Los Angeles Taxi Accident Lawyer

Who Pays for a Victim’s Damages After a Taxi Accident? Let Legal Fighters Figure That Out.

It’s a question we, at Legal Fighters, hear often from clients: Who is responsible for the cost of my accident? This is one of many questions we will answer for you, but we’ll need to gather evidence and information before we can answer confidently.

Once we’ve concluded our investigation (which we will do as soon as possible), we may find that liable parties include:

A Taxi Company

Los Angeles has its fair share of taxi services, with Independent Taxi Cab Company and LA Yellow Cab being among the many taxi providers in the city. These taxi cab companies have a duty of care to protect their employees, passengers in the cabs, and anyone else who can suffer harm due to the taxi company’s negligence.

Some types of negligence by a cab company that can contribute to an accident include:

• Hiring a driver who is not fit to operate a taxi (which can be due to a history of traffic violations, criminal record, health problems, substance abuse issues, emotional instability, or other disqualifying characteristics)
• Failing to adequately train drivers, including emphasizing the critical importance of safe and sober driving
• Failing to regularly service taxis, replace taxis that are no longer roadworthy, and insist that drivers never operate an unsafe taxi
• Failing to closely monitor drivers to detect unsafe driving practices
• Not regularly testing drivers for drug or alcohol use, particularly when there are warning signals that a driver can be impaired

Taxi owners and operators do not necessarily have to commit negligence to be liable for an accident. The very fact that a taxi company’s employee causes a collision can make the company responsible for the accident victim’s damages.

A Taxi Driver

Employees of taxi companies (and independent drivers who both own and operate their taxi) may navigate all corners of the city, from the 405 to Mulholland Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, and East Los Angeles. No matter where the driver is operating or who they are transporting, they have a duty to:

• Drive only when they are alert, sober, healthy, and emotionally stable
• Obey the speed limit
• Maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them
• Reduce their speed and exercise abundant caution when it rains (as Anegelenos know, rain can cause havoc on the city’s roadways)
• Check blind spots and only change lanes when it is safe to do so
• Check their vehicle regularly to ensure it is roadworthy
• Leave the road if there is any doubt about the safety of their vehicle

Depending on case-specific details, your attorney may file an insurance claim with the taxi driver’s auto insurance provider or their employer’s insurance provider. You may also be eligible to sue the at-fault taxi driver and their employer.

Another Motorist

Taxi drivers can be victims of others’ negligence, sometimes with tragic results. If you were a taxi driver, a passenger in a taxi, or other party injured because a non-taxi-driving motorist caused an accident, you may:

• File an insurance claim with the at-fault driver, as California uses a fault-based auto insurance framework
• Sue the at-fault motorist and any other party who contributed to the accident

Our lawyers know that drivers are most often responsible for traffic accidents. If a taxi driver or another motorist is responsible for your injuries and resulting damages,  Legal Fighters will draw up a personalized strategy to hold that party accountable.

The City of Los Angeles

It’s common to hear gripes about the quality of the roadways in Los Angeles. When poor driving conditions lead to accidents involving taxis, the City of Los Angeles may be liable for damages.

Some hazards for which the city can be responsible include:

• Potholes, cracks, uneven asphalt, and other flaws in the roadway
• A lack of adequate traffic signals
• Defective traffic lights
• Lack of lighting along roadways
• Work zones that contribute to taxi accidents

If you and our team decide that suing a public entity is the right strategy for your case, we may face an unusually short timeline for filing the suit—this is generally the case for lawsuits against governmental agencies. This potentially short filing window is reason to speak with Legal Fighters as soon as possible.

Liable Insurance Companies

California law requires taxi companies and other passenger carriers to maintain auto insurance at all times. Required forms of coverage for taxi companies include both liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance, which is relevant to both cab drivers and others who may suffer injuries in an accident.

It’s also true that non-professional motorists in California, including the City of Los Angeles, also tend to have insurance coverage that applies to traffic accidents. There is a significant likelihood that your Los Angeles taxi cab accident attorney will seek compensation from at least one insurance provider.