Were you injured in an Uber or Lyft accident in Kansas City? Rideshare crashes create problems that ordinary car accidents do not, because multiple insurance policies overlap, the responsible parties are harder to identify, and Kansas has its own set of rideshare insurance rules that most people have never heard of. At Bretz Injury Law, our Kansas City rideshare accident lawyers understand how the Kansas Transportation Network Company Services Act applies to your claim and know how to identify every available source of compensation.
With over 30 years of experience handling personal injury cases across Kansas, attorney Matthew Bretz and his team will review the facts of your accident and determine which insurance policies cover your injuries. From there, we fight for the full amount you are owed. Call (913) 361-5510 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Through Personal Loss And Experience, We’ve Learned What Matters Most. Helping Families Find Their Way Forward
Bretz Injury Law represents passengers, drivers, and bystanders who have been injured in rideshare accidents throughout Kansas City, KS and the surrounding areas of Wyandotte County. Rideshare usage across the Kansas City metro continues to grow, particularly along airport corridors, late-night entertainment routes, and the high-traffic stretches that connect downtown Kansas City with the suburbs of Overland Park, Olathe, and Lenexa.
That growth has brought a sharp increase in accidents involving Uber and Lyft vehicles. Nationally, insurance disputes play a role in roughly 40% of all rideshare accident claims, and the layered coverage structure under Kansas law makes it even harder for victims to figure out who owes them what. Without an attorney who understands how TNC insurance policies work in Kansas, you risk leaving money on the table or having your claim denied entirely.
Our Kansas City office handles rideshare injury claims across Johnson, Wyandotte, and Shawnee counties. If you or someone in your family was hurt in a rideshare accident, we are prepared to review your case at no cost.
Most rideshare accident victims have no way of knowing which insurance policy applies to their situation or how to file against it. Uber and Lyft both carry tiered insurance coverage, and the companies behind those policies are not going to walk you through your options.
What they will do is move quickly. Adjusters often reach out within days of an accident with a recorded statement request or a fast, low settlement offer designed to close your claim before you understand what it is actually worth. Once you accept that offer or say the wrong thing on a recorded call, you cannot go back.
We understand how overwhelming it feels to deal with insurance companies and legal questions while you are still recovering from your injuries. You should not have to figure this out on your own. That is exactly why our firm exists. An attorney at Bretz Injury Law will sort through the insurance layers on your behalf and handle all communication with the adjusters. Every claim gets filed against every responsible party so that nothing falls through the cracks.
You do not have to be a passenger to file a rideshare accident claim in Kansas City. If you were riding as a passenger in an Uber or Lyft when the crash happened, your injury claim is backed by the strongest insurance coverage available under Kansas law, including the $1 million policy that applies during active trips. Rideshare drivers injured by another motorist while logged into the app also have the right to file a claim, though the coverage rules are different depending on whether you had accepted a ride request at the time.
Pedestrians and cyclists struck by an Uber or Lyft vehicle can also pursue compensation through the TNC’s insurance policy, and other motorists who were hit by a rideshare driver have the same right. If someone you loved was killed in a rideshare accident caused by another party’s negligence, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of your family. Every one of these case types involves its own set of insurance and liability questions, and our attorneys will walk you through exactly how your claim works.
Kansas has its own statute governing rideshare insurance, and it works differently from Missouri’s. The Kansas Transportation Network Company Services Act, codified at K.S.A. 8-2701 et seq., sets specific insurance requirements for every Uber and Lyft vehicle operating in the state. These requirements change based on what the driver was doing in the app at the time of the accident, creating a tiered coverage system that directly controls how much insurance money is available for your claim.
Kansas also follows a modified comparative fault rule under K.S.A. 60-258a, which means your total recovery will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you. If you are found to be 50% or more responsible for the accident, Kansas law bars you from recovering any compensation at all. Getting these rules right can determine whether your rideshare accident claim in Kansas succeeds or fails.
K.S.A. 8-2708 divides rideshare insurance into tiers based on the driver’s status in the app. During Period 1, when the driver has the app turned on but has not yet accepted a ride request, the minimum coverage is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.
Once the driver accepts a ride or picks up a passenger, Periods 2 and 3 require $1,000,000 in combined coverage for death, bodily injury, and property damage. This coverage can be carried by the driver, by Uber or Lyft directly, or by a combination of both, and if the driver’s own policy lapses, the TNC’s insurance responds from the first dollar.
Period 1 is where most rideshare accident victims run into trouble. During this window, the driver is logged into the Uber or Lyft app and waiting for a ride request, but no trip has been accepted yet. The TNC coverage available is limited to the $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 minimums, which may not come close to covering serious injuries. At the same time, the driver’s personal auto policy may not cover them at all during Period 1. Most Kansas rideshare accident victims never see this coverage gap coming, and it catches more people off guard than any other part of the insurance process.
Under K.S.A. 8-2710, Kansas personal auto insurers are permitted to exclude all coverage while a driver is logged on to a TNC’s digital network. That exclusion can apply to liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision. If your insurer has written this exclusion into your policy, your personal coverage disappears the moment you open the Uber or Lyft app.
Insurers who exclude coverage under this statute have no duty to defend or pay any claim that falls within the exclusion. However, the law does require both the TNC and its insurers to cooperate during a claims investigation by sharing the driver’s exact app log-on and log-off times in the 12 hours before and after the accident.
Rideshare accidents often involve more than one liable party, and each one brings a separate insurance policy into play. Who pays for your injuries depends on what the driver was doing in the app at the time of the crash and whether another motorist contributed. Kansas law then assigns fault among everyone involved. Under K.S.A. 8-2702, Uber and Lyft drivers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Both companies use that label to limit their direct liability, but it does not eliminate their insurance obligations under Kansas law.
The TNC’s commercial insurance still applies when the driver is active on the platform. Your attorney’s job is to investigate the crash and hold every responsible party accountable. In many rideshare cases, that means filing claims against more than one insurer at the same time.
If the Uber or Lyft driver’s negligence caused your accident, they may be held personally liable for your injuries. Common causes include distracted driving, speeding, running red lights, fatigue from long shifts, and unfamiliarity with local roads and intersections. According to 2025 industry data, driver error accounts for 76% of all rideshare accidents nationwide.
When the driver was logged off the app at the time of the crash, their personal auto insurance is the only policy in play. If they were logged on, the TNC’s coverage applies based on which period they were in, and your attorney can use the app’s trip data to confirm the driver’s exact status.
Both Uber and Lyft carry commercial insurance policies that cover accidents involving their drivers, and those policies are required by Kansas law regardless of how each company classifies its workforce. Coverage limits increase substantially once a ride has been accepted or a passenger is in the vehicle, as outlined in K.S.A. 8-2708. Any TNC operating in Kansas must maintain insurance that meets the state’s minimum requirements for each period, and if the driver’s own coverage falls short, the TNC’s policy fills the gap.
In many rideshare accidents, someone other than the Uber or Lyft driver caused the crash. A distracted motorist, a speeding delivery truck, or a driver who ran a stop sign may bear full or partial responsibility for your injuries. When a third-party driver is at fault, both their personal auto insurance and the TNC’s commercial policy may apply to your claim, which can significantly increase the total pool of available coverage.
Government entities may also share liability if poorly maintained roads, malfunctioning traffic signals, or dangerous intersection design contributed to the accident. In rarer cases, a vehicle manufacturer can be held responsible if a defective part caused or worsened the collision.
The steps you take in the hours and days after a rideshare accident can shape the outcome of your entire claim. Call 911 and seek medical attention as soon as possible, even if you feel fine at the scene. Some injuries, including concussions and internal bleeding, do not produce obvious symptoms right away, and a gap between the accident date and your first medical visit gives the insurance company a reason to argue that your injuries came from something else.
While you are still at the scene, open your Uber or Lyft app and screenshot your trip receipt and ride details. This screenshot can make or break your claim because it proves you were on an active trip and establishes which insurance period applies. Take photos of all vehicles involved, the road conditions, and any visible injuries, and collect contact information from witnesses if you are able to.
Report the accident through the Uber or Lyft app, but do not accept any in-app settlement offer and do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that minimize your claim, and anything you say in a recorded statement can be used against you later. Contact a Kansas City rideshare accident attorney before you engage with any insurer so that your words and your rights are protected from the start.
If you were hurt in an Uber or Lyft accident, you have the right to pursue both economic and non-economic damages under Kansas law. Economic damages cover the financial losses you can put a number on, including medical bills, ambulance and emergency room costs, follow-up treatment, physical therapy, prescription medications, and any future care your doctors say you will need. If your injuries kept you from working or reduced your ability to earn a living going forward, you can also seek compensation for lost wages and diminished earning capacity.
The pain and disruption that follow a rideshare accident reach far beyond what shows up on a hospital bill. You may be dealing with chronic pain, anxiety about riding in a car again, sleepless nights, and the frustration of watching your daily life shrink around an injury you did nothing to cause. Kansas law recognizes these non-economic losses as real and compensable, and your attorney will build this portion of your claim using medical records, personal documentation, and testimony from the people closest to you.
In cases involving an active ride, the TNC’s $1 million commercial policy means there may be substantial insurance funds available to cover your damages. Uber and Lyft fight aggressively to minimize what they pay out on these policies. An attorney who knows how to pressure a TNC insurer into a fair offer matters just as much as having the coverage itself.
Under K.S.A. 60-513, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Kansas is two years from the date of your injury. If your rideshare accident happened on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro, the deadline is five years under Missouri law, so the state where the crash occurred directly affects how much time you have. Regardless of which deadline applies, evidence fades quickly after an accident. App data can be deleted, dashcam footage gets overwritten, and witnesses forget what they saw. The sooner you contact a rideshare accident attorney, the stronger your case will be.
For over 30 years, attorney Matthew Bretz has been fighting for injured Kansans and holding negligent parties accountable. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means you owe us nothing unless we recover compensation for you. We prepare every case as though it is going to trial, and that preparation gives our clients stronger positions at the settlement table.
If you or someone in your family was injured in an Uber or Lyft accident in Kansas City, call (913) 361-5510 today for a free consultation. Do not try to sort out the insurance maze alone. We are here to help.
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