At The Arndt Law Firm, we understand how confusing and stressful a rideshare accident can be. Summerville’s rapid growth, busy roads, and thriving rideshare market mean that crashes involving Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies are increasingly common, and often more complex than other car accidents.
Our team is experienced in handling the insurance and liability puzzles that rideshare cases bring. We know that the coverage available to you depends on what the rideshare driver was doing at the exact moment of the crash, and we work to quickly pinpoint the driver’s status, secure the records, and make sure the right insurance policy responds to your injuries.
Whether you were hurt as a rideshare passenger, another driver, or a pedestrian, we’re here to stand up for you. We take on the insurance companies and transportation networks so you can focus on your recovery, not on complicated coverage rules.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a rideshare accident in Summerville or the Lowcountry, reach out for a free consultation. You can learn more about our approach and experience by visiting our site or contacting us directly; we’re ready to help you move forward.
Rideshare accidents follow the same fault principles as other car crashes. Still, they add a layer of complexity that ordinary crashes do not: a commercial transportation network company and its insurance stand behind the driver, and the coverage available depends on the driver's 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 sit 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.
Understanding this phase structure is central to a rideshare claim, because it determines which insurance applies and how much coverage is available. An injured person, 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. The phase analysis is the defining feature of a rideshare case, and getting it right is essential to reaching the available 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 vehicle for personal reasons, only the driver's personal auto insurance is in effect, similar to any other driver. This is why the driver's personal policy may often be insufficient. South Carolina explicitly allows personal insurers to exclude coverage, such as liability, uninsured and underinsured motorist, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision, for any loss occurring while the driver is logged onto the app, and insurers with such exclusions have no duty to defend. Usually, the rideshare company’s coverage is the only available protection.
Once the driver activates the app and is available to accept rides but has not yet accepted, South Carolina mandates primary coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, plus $50,000 for property damage and uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage is dominant and must respond first, regardless of the driver's personal policy status. If the driver's own policy lapses or excludes rideshare use, the rideshare insurer must cover from the first dollar and defend the claim.
When a driver accepts a ride request and is en route or with a passenger, the rideshare company's full commercial coverage kicks in, providing up to $1 million in liability coverage. This substantial coverage benefits passengers injured during a trip or other parties injured in a crash caused by a driver with a passenger or en route to one. The transition between phases can be stark; a waiting driver only has contingent coverage, but once a ride is accepted, the full $1 million policy applies. Identifying which phase was active at the time of a crash is a key issue in rideshare cases.
A rideshare crash can injure several categories of people, and each has a path to recovery, A rideshare crash can injure several categories of people, and each has a path to recovery. However, the available coverage depends on the circumstances. Passengers in the rideshare vehicle are often the most straightforward, because a passenger is rarely at fault for a crash. When the driver was carrying them, the company's full commercial coverage generally applies. 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 phase 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 injured person's own coverage come into play, much as in any car accident.
South Carolina requires uninsured motorist coverage on the rideshare policy in both phases, while the driver is logged on and waiting, and while a ride is underway. A passenger or other person hurt by a driver who carries no insurance is therefore not left without a source of recovery. Underinsured motorist coverage, which fills the gap when the at-fault driver carries too little, must be offered but is optional, so whether it applies depends on the policy.
Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a rideshare driver form a third group, and their recovery similarly depends on the driver's phase and fault. In each case, the analysis combines the ordinary questions of fault with the rideshare-specific question of which coverage applies. Identifying every responsible party and every applicable policy, including the rideshare company's coverage at the relevant phase, is what allows an injured person to reach the resources available, and it is a central task in any rideshare case.
South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule governs rideshare crashes, allowing an injured person 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. That rule comes from the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision in Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243 (1991), not from a statute. A separate statute, the South Carolina Comparative Fault Statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-38-15 (2023), governs how fault is divided among multiple defendants once liability is established.
For a rideshare passenger, fault is usually not at issue, since 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 more contested, with the responsible party's insurer arguing that the injured person shared fault, as in any car accident.
The added complexity in a rideshare case is that the fault analysis intersects with the phase analysis. Establishing that the rideshare driver was at fault is necessary to reach the rideshare company's coverage, and establishing which phase the driver was in determines how much of that coverage is available. The two analyses work together, and building the evidence that establishes both the rideshare driver's responsibility and their status at the time of the crash is central to the claim.
Because the available coverage turns on the driver's phase at the moment of the crash, establishing that status is one of the most important tasks in a rideshare case. South Carolina does not leave that data entirely in the company's hands. State law requires the rideshare company and the insurers to cooperate in a claims investigation and to disclose the precise times the driver logged on and off the app in the twelve hours before and the twelve hours after the crash.
The driver is separately required to state at the scene, on request, whether he was logged on or on a prearranged ride, and to produce proof of the coverage that applies. 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 company's app data, including timestamps and trip records, provides objective evidence of the driver's status, and securing it is important to 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 contingent coverage.
The precise timestamps in the company's records are often what resolves a contested phase question. Because a crash that occurs seconds before or after a driver accepts a ride can fall under very different coverage, the exact moment the driver accepted the request, as recorded by the app, can be decisive, and the company's data carries that information with a precision that memory cannot match.
This is why a prompt, well-framed request for the company's records matters so much, since the data establishes the phase objectively rather than leaving it to competing accounts. An injured person who secures this evidence early is in a far stronger position to establish that the more substantial commercial coverage applied, rather than accepting the company's characterization of the driver as having been in a lower-coverage phase. The phase question is not a technicality but frequently the single factor that determines how much coverage is available to address a serious injury.
In 2025, South Carolina recorded 136,044 collisions, 946 fatalities, and 48,685 injuries. In the Summerville area that year, Dorchester County recorded 84 fatal and serious-injury crashes, and Charleston County recorded 304.
Rideshare use is common in the Summerville area, shaped by the area's growth and its place in the Charleston metro. Charleston International Airport in North Charleston is a frequent rideshare destination, reached from Summerville by way of Interstate 26, and travelers heading to or from the airport by rideshare face the same phase and coverage questions as any other rideshare passenger. A traveler injured in a rideshare on that route has the full rideshare analysis to navigate.
Rideshare trips in the Summerville area run out along I-26 toward North Charleston and the airport, and along US-17A and US-78 through the older commercial corridors. SCDOT's ongoing I-26 improvements between Summerville and Ridgeville add lane shifts and merging traffic to a corridor already carrying heavy commuter and truck volume.
The mix of heavy traffic and the general congestion of a fast-growing area creates conditions where rideshare crashes occur, and the resulting claims turn on the same analysis of fault and phase that governs rideshare cases everywhere.
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 critically injured in the Summerville area are taken to HCA Healthcare Trident Hospital (formerly Trident Medical Center) in North Charleston, the area's Level II trauma center, with the most catastrophic cases going to MUSC in Charleston, the only Level I trauma center serving the Lowcountry.
South Carolina law allows recovery for the full range of harm a rideshare crash causes. 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.
Where the at-fault driver's conduct went beyond carelessness, driving while impaired, for instance, South Carolina also allows punitive damages, proved by clear and convincing evidence. They are generally capped at the greater of three times the compensatory award or $500,000, but that cap does not apply where the defendant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.
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. This makes the phase determination especially consequential, since access to the commercial coverage can mean the difference between a recovery that addresses the full harm and one constrained by inadequate limits. Where a crash is fatal, South Carolina's wrongful death and survival statutes allow the family and estate to recover.
The steps taken after a rideshare crash protect both health and the claim, and some are specific to the rideshare context. The first priority is medical care, and accepting evaluation matters even when injuries seem minor, both for health and to create the record that connects the injury to the crash. A rideshare passenger should seek treatment just as the occupant of any vehicle would.
Documenting the rideshare details is especially important because of the phase and coverage questions. 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 fix the driver's phase. 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, and ensuring law enforcement responds creates an official record.
In the days that follow, preserving evidence and being cautious with insurers protects the claim. The app data that fixes the driver's phase is held by the company, so acting to obtain it is important, and keeping all medical records and documentation builds the damages case. Because more than one insurer may be involved, including the rideshare company's, being careful about giving recorded statements before understanding the claim is wise. Seeking advice early helps secure the phase evidence that determines coverage.
| Rideshare phase | Coverage that applies |
| App off (personal use) | Driver's personal auto insurance only |
| App on, awaiting a request | Contingent coverage above state minimum |
| Ride accepted or passenger aboard | Company's full commercial coverage (At least $1M primary, not "up to $1M) |
It depends on who was at fault and, for the rideshare driver, what phase they were in. When 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, South Carolina requires primary coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, plus $50,000 in property damage and uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage is primary and does not depend on the driver's personal insurer denying the claim first. The TNC's insurer must respond from the first dollar if the driver's own policy does not apply.
Generally, three years from the crash date, South Carolina's Statute of Limitations, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5) (2023), applies. A wrongful death claim must be filed within three years of death, not the crash. If the injured person is a minor, the deadline is tolled during minority. For government entities, city, county, state vehicle, or public employee, the deadline is two years unless a verified claim is filed within one year, extending it to three (South Carolina Tort Claims Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-110 (2023)). Recovery against the government is capped at $300,000 per person, $600,000 per occurrence, with no punitive damages (South Carolina Tort Claims Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-120 (2023)).
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.
The Arndt Law Firm approaches every Summerville rideshare case by establishing the driver's phase at the moment of the crash, obtaining the company's app data that determines which coverage applies, proving fault, and identifying every responsible party and policy to reach the available coverage. Because attorney Arndt previously defended insurers, the firm understands how these claims are evaluated and how the phase determination affects coverage, and it builds each case to reach the full recovery a serious injury requires.
If you were injured in a rideshare crash in Summerville or anywhere in the tri-county Lowcountry, whether as a passenger, another driver, or a pedestrian, acting early helps secure the app data and evidence that establish the driver's status and the coverage available. The consultation is free, rideshare accident cases are handled on a contingency basis with no fee unless there is a recovery, and the records that determine coverage are most readily obtained early. Reach out through our contact page to discuss what happened, and see how these rules apply across the state on our South Carolina rideshare accident page.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This page was reviewed by Jonathan S. Arndt, licensed in South Carolina since 2018.
Content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
