Hit by an Uber or Lyft While Walking or Biking? Including Dooring

The app status decides the policy

Uber and Lyft both describe at least $1 million in third-party coverage while a driver is heading to a pickup or on a trip. The waiting period is the trap. A driver circling for a ping looks just like a driver on a trip, but the coverage is a fraction of the size. Our guide An Uber or Lyft Driver Hit Me. Whose Insurance Pays? covers the state-by-state limits.

Even minutes can matter. In one California case, an Uber driver logged off four minutes before hitting a pedestrian, and the court ruled for Uber: read the brief. That’s why the driver’s app records need to be preserved early. See How to Get Uber and Lyft Trip Records, App Data and Video After an Accident.

Your own insurance may pay first

Even if you weren’t in a car, your own auto policy can matter:

• No-fault states: your personal injury protection (PIP) often covers your medical bills as a pedestrian or cyclist, whoever was at fault. A New Jersey case shows how that works: A Lyft Driver Hit an Uninsured Pedestrian. Who Pays His Medical Bills in New Jersey?
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: if the driver was offline with a thin personal policy, or drove off, your own UM/UIM may be the backstop. See Hit by an Uninsured or Hit-and-Run Driver in an Uber or Lyft?
• Health insurance covers treatment in the meantime.

If you don’t own a car, ask whether a household member’s policy covers you. In many states it can.

Dooring: when a passenger opens the door into you

Dooring happens when someone opens a car door into a cyclist’s path. Rideshare pickups and dropoffs make it more common. Drivers stop in bike lanes, and passengers jump out on the traffic side without looking.

Most states have a dooring law. Roughly 40 states have a statute requiring people in a vehicle to make sure it’s reasonably safe before opening a door into traffic. A typical law also says not to leave the door open longer than needed. California’s is Vehicle Code § 22517. Breaking that kind of law is often treated as evidence of negligence. In states without one, the general duty of care still applies. The League of American Bicyclists keeps a state-by-state list.

Who pays when a passenger opens the door? This is the unsettled part:

• The driver may share fault for stopping in a bike lane, double-parking or letting a passenger out into traffic. A California appellate court held, in an unpublished decision, that rideshare drivers owe ordinary care in choosing where and how to let passengers out. That case is Mason v. Uber.
• The passenger who opened the door may be at fault under the dooring statute.
• The insurance: whether the rideshare company’s trip coverage pays for a door the passenger opened is disputed. Insurers often deny at first. Injury lawyers argue the trip policy should respond, since the trip was still in progress. No court ruling settles it nationally.

Robotaxis too. A 2025 lawsuit in San Francisco alleges that a Waymo passenger opened a door into a cyclist and that the car’s exit warning failed. Those are allegations, not findings, but they show dooring claims can involve the vehicle’s technology as well as the people in it. See Hit by a Waymo or Tesla Robotaxi: Who Is Liable?

What to get at the scene

1. Ask whether the driver was on a trip. Was there a passenger? Was the app on? Write down what they say.
2. Photograph the car, including the plate, any Uber or Lyft decals or windshield signs, and where it was stopped. If it was in a bike lane, show that.
3. Get the passenger’s name and number in a dooring case. They’re a witness and possibly a party.
4. Get witness names and phone numbers.
5. Call police and get the report number. Ask whether anyone was cited under the dooring or right-of-way laws.
6. Look for cameras on nearby businesses and doorbells, and ask about them this week.
7. Get medical care, even if you feel okay. Head, neck and wrist injuries from bike falls often show up hours later.

Arbitration probably doesn’t bind you

Uber’s terms of use send riders’ injury claims to individual arbitration. If you were walking or biking, you likely never agreed to those terms for this accident, so the clause may not reach your claim against the company. Courts have split on edge cases, though, especially if you have your own Uber account. A lawyer can tell you whether it applies.

FAQs

An Uber hit me in a crosswalk. Does the $1 million policy apply?

If the driver was heading to a pickup or had a passenger, generally yes, up to at least $1 million in most states. If the driver was only waiting for a request, the limits are much lower. If the driver was offline, the driver’s personal policy applies.

How do I find out what the driver’s app status was?

Ask at the scene, and note whether a passenger was in the car. The app records belong to the company, so confirming the status usually takes a formal request or legal process. A preservation letter early on keeps the records available.

A Lyft passenger opened their door into my bike. Who pays?

Possibly the passenger, the driver, or both, depending on where the car stopped and how the door was opened. Whether Lyft’s trip coverage pays for a passenger’s door is disputed. Get both people’s names and the trip details.

I don’t own a car. Does any insurance cover me?

Possibly. A household member’s auto policy may cover you. You also have the driver’s coverage, and the rideshare company’s coverage depending on app status. Your health insurance can cover treatment in the meantime.

Do I have to go through arbitration with Uber?

Probably not as a pedestrian or cyclist who never agreed to the terms for this ride. It can depend on whether you have your own account and on your state’s courts.

Find your state’s rules

Start from the state index, or see California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois or Washington.

Sources and limits

Policies and laws are described as published on the date above.

• Uber — Driver insurance
• Lyft — Driver insurance
• League of American Bicyclists — Dooring laws by state
• California Vehicle Code § 22517
• Rabbi Lawyer Tort Talk — Mason v. Uber commentary
• Hanki v. Waymo LLC complaint (S.F. Super. Ct., June 2025) (PDF)
• Uber — U.S. Terms of Use

Unpublished decisions have limited value as precedent, and allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. This is general information, not legal advice, and RideClaim.co is not a law firm.