Citrus Heights, CA — An early-morning car accident with the popular “urban taxi” service, Lyft, has killed a young man from West Sacramento. Police have confirmed that Shane Holland, 24, was killed early Saturday morning (November 1, 2014) after the Lyft vehicle he was riding in crashed on I-80.
It happened around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, near Riverside Avenue on I-80. 31-year old Lyft driver Shanti Adhikari was driving his Toyota Camry along westbound I-80 that morning with Shane Holland as a passenger.
As the Lyft driver near Riverside Ave, he came upon a Kia that had stalled in the middle of the road. It was raining hard that morning, and when Adhikari tried to swerve, he lost control of his Toyota and swerved off I-80, hitting two trees.
The accident killed Shane Holland and left Shanti Adhikari injured. Police said that the disabled Kia had been involved in a hit-and-run accident
So far, Lyft hasn’t made any kind of statement yet, but many people are speculating as to whose insurance policy will cover the wreck.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
As I understand it, Lyft has only recently started using its liability insurance coverage (which is allegedly $1 million) as primary coverage. Before, it was considered “Under-insured coverage” or “uninsured coverage.” That means that if a Lyft driver is in an accident with someone and the driver’s personal insurance policy wasn’t enough to cover the wreck, then Lyft’s excess coverage would step in and take care of the rest. Similarly, if the accident is caused by another driver, the Lyft policy takes over after that driver’s insurance is exhausted.
I don’t know about you, but making your employees use their own insurance to cover accidents seems pretty shady to me. If a company like Lyft isn’t willing to go to bat for their employees when accidents happen, then what gives us any assurance that they’ll do the right thing here and make sure their policy covers this accident? I could be wrong and Lyft could be falling all over themselves to make this right, but if I had to guess, I’d bet they’re going to try and blame at least part of the accident on that disabled car on the interstate.
At the end of the day, if a company can reduce their expenses (especially when it comes to insurance policies), then they’ll do it every time. It’s sad when a company built on the idea of personal service takes a very impersonal stance when it comes to helping accident victims, but that’s the world we live in. Now, I’m speaking in generalities, of course. Lyft might be a wonderful company and, as you’re reading this, they’re already on their way to make sure everything is okay with the victim’s family. But my experience in this industry tells me that’s not the case.
Any attorney worth their salt will tell you that the best place to begin is with a solid invitation, and that’s exactly right.
— Grossman Law Offices
