Charleston Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer
Uber and Lyft each carry a $1 million liability policy. Most riders don’t know it exists, and the insurance company is not going to bring it up. Before you accept anything, find out which coverage actually applies to your crash. Brent Heist handles rideshare cases across the Lowcountry — and you pay nothing unless we win.
There May Be $1 Million of Coverage on Your Crash
Here is the thing almost nobody tells rideshare passengers: Uber and Lyft each carry a $1 million third-party liability policy. It is real, it is large, and it sits behind a great many Charleston crashes that get treated like ordinary fender-benders.
The catch is that it’s conditional — it only applies during certain app periods, and outside them the money on the table can be a fraction of it. Which period your crash landed in is the single most valuable fact about your case — and the insurer isn’t going to walk you through it. If you never learn it applied, the claim quietly closes at whatever the driver’s personal policy was willing to pay.
The App Decides the Money
Rideshare coverage turns on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact — off, on and waiting, or on with a ride in progress. Same intersection, same injuries, wildly different coverage.
You cannot check that from the roadside, and the driver may not volunteer it. The trip data, GPS logs, and app status sit with Uber or Lyft, not with you. That is a records request, and it is one of the first things a lawyer sends.
Four App States, Four Different Answers
Rideshare insurance runs in tiers. Read these in order — the coverage climbs as the app gets busier, and the jump at the top is the reason this page exists.
App Off
The driver was off the clock. The rideshare policy does not apply at all — this is an ordinary crash against the driver’s personal auto policy, often written at the state minimum.
App On, Waiting
Logged in and cruising for a ping, but hasn’t accepted anyone. A limited contingent policy may apply — a much smaller layer than the headline $1 million, and the tier the insurer would prefer you assume.
Ride Accepted
The moment a driver accepts and starts toward the pickup, the $1 million liability period begins. It does not wait for the passenger door to open.
Passenger in the Car
From pickup to drop-off, the $1 million policy is live. If you were in the back of an Uber or Lyft when it crashed, this is you — regardless of which driver caused it.
Uninsured Layers
During the covered periods, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may also apply through the rideshare policy — which matters when the at-fault driver has nothing, or nowhere near enough.
Where the Fight Happens
Disputes usually aren’t about whether the tiers exist — they’re about which tier you were in, whether the driver was really logged on, and whether the crash was “in the app” at all. That is an evidence question.
We are deliberately not printing a dollar figure for the lower tiers here. The limits change, they differ by company, and a number pulled off a website is a bad basis for a decision about your claim. The reliable version is someone reading the actual policy that applies to your crash.
One Detail Changes the Whole Case
The same crash can be worth a minimum-limits policy or a $1 million one — decided entirely by what the driver’s app was doing at impact. Getting that one fact right, early, is the difference.
You Don’t Have to Be the Passenger to Have a Claim
Rideshare coverage isn’t a perk that comes with the receipt. If a rideshare vehicle was involved in the crash that hurt you, the policy is potentially in play — whichever seat you were in, or whether you were in a vehicle at all.
Passengers
You booked a ride and got hurt on the way — the $1 million period applied and you’re almost never at fault. But a clean claim is exactly the kind an adjuster wants to close fast and cheap.
Other Drivers
Rear-ended on I-26 or clipped by a car with a glowing sign in the windscreen? You may be looking at the rideshare policy instead of a minimum-limits one — but only if someone establishes what the app was doing.
Pedestrians & Cyclists
Rideshare drivers stop suddenly, pull into bike lanes, and watch a phone while hunting a house number. Struck on foot or on a bike, you can claim against the same coverage — often the most serious injuries on this page.
Rideshare Drivers
You’re the person the system is least set up to protect — an independent contractor with generally no workers’ comp. You still have a claim against whoever caused the crash, and UM/UIM coverage may reach you too.
Two Rules That Decide Your Case
Two rules quietly shape almost every rideshare claim in this state — the deadline to file, and how fault is split. Both can cost you money you don’t know you’re losing.
You Have Three Years — Usually
In most South Carolina injury cases, you have three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit (S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530). Miss that deadline and your claim is gone permanently.
Government-entity claims run under the SC Tort Claims Act — shorter deadlines that can expire in months. And in rideshare cases the practical clock is shorter still, because the proof doesn’t wait. Don’t work out your deadline from a web page.
Every Percent of Blame Costs You
South Carolina follows modified comparative negligence. You recover as long as you were not more than 50% at fault — but your recovery drops by your share. At 51%, you recover nothing.
On a $100,000 case, if the insurer pins 20% on you, you get $80,000 — a $20,000 swing from one argument. That’s why the adjuster asks whether your seatbelt was on, or whether you stepped out between parked cars. Every percent they pin on you is money out of your pocket.
Case Results: What Happens When You Don’t Blink
A rideshare crash involving an Uber driver. We found the coverage that applied and recovered $988,000.
(Top Offer Was $250K)
(Spine Surgery)
Crash
Results vary by case and depend on specific facts and circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Figures shown are gross recoveries before attorney’s fees, case costs, and medical liens.
How Your Rideshare Claim Works
No confusing legal runaround. Here is exactly what happens the moment you reach out.
You Hear Back in 10 Minutes
Fill out the form and we call you back in about 10 minutes — not tomorrow, not next week. Too hurt to come in? We’ll come to you, at home or at the hospital. No pressure, no cost.
We Find the Policy
We request the trip data, pin down what the app was doing at impact, and identify every policy that applies — the rideshare layer, the driver’s policy, and any UM or UIM coverage sitting behind them.
You Get Paid
We pursue full compensation for your injuries, lost wages, and pain. You pay no attorney’s fee unless we win — it comes out of the recovery, never your pocket.
Tell Us What Happened. We’ll Find the Coverage.
You shouldn’t need to understand rideshare insurance to be treated fairly. Tell Brent the story of your crash — he’ll track down every policy that owes you and take the insurers off your plate, so you can focus on healing.
Brent Heist · Attorney & Founder
You Won’t Be Handed to a Case Number
I started Heist Law to do things differently — straight talk, hard work, and treating people the right way.
I’ve dedicated my practice to standing up for injured people across South Carolina against insurers that try to pay them less than they deserve. When you hire me, you’re a neighbor — and I’ll fight for you like one.
Charleston Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer: Common Questions
Does Uber or Lyft really have a $1 million policy?
How does the app’s status change my claim?
I was a passenger. Who pays for my injuries?
An Uber hit my car. Do I have a claim?
I drive for Uber and I was hurt. What now?
How long do I have to file in South Carolina?
They already offered me money. Should I take it?
What does an Uber or Lyft accident lawyer cost?
What Our Clients Say About Brent
“So hands-off I kept feeling like I was missing steps. DeNasia helped calm my nerves. They even got me healthcare quicker than my own primary care.”
“Met with professionalism and empathy. Deep knowledge of personal injury law and genuine care. The personal touch really stood out. Highly recommend.”
“Brent and everyone in the office are so great. So helpful and did an awesome job with all my questions.”
Real reviews from Google, reflecting the experience of individual clients. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case is different and depends on its own facts.
Read This Before You Talk to the Adjuster
Useful reading: The $1 million rideshare policy, explained · What to do in the first 24 hours · The recorded statement trap · What is my case worth?