If you need to go back home at night from Congaree Vista to Ravenwood after having a couple of drinks, a rideshare is the best option. However, they are not immune to accidents.
A crash involving an Uber or Lyft raises an insurance question that an ordinary car wreck does not: which policy covers the harm depends on what the rideshare driver was doing at the moment of the crash.
If you were in a crash involving a rideshare car, South Carolina law lets you recover from those at fault, as long as you were 50 percent or less at fault. However, the key to a full recovery is knowing which coverage applies.
The Arndt Law Firm represents people injured in rideshare crashes across Columbia and Richland County, whether passengers, other drivers, or pedestrians. If you wonder whether you are owed compensation, contact us.
Rideshare accidents follow the same fault principles as other car crashes, but they add a layer of complexity that ordinary crashes do not: the presence of a commercial transportation network company and its insurance. And, more importantly, the available coverage depends on the driver's app status at the time.
Companies like Uber and Lyft connect drivers and passengers through an app, and the drivers use their own personal vehicles, which sits awkwardly between personal and commercial insurance.
This creates a situation where the same driver in the same car may be covered by very different insurance depending on what they were doing when a crash occurred.
A driver who was not using the app at all is in a different position than one who was waiting for a ride request, who is in turn different from one who was on the way to pick up a passenger or had a passenger in the car. South Carolina law, like that of other states, addresses these situations through a system of insurance phases tied to the driver's status.
This phase structure determines which insurance applies and how much coverage is available, so understanding it is central to a rideshare claim. A victim, whether a passenger, another driver, or a pedestrian, needs to know which phase the rideshare driver was in to identify the coverage that responds to their claim.
Another factor that distinguishes rideshare collisions from ordinary crashes is the amount of digital evidence generated before, during, and after a trip. Traditional motor vehicle accidents often rely on witness statements, police reports, and physical evidence from the scene.
Rideshare trips, by contrast, create electronic records documenting driver activity, route information, trip acceptance times, GPS locations, and communications conducted through the platform.
These records can help reconstruct the circumstances surrounding a collision. Location data may show where the driver was traveling immediately before the crash, how long the trip had been active, and whether the driver was engaged in a pickup or drop-off.
In some situations, app records may help clarify disputes about timing, location, or the driver's status when other evidence is incomplete.
The technology that makes rideshare services convenient for passengers also creates a detailed record of the trip itself. Early efforts to identify and preserve electronic evidence can play a significant role in establishing both liability and available insurance coverage.
South Carolina regulates transportation network companies under Title 58 of the state code, which sets the insurance requirements that apply at each phase of a rideshare driver's activity. These phases determine which policy, the driver's personal insurance or the company's coverage, applies to a crash, and the differences are substantial.
When the app is off, and the driver is using the car for personal purposes, only the driver's personal auto insurance applies, just as for any other driver.
When a driver is logged onto the app but has not accepted a ride, South Carolina requires primary liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage, plus uninsured motorist coverage.
This is the phase where coverage is most limited, and disputes about which policy responds are most common.
The coverage increases substantially once a driver accepts a ride. From the moment the driver accepts a ride request and is on the way to pick up the passenger, and continuing while the passenger is in the vehicle, the rideshare company's full commercial coverage applies, providing one million dollars in liability coverage.
This means a passenger injured during a trip, or another person injured in a crash caused by a driver who was carrying or en route to a passenger, generally has access to substantial coverage. Determining which phase applied at the moment of the crash is therefore the threshold question in a rideshare case.
The gap between the phases can be dramatic in terms of available coverage. A driver waiting for a request carries only the primary coverage of 50/100/50, which, while above the state minimum, is far below the commercial level, whereas the same driver, moments later, having accepted a request, falls under the full one million dollar policy.
A crash that occurs seconds before or after a driver accepts a ride can therefore fall under very different coverage, which is exactly why the company's app data, with its precise timestamps, is so important to establishing which phase applied.
The difference is not a technicality but usually the single factor that determines whether substantial coverage is available to address a serious injury.
A rideshare crash can injure several categories of people, and each has a path to recovery, though the available coverage depends on the circumstances.
The straightforward answer to who can recover is the passengers in the rideshare vehicle because they are seldom at fault for a crash. If the driver was carrying them, the company's full commercial coverage generally applies.
Rideshare collisions may also affect individuals who never entered the rideshare vehicle. Occupants of other cars, motorcycle riders, bicyclists, delivery drivers, and pedestrians can all suffer injuries resulting from the actions of a rideshare driver.
In busy urban environments like Columbia, rideshare vehicles frequently make sudden stops, pull toward curbs for pickups, enter unfamiliar areas, or navigate congested traffic patterns, creating risks that extend beyond their passengers.
A passenger injured in a rideshare crash can typically pursue a claim against whichever driver was at fault, with the substantial coverage that the passenger-carrying app status provides.
People in other vehicles struck by a rideshare driver form a second group. If the rideshare driver was at fault, the available coverage depends on the phase the driver was in, ranging from personal insurance when the app was off to full commercial coverage when carrying or en route to a passenger.
If another driver was at fault, that driver's insurance and the victim's own coverage come into play, much as in any car accident.
Because rideshare vehicles operate throughout the day and often in areas with significant pedestrian activity, claims arising from these collisions frequently involve a broader range of injured parties than many traditional traffic accidents.
The recovery of pedestrians and cyclists struck by a rideshare driver similarly depends on the driver's app status and fault. In each case, the analysis combines the ordinary questions of fault with the rideshare-specific question of which coverage applies.
What allows a victim to reach the resources available is identifying every responsible party and every applicable policy, including the rideshare company's coverage at the relevant phase; it is a central task in any rideshare case.
What unites all of these groups is that the rideshare layer adds a question no ordinary crash presents, and answering it correctly is what determines whether the substantial commercial coverage is within reach.
South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule governs rideshare crashes, allowing a victim to recover as long as they were 50 percent or less at fault, reducing the recovery by their percentage, and barring it at 51 percent or more, under Nelson v. Concrete Supply Company (1991).
Fault in a rideshare crash is determined the same way as in any other crash, by examining how the collision happened and who was responsible.
For a rideshare passenger, fault is usually not an issue: a passenger rarely contributes to a crash, which makes the passenger's claim primarily a question of which driver was responsible and which coverage applies.
For other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists involved in a rideshare crash, the fault analysis can be contested, with the responsible party's insurer arguing that the victim shared fault, as in any car accident.
The main way of determining fault, as with any case, is through evidence. The security footage of a Five Points business or witnesses standing at the intersection of Gervais and Harden Streets can help determine who holds responsibility for a crash.
Under South Carolina law, you may be owed compensation for an injury even if you are partially at fault. For that, you should be less than 51 percent at fault, and your recovery is reduced according to your share of blame.
Because the available coverage turns on the driver's app status at the moment of the crash, establishing that status is one of the most important tasks in a rideshare case.
The rideshare company holds the records that show whether the driver was logged into the app, whether they had accepted a ride, and whether a passenger was in the vehicle, and these records are essential to determining which coverage applies. Obtaining them is a key step in the investigation.
This information is largely controlled by the rideshare company, which has an interest in the phase determination because it affects which coverage, and how much, applies.
A driver who was between rides may be characterized in a way that minimizes the company's exposure, and the line between phases can be disputed, such as exactly when a driver had accepted a ride.
The timing of a rideshare trip can also become important when a collision occurs near a pickup or drop-off location.
Questions sometimes arise regarding whether a passenger had officially entered the vehicle, whether the trip had ended, or whether a new ride request had already been accepted. Even relatively short periods of time can affect which insurance coverage applies.
The company's app data, including timestamps and trip records, provides objective evidence of the driver's status, and securing it is important for establishing the correct phase.
Because this evidence is held by the company and the phase determination affects the coverage, acting to obtain the relevant records early is part of building a rideshare claim.
The driver's own account, the passenger's recollection, and the company's data together establish what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash. Getting the phase determination right is essential because it can mean the difference between access to substantial commercial coverage and a dispute over limited primary coverage.
Rideshare crashes cause the same range of injuries as other car accidents, from soft-tissue injuries and fractures to traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other catastrophic harm, depending on the severity of the collision.
A passenger in a rideshare vehicle, often seated in the back and perhaps not anticipating a crash, can be seriously injured, and the most critically injured in the Columbia area are taken to Prisma Health Richland Hospital, the Midlands' only Level I trauma center.
South Carolina law allows recovery for the full range of harm a rideshare crash causes, both in economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages cover medical expenses from emergency care through future treatment, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity, and non-economic damages compensate for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
For a serious injury, the future medical and lost-earning components are often substantial, and capturing them fully requires looking beyond the bills already received.
The advantage in many rideshare cases is that the company's commercial coverage, when it applies, provides substantial limits that can address a serious injury more fully than the minimum coverage many individual drivers carry.
Where a crash is fatal, South Carolina's wrongful death and survival statutes allow the family and estate to recover.
Recovery from a serious collision often extends well beyond emergency treatment. Physical therapy, diagnostic testing, pain management, occupational therapy, and follow-up medical appointments may continue for months or even years after the crash.
For some individuals, injuries interfere with employment, education, caregiving responsibilities, or other aspects of daily life long after the vehicles have been repaired.
Evaluating damages, therefore, involves considering not only the immediate costs generated by the collision but also the longer-term consequences of the injury.
A complete assessment should account for future treatment needs, limitations caused by permanent injuries, and the broader impact the crash has on the person's ability to work and participate in ordinary activities.
Rideshare use is widespread in Columbia, shaped by the city's role as a capital and university town, and there are many places and situations in which a rideshare crash might occur.
Columbia Metropolitan Airport in West Columbia generates steady rideshare traffic, with drivers picking up and dropping off travelers, and the trips to and from the airport run along the interstates and connecting roads where crashes can happen.
A traveler injured in a rideshare on the way to or from the airport faces the same phase and coverage questions as any other rideshare passenger.
The downtown entertainment districts are another center of rideshare activity. Five Points and the Vista draw people who use rideshare to avoid driving after an evening out, and the pickups and drop-offs cluster in these areas, particularly at night and on weekends.
University of South Carolina events, including football weekends, add to the rideshare volume. The mix of heavy nighttime traffic, busy pickup zones, and the general congestion of a growing metro creates conditions where rideshare crashes occur, and the resulting claims turn on the same analysis of fault and phase that governs rideshare cases everywhere.
The roadway environment in and around Columbia also contributes to the conditions under which rideshare collisions occur. One of the most significant transportation projects in South Carolina is the Carolina Crossroads Project, administered by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
According to SCDOT, the project involves major improvements to the I-20, I-26, and I-126 interchange system in the Columbia region.
Construction activity, lane shifts, changing traffic patterns, and heavy vehicle volume can increase the complexity of driving conditions and may become relevant when investigating how a collision occurred.
The steps you take after a rideshare crash should be to protect both your health and the claim.
Your main priority is medical care, not only because it protects your health, but also because it creates a record that connects the injury to the crash. Even when injuries seem minor, you should seek medical attention. A rideshare passenger should get treatment just as the occupant of any vehicle would.
Then document the rideshare details; it is especially important because of the phase and coverage questions discussed previously.
If you are able, save the trip information in the app, including the driver's identity and the trip record, which establishes that a trip was underway and helps pin down the driver's app status.
Screenshots of the trip, the receipt, and the driver's information preserve this evidence.
Photographs of the vehicles and the scene, and the names of witnesses, document the crash as in any collision.
Contact the Columbia Police Department so that they can create an official record.
In the days that follow, preserve evidence and be cautious with insurers to protect the claim. The app data that fixes the driver's phase is held by the company, so prompt action to obtain it is important. Also, keeping all medical records and documentation helps build the damages case.
| Rideshare phase | Coverage that applies |
| App off (personal use) | Driver's personal auto insurance only |
| App on, awaiting a request | Primary coverage above state minimum |
| Ride accepted or passenger aboard | At least $1,000,000 combined for death, bodily injury and property damage (under South Carolina Code section 58-23-1630). |
It depends on who was at fault and, for the rideshare driver, what phase they were in. If a driver was carrying or en route to a passenger, the company's full commercial coverage generally applies.
Usually yes. A passenger is rarely at fault, and when the rideshare driver was carrying you, substantial commercial coverage generally applies. You can pursue a claim against whichever driver was responsible.
If the driver had the app on but had not accepted a ride, a primary level of company coverage applies, above the state minimum but below the full commercial level. The exact phase matters to the coverage.
Three years from the date of the crash under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5). A shorter deadline may apply if a government entity is responsible for the crash.
Yes, as long as you were 50 percent or less at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and barred entirely at 51 percent or more.
At the Arndt Law Firm, we approach Columbia rideshare cases by establishing the driver's app status at the moment of the crash, determining which coverage applies, proving fault, and identifying every responsible party and policy to reach coverage that matches the injury.
Attorney Arndt previously defended insurers, so we understand how these claims are evaluated and how insurers work; we build each case to reach the full recovery that a serious injury requires.
If you were injured in a rideshare crash in Columbia or Richland County, whether as a passenger, another driver, or a pedestrian, time is of the essence. Contact us or call (843) 493-4590 for a free consultation; we handle these cases on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This page was reviewed by Jonathan S. Arndt, licensed in South Carolina since 2018.
