Who Is Liable for Taxi Cab Accidents?

Taxis are known for their wild rides through city streets in Seattle and elsewhere, with cabbies maximizing the number of rides they complete per shift by speeding, weaving, and even running red lights.

Still, accidents involving taxis aren’t as common as you might think, possibly because cab drivers are highly experienced in navigating traffic and city streets. As one recent study revealed, taxis experienced accidents at an average rate of 4.6 crashes per million miles driven vs. 6.7 crashes per million miles for all vehicles.

However, the same study showed that bicycle riders were twice as likely to experience a collision with a taxi cab compared to other vehicles. Also, taxi passengers involved in accidents are more likely to suffer serious injuries, often because passengers wear seatbelts less often in cabs compared to private vehicles and the partition between the back and front seats can cause injuries to passengers in a crash.

Determining liability in a taxi accident can quickly become confusing. When a passenger, a motorist in another vehicle, a cyclist, or a pedestrian experiences an accident with a taxi, who is liable for damages like property damage, medical expenses, and lost wages?  

Possible Liable Parties in Taxi Accidents

After a car accident in Seattle involving a taxi, the chaotic aftermath is often filled with pain and confusion as injured victims deal with emergency services and treatment for their injuries at the hospital. Unfortunately, the distress often continues long after the dust settles on the accident scene as the injured victims face expensive damages and insurance companies deny liability. “Damages” in car accident claims refer not only to property damage, but to all the economic and non-economic consequences of the accident, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. 

When it comes to gaining compensation from the at-fault party in a Taxi accident, determining who is liable can be challenging. Possible liable parties in taxi cab accidents include the following:

• The driver 
• The cab company
• Another motorist
• The manufacturer of a defective car part
• A negligent road maintenance agency

Determining the cause of the accident, which party was negligent, and who is liable for damages in a taxi accident often takes a skilled car accident attorney in Seattle with experience in taxi cab liability cases.

Determining Liability After a Taxi Cab Accident

An attorney’s investigation helps identify the correct liable party after a taxi accident. For example, if the cab driver owns his own cab, he/she is personally liable for damages. Compensation in this case comes from the driver’s common carrier auto insurance. If the driver works for a cab company as an employee, the taxi cab company is liable. If the driver rents a cab from a company, the driver may be personally responsible, or the company that rented them the car could bear liability depending on the terms of the contract.

In other circumstances, the driver of another vehicle may have caused the accident. In less common cases, the manufacturer of a defective auto part or a road maintenance agency that failed to repair a traffic signal or a dangerous road condition could be at fault for the accident and therefore liable for damages.

Determining Liability in Taxi Accidents Requires a Skilled Investigator

Because determining the correct liable party in a taxi accident is often complex, it takes an attorney with experience in investigating this type of accident to determine the liable party. Then the attorney must prove liability by demonstrating the following required legal points of liability in traffic accidents:

• That the at-fault party owed a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent injury
• They breached this duty due to negligence or recklessness
• The breach of duty directly caused injury
• The injury victim suffered significant damages from the injury like property damage, medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering

Once a Seattle personal injury attorney documents evidence of liability, they can craft a compelling case and present a demand package to the correct liable party to maximize the victim’s chances of a full settlement for their damages from the insurance company.