Hackensack Lyft Accident Lawyer | Free 24/7

A Hackensack office, a short walk from the courthouse

Dennis meets Hackensack clients at the Einhorn Barbarito office at 21 Main Street, Suite 100, Hackensack, NJ 07601. Bergen County civil cases are heard in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Bergen County, at the Bergen County Justice Center at 10 Main Street, Hackensack, the same street as our office. If you can't travel after a crash, Dennis can come to your home or your hospital room instead, or meet by phone or video.

If a lawsuit is needed, it can generally be filed in Bergen County when the crash happened here (Rule 4:3-2). Local knowledge matters in practical ways: how the courthouse schedules motions, how local police write reports, and which treating doctors and hospitals your records will come from.

Where Lyft crashes happen in Hackensack

Hackensack is the Bergen County seat and home to Hackensack University Medical Center, so Lyft drivers are constantly dropping off patients, visitors, jurors and county workers. Add the shopping traffic and the fast highways around the city, and many crashes happen at pickups and drop-offs: a driver stops short at an entrance, pulls away from the curb into traffic, makes a sudden U-turn to reach a rider, or glances at the app instead of the road.

Busy places for rideshare traffic in and around Hackensack include:

• Main Street downtown and the Bergen County Justice Center at 10 Main Street
• Prospect Avenue at Hackensack University Medical Center (30 Prospect Avenue), a Level I trauma center
• Hackensack Avenue and Route 4 at The Shops at Riverside
• Essex Street and River Street
• Route 17, which splits around I-80 as it passes through the south end of the city
• I-80 and its local and express lanes through Hackensack
• The Hackensack Bus Terminal on River Street and the Essex Street and Anderson Street train stations on NJ Transit's Pascack Valley Line

Who writes the crash report

A crash on Hackensack city streets is usually reported by the Hackensack Police Department, 225 State Street, on the standard New Jersey crash report (form NJTR-1). The department's website points to LexisNexis BuyCrash for online copies, copies can be picked up at the Community Access Center on the first floor of police headquarters, and the Records and Evidence Management Unit answers report questions at (201) 646-7725 or records@hackensackpd.org. A crash on I-80 may be handled by the New Jersey State Police instead, and that report comes from the state crash report portal. Get the report number at the scene. The report lists both drivers' insurance codes, the officer's view of what caused the crash and any injuries noted at the scene, so check it for mistakes and ask us about correcting them.

Screenshot the ride in the Lyft app (driver name, car, plate, time, route and receipt) before it scrolls out of your trip history. If you were not a passenger, write down the car's plate and look for the Lyft sign in the windshield, because that is often the first clue that rideshare coverage applies.

How rideshare insurance works in New Jersey

New Jersey's Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-1 and following) sets the insurance that must be in place for Uber and Lyft trips. The coverage changes with what the driver's app showed at the moment of the crash, so the first thing we pin down in every case is the app status, using trip records, the driver's phone data and the company's own logs.

• App off: the driver is just a private motorist. The driver's own personal auto policy is the place to start, and the rideshare company's policy usually does not apply.
• App on and waiting for a ride request: the law requires liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per crash and $25,000 for property damage (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10). This is often where insurers argue the most, because the driver's personal policy may exclude rideshare use.
• Ride accepted, driving to the pickup, or carrying a passenger: at least $1.5 million in liability coverage for death, injury and property damage, plus at least $1.5 million in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10).

Who you are dealing with in a Lyft claim

Claims arising from Lyft trips involve Lyft, Inc., the driver, and the insurance company that covers the trip. Lyft's insurance is written by a commercial carrier, and the claim may be handled by an outside administrator. The adjuster's job is to close your claim for as little as possible. We handle every call and letter so you don't have to.

If another driver caused the crash, that driver's insurance may be first in line, with the Lyft policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage available if the other driver had little or no insurance. We look at every policy that could pay, including your own.

Your own PIP and the right to sue

New Jersey is a no-fault state. In most cases your own auto policy's Personal Injury Protection (PIP), or a household member's, pays your medical bills first no matter who caused the crash (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4). If you have no auto insurance in your household, other sources can apply, and we sort that out for you.

Whether you can sue for pain and suffering depends on the lawsuit option on the relevant policy. If the limitation on lawsuit option (the verbal threshold) applies, the injury must fit one of the categories in N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a), such as a permanent injury or a displaced fracture. Rideshare cases add a twist: the threshold that applies can depend on whose policy covers you. See our guide to beating the NJ verbal threshold in rideshare crashes for details.

What to do after a Hackensack rideshare crash

These steps protect your health and your claim:

1. Call 911 and get checked out. Hackensack University Medical Center is close by, and delayed symptoms are common.
2. Get the police report number and the names of the responding officers.
3. Screenshot the Lyft trip and any messages with the driver.
4. Photograph the cars, the street, traffic signals and your injuries.
5. Get names and phone numbers of witnesses.
6. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer before getting advice.
7. Call Dennis. Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2), and claims against a public entity such as NJ Transit or the city need written notice within 90 days.

Bergen County results

Real outcomes for clients in Bergen County. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

• $785KValet Attendant Struck Crossing Street
• $500KSlip and Fall at Retail Location
• $485KAggravated Back Injury Requiring Surgery
• $462KChildren's Gym Equipment Fall
• $340KFall at Construction Site — Bergen County
• $325KBroken Pinky Finger from Auto Accident
• $230KTenant Fall-Down — Insurer Broker Malpractice
• $125KLow-Impact Collision — Bergen County
• $110KHamstring Injury — Icy Sidewalk Slip

Frequently asked questions