yet accepted a ride, only contingent coverage applies: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage, and that coverage only activates if the driver’s personal insurer denies the claim first. If the app was off entirely, only the driver’s personal auto policy applies. Documenting the app’s status at the moment of impact is critical, which is why taking a screenshot immediately after the crash is so important.
How long do I have to file a claim after an Uber accident near Valley View?
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a), you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a family member died as a result of the crash, the two-year clock starts on the date of death, not the date of the accident. Missing this deadline almost always bars your right to any compensation, regardless of how clear the liability is. Do not wait to consult an attorney. The earlier you start, the more time your legal team has to gather evidence, obtain Uber’s records, and build a thorough case.
Does Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys handle Uber accident cases in Valley View and Cooke County?
Yes. Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys is based in Denton, Texas, and serves clients throughout the surrounding region, including Valley View and Cooke County. Our attorneys handle rideshare accident claims and understand the specific insurance framework, TNC regulations, and Texas personal injury laws that apply to these cases. We offer free consultations and work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront costs to you. Call us at (940) 800-2500 to discuss your case. Attorney responsible for this content: Chandler Ross, primary practice location: Denton, Texas.
