E-hailing passenger hurt: who's at fault

An injured e-hailing passenger can generally claim against whichever driver was at fault, the e-hailing driver or another vehicle. A passenger is treated as a third party who did not cause the collision.

Whether the e-hailing driver held the correct permit is a separate regulatory question. It does not decide who was negligent. See who is at fault in a crash for how the test applies.

The typical facts in this scenario

You are a fare-paying passenger in an e-hailing vehicle when it collides with another vehicle, or the e-hailing driver alone loses control. The trip is usually recorded in the app, which most other crash types do not have.

How fault is usually assessed

Fault is worked out as in any other crash, by looking at how each driver drove, not at permits. The e-hailing driver, the other driver, or both can be at fault, depending on the facts.

The evidence that decides this dispute

• The app’s own trip record, including the route, timestamps, and GPS trail.
• Dashcam footage, which many e-hailing drivers already run for their own protection.
• The police report and sketch plan for the collision itself.
• Witnesses, including any other passengers who may have been in either vehicle.
• The driver’s own account submitted through the e-hailing platform after the trip.

Save a screenshot of the trip details from the app immediately, since this record can be harder to retrieve later.^[3] The police report after an accident explains what else to gather.

Who you can claim against as a passenger

As a passenger, you are generally treated as a third party, and compulsory motor insurance is required to cover a third party’s death or bodily injury regardless of which driver is found at fault.^[2] A third-party bodily injury claim explains how this works in practice.

Contributory negligence for a passenger

If a rear seatbelt was available and you chose not to wear it, that can still reduce your own compensation, separately from who caused the crash.^[1] Contributory negligence explained sets out how this is weighed.

What to do at the scene and after

Keep the trip active in the app if possible, get medical treatment, and photograph the scene while both vehicles are still there. Passenger injury claims explained and a road accident claim cover the process from there.

If it is unclear which insurer to claim from, an independent lawyer can take on the claim. For the first contact, share general dates, location, case status and a short summary only. Keep documents private. Only after an identified lawyer or law firm contacts you and specifically asks for them should you provide that identified lawyer or firm with the trip screenshot, the accident date, whether anyone was injured (yes/no) and the police report status.