By Dan Noll on June 21st, 2025 in Articles, Car Accident
Springfield Personal Injury Lawyer Explain the Differences Between Rideshare Accident Claims and Traditional Car Accident Claims in Illinois
Rideshare and traditional car accident claims involve similar injury considerations, but key differences exist in insurance coverage, liability determination, and claim procedures under Illinois law. Understanding these distinctions becomes crucial when seeking compensation after an accident in Springfield, where rideshare services like Uber and Lyft operate alongside thousands of traditional vehicles on busy roads like Interstate 55 or through dangerous intersections like S. Veterans Parkway and Wabash Avenue. That’s why the experienced Springfield personal injury lawyers at the Noll Law Office want victims and their families to know the differences between rideshare accident claims and traditional car accident claims.
This article clarifies the differences between rideshare and traditional car accident claims, discusses unique situations encountered in rideshare incidents, and highlights why legal guidance proves essential in these cases. If you have been injured in any motor vehicle accident in Springfield, contact Dan Noll or Sarah Noll at the Noll Law Office in Springfield to schedule your free consultation and case evaluation with their experienced and compassionate legal team.
Understanding the Basics
Unlike medical malpractice, nursing home, or even slip and fall cases, motor vehicle accidents are often a little more complicated because of insurance coverage. This is because there may be multiple parties who are at fault for an accident, and sometimes each party has multiple layers of insurance. This is particularly true in ridesharing accident cases, where there could be several different insurance carriers that may be responsible for paying compensation to a victim.
Therefore, it is important to define and understand the difference between a rideshare accident claim and a traditional accident.
Defining Rideshare Accident Claims
A rideshare accident involves collisions with vehicles operated through transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. These accidents occur when rideshare drivers transport passengers, wait for ride requests, or drive to pickup locations throughout Springfield’s downtown area, residential neighborhoods, and commercial districts.
The dual-insurance framework creates complexity in rideshare claims because both the driver’s personal auto policy and the rideshare company’s commercial insurance may provide coverage depending on the driver’s status at the time of the accident. There may also be uninsured motorist insurance or underinsured motorist coverage (commonly referred to as UM/UIM), which will operate as an “umbrella” after all other liability insurance has been exhausted against a defendant.
Defining Traditional Car Accident Claims
In contrast, traditional car accident claims involve collisions between privately owned vehicles operated by individuals for personal use. These accidents occur on Springfield roads, interstates, and highways, where drivers rely solely on their personal auto insurance policies. Standard auto accident claims follow established procedures involving the at-fault driver’s insurance company, with coverage limits and deductibles determined by individual policy terms. Generally, these are the types of cases that most Springfield personal injury lawyers will handle.
As a subset of these types of accidents, there are also traditional car accidents that occur in the context of a commercial or business use of a vehicle. This is more than just your delivery vans and tractor trailers, but also vehicles such as single-owner/member businesses, municipal vehicles, emergency vehicles, construction trucks, and related types of commercial-use vehicles.
Insurance Coverage Differences in Illinois
All states have some type of auto insurance requirement, and many have different requirements, schemes, or systems for claims or requirements for coverage. Illinois is no different, and it has some unique rules that are not necessarily the same in other states. Thus, it is imperative that victims who are injured in an Illinois auto accident work with an experienced Springfield personal injury lawyer who knows the state laws, regulations, and rules necessarily to successfully bring a claim against a negligent party.
Rideshare Driver Coverage Specifics
Illinois law requires rideshare companies to provide three distinct coverage periods. When the app remains off, only the driver’s personal insurance applies. When the driver activates the app but has not accepted a ride request, limited rideshare coverage of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident applies for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage. This is also known as a contingent period, and ridesharing companies also offer a type of gap coverage if a private insurance policy does not cover a claim.
Most importantly in ridesharing accident cases, the active period is when the driver accepts a ride request or transports passengers. This is when the full rideshare coverage activates with $1 million in liability protection triggers. Illinois-specific insurance requirements mandate that rideshare companies maintain these minimum coverage levels to operate legally in Springfield and elsewhere throughout the state.
Traditional Auto Insurance Policies
Traditional auto insurance policies in Illinois require minimum coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury liability, plus $20,000 for property damage. These coverage limits often prove insufficient for serious accidents involving significant injuries or multiple vehicles on busy Springfield, which is why many victims often obtain UM/UIM coverage as well. Unlike rideshare policies, traditional coverage remains constant regardless of the vehicle’s use, providing predictable protection levels for both drivers and accident victims.
Overlap and Gaps
Coverage gaps frequently arise when personal auto policies exclude commercial activities like ridesharing. Some Springfield rideshare drivers discover their personal insurance denies claims during periods when limited rideshare coverage applies, creating potential gaps in protection.
Scenarios where coverage disputes arise include accidents during the transition between coverage periods, mechanical failures, and incidents involving uninsured motorists on Springfield roads.
In addition, some ridesharing companies will disqualify a driver or deny a claim where there was deception by the driver. This could be that the vehicle was not the one that was approved by the app, or even something more serious such as the driver not being the registered user. This specifically can happen where a driver is removed from the app (such as for violations or accidents), but then starts to driver under a friend or family member’s account instead. If an accident occurs, the ridesharing company may try to disclaim coverage and there may be a gap in coverage for victims who are without sufficient UM/UIM coverage.
Liability Determination and Claim Procedures
There are important differences between rideshare accident claims and traditional car accident claims when it comes to liability determinations and claim procedures.
Establishing Fault in Rideshare Accidents
Springfield personal injury lawyers must evaluate whether rideshare driver negligence, company policies, vehicle maintenance issues, or third-party actions caused the accident. Illinois law recognizes that rideshare companies may bear responsibility for inadequate driver screening, defective vehicles, or unsafe routing through high-traffic Springfield areas. Factors complicating liability include determining the driver’s exact status at the time of impact, evaluating company supervision responsibilities, and assessing whether app-related distractions contributed to the collision.
Liability in Traditional Car Accidents
Although some of the same factors apply here, in traditional car accidents, there are established fault determination principles focusing on driver behavior, traffic violations, road conditions, and vehicle maintenance. Springfield police reports typically identify contributing factors like speeding on Veterans Parkway, failure to yield at busy intersections, or distracted driving like texting while driving. Coverage is also easier to determine because there are less liable parties and insurance policies, whereas in ridesharing accidents there could be three or more policies that could apply.
Filing a Claim in Illinois
Comparison with rideshare liability assessments reveals that traditional claims involve fewer parties and clearer insurance relationships, simplifying the investigation and settlement process. For instance, for traditional car accident claims, it usually requires standard documentation including police reports, medical records, vehicle damage assessments, and witness statements. The process involves fewer complications because only personal insurance policies typically apply. Your Springfield personal injury lawyers will review these facts and conduct their own investigation, as well as perform legal research, to determine liability for your case.
Whereas filing rideshare accident claims requires all of those steps, plus documenting the driver’s app status, preserving electronic evidence, obtaining rideshare company incident reports, and coordinating with multiple insurance carriers. Springfield accident victims must provide detailed information about pickup locations, passenger status, and driver identification too. A careful examination of the applicable insurance policies is also required to ensure that victims know all avenues of where they could obtain compensation for their damages.
Special Circumstances and Nuances
As with anything in law, there are many different factors that could impact how a claim is handled and resolved. Thus, a victim’s claim depends on many different things and how liability may apply in certain instances. Oftentimes these special circumstances help victims have additional ways to recover compensation, but not always.
Multi-Party Incidents
Springfield intersections like those near Memorial Medical Center and the Illinois State Capitol frequently witness multi-vehicle accidents involving rideshare vehicles, traditional cars, and commercial trucks. These complex scenarios require careful analysis of each driver’s role and insurance coverage. There are unique challenges in proving liability include coordinating investigations among multiple insurance companies, determining comparative fault percentages, and ensuring adequate compensation when multiple parties share responsibility for the accident. There are all in addition to calculating damages and proving the extent of a victim’s personal injuries and other damages.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Involvement
Springfield’s downtown area and university district see frequent interactions between rideshare vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists near popular destinations. Rideshare drivers picking up or dropping off passengers may create unexpected hazards for pedestrians crossing busy streets too, especially in the morning or, at twilight, or in the dark of the night where it can be harder to see vehicles and pedestrians. Illinois statutes require enhanced protection for vulnerable road users, and rideshare companies may face increased liability when their drivers injure pedestrians or cyclists in Springfield’s designated bike lanes or crosswalks.
Still Unsure of the Differences Between Rideshare Accident Claims and Traditional Car Accident Claims in Illinois? Call a Springfield Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Dan Noll and Sarah Noll at Noll Law Office understand the complexities of both rideshare and traditional car accident claims in Springfield, providing experienced legal representation to help accident victims recover the maximum compensation that they may be entitled to under Illinois law. The differences in insurance coverage, liability determination, and claim procedures require experienced legal guidance to protect your rights and ensure fair compensation after an unfair car accident from a negligent defendant.
Schedule your free consultation by calling their personal injury law firm by dialing (217) 414-8889 or by sending a message here. Dan Noll and Sarah Noll are fifth-generation lawyers who have built a reputation of helping victims and their families throughout Illinois. If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a ridesharing accident or another type of motor vehicle crash, let them help you too by meeting with them today.