Injured in an Uber or Lyft in Charleston? Here Is How South Carolina Law Applies

The Incident

On a Friday night in June 2026, a College of Charleston graduate student accepted a Lyft ride home from King Street. Her driver, heading south on Rutledge Avenue, entered the Beaufain Street intersection on a yellow light and was struck broadside by cross-traffic. The impact caved in her door and she struck her head against the window. She was transported to MUSC with a concussion and a lacerated scalp requiring staples. When she tried to file an injury claim the following week, she found herself in the middle of a coverage dispute: Lyft's insurer and the other driver's insurer were each arguing the other policy should respond first.

What South Carolina Law Says

South Carolina Code § 58-23-1630 establishes insurance requirements for transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft. The law creates three distinct coverage phases:

• Phase 1 — App on, no ride matched yet: The driver has the rideshare app active but has not yet accepted a trip request. During this phase, the TNC must provide at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident in liability coverage and $25,000 in property damage coverage.
• Phase 2 — Ride accepted, en route to pickup: The driver has accepted a trip and is driving to pick up the passenger. Full commercial coverage applies — Uber's policy provides $1,000,000 in liability coverage during Phase 2 and Phase 3.
• Phase 3 — Passenger in the vehicle: The trip is in progress. The full $1,000,000 policy remains in effect through drop-off.
• App off: The driver's personal auto policy applies exclusively. Uber and Lyft provide no coverage when the driver is not logged into the app.

Determining which phase applies requires obtaining the trip data from the rideshare company — information that must be preserved and requested promptly after an accident.

Your Rights and Options

If you are injured as a passenger, or as another driver hit by a rideshare vehicle, your options include claims against the at-fault driver's personal policy, the TNC's commercial policy (if the app was active), and your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage as a fallback. The interaction of these policies is where disputes arise — each insurer may try to push responsibility to the others.

As a passenger in a rideshare vehicle, you bear no fault for the accident by definition. This means your path to compensation is more direct, but you must still document the trip, preserve the app record, and seek prompt medical attention.

What I Look For When Evaluating These Cases

In every rideshare accident case I evaluate, the first task is to determine which insurance phase applied. I request trip data from the TNC, obtain the police report, and review the driver's app activity logs if available. The phase determines which policy controls, which determines the coverage limits available to compensate the injured person.

I also look closely at whether the rideshare driver's personal insurer was aware the driver was using the vehicle commercially — many personal auto policies have exclusions for commercial driving, which the TNC's policy is specifically designed to fill.

How Insurance Companies Fight Back

Both the TNC's insurer and the driver's personal insurer may argue that coverage belongs with the other. The TNC may also dispute the severity of injuries, argue comparative fault, or delay producing trip data. Acting promptly with legal representation levels the playing field significantly in these multi-insurer disputes.

Related Practice Areas at Traywick Law Offices

Rideshare accident claims frequently overlap with standard auto accident representation, uninsured motorist claims, and in catastrophic cases, serious injury litigation requiring expert witnesses to establish the full value of the claim.

My Final Thoughts

Uber and Lyft have deep pockets but retain experienced defense counsel. Navigating the multi-layer insurance structure of a rideshare accident alone puts injured people at a significant disadvantage. If you were injured in a rideshare vehicle or by a rideshare driver in Charleston, contact Traywick Law Offices for a free consultation before speaking to any insurance adjuster.