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When wondering what my Maryland Uber accident is worth, there are a few additional nuances to consider. After an accident involving an Uber vehicle, whether you were a passenger, another driver, or even a pedestrian, you may face mounting medical bills, lost income, and significant physical or emotional suffering. Our Maryland Uber accident lawyers have handled hundreds of Uber cases in Maryland. We can handle your case even if your Uber accident did not occur in Maryland, but the defendant did reside in Maryland. Maryland is generally a favorable venue, although this can also depend on the county where we would file a lawsuit. However, there are advantages to getting into an Uber accident case rather than an accident with a friend. That is, Ubers, more often than not, have insurance.
Unfortunately, some rideshare companies operating in the area, like Empower, illegally operate without insurance. But Uber usually insures its drivers through Farmers Insurance. This is preferable because the value of your case would effectively become zero if there is no insurance. While we can always sue an uninsured driver, there is no way to collect on a judgment, even if successful. For this reason, Maryland car accident lawyers who operate on a contingent fee avoid cases involving uninsured drivers. This makes sense if you consider that a driver who opts to avoid paying for car insurance illegally probably has insufficient assets to cover an expensive judgment anyway. This rationale is why Maryland mandates insurance coverage to start. If there is insurance in your case, what is your Maryland Uber accident worth?
The information we provide below is a general guide to evaluating your claim. Call Gelb & Gelb today to understand how Maryland tort law applies directly to your case.
A limitless number of factors affect the value of a Maryland Uber accident case. But one factor that dictates the value of other factors is the severity of your injury. If you have a more serious injury, your medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and pain and suffering are all affected. For as much weight as that statement holds, the order is reversed to a jury. A jury sees higher medical expenses, the fact that you missed several weeks of work, and testimony detailing how your quality of life was reduced, and they value your case as more. A jury can also know how severe your injury is in other ways.
A key factor in determining what your Maryland Uber accident case is worth is to look at the property damage to your vehicle. This is why photographing the damage to your vehicle immediately after your accident is critical. This is true even if you are an Uber passenger and do not own the vehicle. When a jury sees the damage to a vehicle after a rear-end collision, they intuitively understand how bad the accident is. This fact is true, independent of your property damage claim, separate from your personal injury claim. When the Uber is completely destroyed in a wreck, even if your injuries are not as bad, a jury may view images of the wreck and wince. This is a natural and emotional reaction. Accordingly, a jury award tends to be higher. Even when negotiating a settlement, the insurance company understands this premise and may offer more pre-trial.
To best understand what your Maryland Uber accident case is worth, we break down compensation into two categories. We explore those categories below.
Economic damages refer to any expense you must pay due to your Maryland Uber accident. But note that this does not include your property damage claim. While it could properly damage your vehicle, in other words, your vehicle’s repair is typically handled quicker. This is essentially a courtesy of the insurer. And while Maryland Uber accident lawyers take a portion of the recovery as a legal fee, this does not include your property damage reimbursement.
Besides property damage, we consider medical expenses and lost wages to be the two most common forms of economic damages, although there are others. We should consider not only past expenses but also future expenses. We may consider lost business if it can be proven. This is difficult to prove if you are a business owner, but you are entitled to compensation for economic damages. Remember, we aim to prove damages by a preponderance of the evidence. That means we must convince a jury it is more likely than not that what we say is true. Thus, testimony may be sufficient to prove this.
Non-economic damages are harder to calculate. For economic damage, you may receive a bill from a medical provider. Or, in the case of lost wages, we can calculate your economic damages by considering how many hours you missed from work and multiplying that by your hourly wage. However, non-economic damages are more subjective. A list of non-economic damages includes:
While the list goes on, deciding what these damages are worth as part of your Maryland Uber accident case is difficult. The answer can change depending on the county in which we file our lawsuit. For example, a Prince George’s County jury may award a plaintiff more for an Uber accident than a jury in Montgomery County. Besides the jury, we must also consider the strength of our evidence. For example, if you are an Uber driver but forgot to take photos of the property damage to your vehicle, this lack of evidence may force us to rely on nothing but testimony, which is less compelling than visual evidence. The value of your non-economic damages also depends on how sympathetic you are to a jury. If the jury feels for you, they may award you more compensation.
Particularly when negotiating a settlement for your case, the persuasiveness of our evidence in proving liability is vital. For example, if your case is flatly worth $25,000, but there is a chance we get $0 at trial due to a lack of evidence making it difficult to prove liability, it may be smart to hedge our bets and accept a settlement offer of $22,500. This is important because cases are sometimes won or lost for reasons beyond comprehension. There is always a risk when you go to trial, which is one reason why settling a case is generally preferable.
If it is a rear-end collision, liability may be straightforward. However, if it is a sideswipe and a matter of “he said, she said,” we may not be able to meet our burden of proof. Remember that as the plaintiff, the burden is on us to prove that the defendant is at fault for your injuries, not on the defendant to prove that it is not their fault.
If you are wondering what your Maryland Uber accident case is worth, it is best to consult with a personal injury lawyer at Gelb & Gelb. Our attorneys will move through your case, from accident to the courthouse, when necessary, and help evaluate your case’s value.
Call our office today for a free case evaluation at (202) 331-7227.
Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.