[dhruv45in]

Originally Posted by hserus

They can always claim that - but take them to court and put this sad story on social media and pretty soon they will fall over themselves to bear the medical expenses. Did they already offer to bear all expenses, "moral obligation" or not?

It may take much longer to do so given the significant brain injuries and risk of death to your mother in this case (for which please accept my regrets and best wishes)

Was their driver fully insured so you can claim against his insurance as well?

They only offered a fixed amount which is nothing as compared to what we have spent so far for brain surgery, 3 weeks in ICU and post discharge home care which is ongoing.

My brother tweeted a few times on twitter which got them to contact us in the first place, I think I will take it up on fb where I have more friends and people who can share this on my behalf.

Their driver was fully insured so we at least have the option of claiming against his insurance. I am based in Chandigarh, was wondering if anyone can help me with an advocate who might help us take this against Uber as a few I have talked to didn't seem very certain to make Uber a party in this claim.

[TB16]

Originally Posted by dhruv45in

I am a victim of this 'Indian Taxi revolution'. On Sep 3 my parents were involved in a hit and run accident involving an Uber.

I cant even begin to imagine what you must be going through right now.
There was another accident involving uber last month here in delhi NCR where a college girl lost her life because of the drivers carelessness. If you can somehow get in touch with her kin, they might be able to help you in someway or another. Keeping your mother in my prayers.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by dhruv45in

They only offered a fixed amount which is nothing as compared to what we have spent so far for brain surgery, 3 weeks in ICU and post discharge home care which is ongoing.

My brother tweeted a few times on twitter which got them to contact us in the first place, I think I will take it up on fb where I have more friends and people who can share this on my behalf.

Their driver was fully insured so we at least have the option of claiming against his insurance. I am based in Chandigarh, was wondering if anyone can help me with an advocate who might help us take this against Uber as a few I have talked to didn't seem very certain to make Uber a party in this claim.

Dhruv,

I will pray for your mother's hearty recovery. However, I'm not sure you can make Uber a party in this, successfully.

a. Third party insurance is for such instances - they may jolly well ask you to proceed on that path.
b. Again, I'm sure there's enough fine print in the agreement that absolves them from precisely these kind of incidents. Uber has merely done market matching and will simply not assume any liability for the driver's drivin. That's why even uber's bills are in the name of the driver, not in the name of their Uber itself.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

She apparently made some errors while setting up an account and got locked out, asked to contact support.

When contacted, support just said her account has been suspended permanently. On being pressed, they offered a vague 'suspicious activity' explanation and refused any further help.

I faced similar situation in July this year. We were in need of 3 cabs to transfer my joint family from home to railway station. My brother refered me to Uber and I created the account. Then I refered my wife to Uber and created account for her. All this to be able to book 3 cabs around the same time.

When I tried booking, I got locked out message from Uber app, asking me to contact customer care. As we were pushed for time, we booked two Uber and an Ola cab, and reached Railway station.

The surprise came later when I contacted Uber to unlock my account. I got the following replies in follow-up mails :

"It appears that your account has been suspended for activity that violates our Terms and Conditions and will be unavailable for you to use."

"You will appreciate that these security features need to be built in to prevent misuse of our services and to prevent users from creating accounts for the sole purpose of taking free rides. You might not have had that intention, however, the system cannot differentiate between the two situations and frankly, there really is no way for anyone else to distinguish the two either. I am afraid I really cannot be of any more help with this than I already have."

After few back and forth mails I understood that I am hitting my head against a wall who hardly cares about genuine concerns of customers.

I deleted the Uber app for good from my and wife's phone. Since then we have been using Ola without any problem.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

When I tried booking, I got locked out message from Uber app, asking me to contact customer care. After few back and forth mails I understood that I am hitting my head against a wall who hardly cares about genuine concerns of customers. I deleted the Uber app for good.

The beauty of the online business is in the ability of the companies to play "god" without fear. Uber is part of this, a company which merely brokers a ride between driver x and user x. Things have improved by a couple of % since the Delhi incident where a woman was exploited by an Uber driver and had no means to fight back/raise an alarm. The biggest joke at that point was that all over India, there was one Uber "office" which was only a modest house where 2 people were responsible for receiving driver documents and to issue approval with zero police verification.

Apparently, now due to demand Uber is back to playing "god" again - surge pricing, locking up accounts if a user rejects multiple cabs (I often do not accept anything less than a 4.7 rating for long distances, as I want a peaceful and obedient driver who wont blast music and use a.c properly), and the piece de resistance is random locking up of accounts for "suspicious" activity. Its bad enough that one has to resort to using their 3rd grade services, but exactly what "suspicious" activity can be done using that application I'd wonder. It happened to me once and I did nothing about it, no emails, no response and surprise, surprise - restored within the next day. Missing my money were they?

They'll miss it a lot more now, since we've hired a driver full time and he's a person who is a very sedate, careful driver who'll do exactly as told (has no choice anyway). Uber can rename itself to Unter, if they thought India is a pushover, they have another thing coming.

[hserus]

The very fact that they are offering such an amount - with a claim that this is out of humanitarian concerns - is an effort to avoid litigation.

Yes there will be fine print and yes this is a civil claim so you will spend ages running pillar to post around a civil court, but eventually you are likely to get substantial compensation. At least, it is not unknown.

http://abc7news.com/business/family-...awsuit/852108/

Of course this was in the USA but you can certainly have your lawyer include this in his filing if you find one to sue Uber as a co respondent. The driver has to be the primary defendant of course.

"Settles lawsuit" is usually "Uber paid over some amount and in return the case was withdrawn, with a non disclosure agreement"

I will try to locate someone in Chandigarh for you.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Dhruv,

I will pray for your mother's hearty recovery. However, I'm not sure you can make Uber a party in this, successfully.

a. Third party insurance is for such instances - they may jolly well ask you to proceed on that path.
b. Again, I'm sure there's enough fine print in the agreement that absolves them from precisely these kind of incidents. Uber has merely done market matching and will simply not assume any liability for the driver's drivin. That's why even uber's bills are in the name of the driver, not in the name of their Uber itself.

[sudev]

Sorry to hear that your mother is still in comma. Praying for her early recovery.

First this incident again underscores the need for helmet by all on two wheelers. We seriously compromise our safety when we ignore this simple truth and responsibility.

Second I do not understand your reluctance to pursue case legally. Be it driver or the company the insurance company will pay the claim. That is what motor vehicle third party insurance is for.

Lastly I do not understand the psychology of users wanting claim to be paid by "company"? An accident has happened, the remedy is available by launching claim. Be it a individual car or cab or Uber or truck or state transport bus....the procedure is same .

[hserus]

Depends on how much insurance the driver has and just how much third party damage it covers.

Come to think of it there's also medical insurance for your mother hopefully she had that.

Getting money out of Uber will not be a very easy process. And it will cost you in time and lawyer fees. So make sure you can commit both before you proceed.

[speedmiester]

This is quite disturbing. These incidents are on the rise, all the cab operators do is just an hogwash of a verification.

Taxi-driver-abducts-boy-in-bengaluru-abandons-him-after-8-hours

[dhruv45in]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Dhruv,

I will pray for your mother's hearty recovery. However, I'm not sure you can make Uber a party in this, successfully.

a. Third party insurance is for such instances - they may jolly well ask you to proceed on that path.
b. Again, I'm sure there's enough fine print in the agreement that absolves them from precisely these kind of incidents. Uber has merely done market matching and will simply not assume any liability for the driver's drivin. That's why even uber's bills are in the name of the driver, not in the name of their Uber itself.

yes but lawyers in countries like US have successfully argued if the taxi is carrying Uber passengers, they are liable for the claim. I need to get hold of a good lawyer and see if I have a case against them.

Originally Posted by hserus

The very fact that they are offering such an amount - with a claim that this is out of humanitarian concerns - is an effort to avoid litigation.

Yes there will be fine print and yes this is a civil claim so you will spend ages running pillar to post around a civil court, but eventually you are likely to get substantial compensation. At least, it is not unknown.

http://abc7news.com/business/family-...awsuit/852108/

Of course this was in the USA but you can certainly have your lawyer include this in his filing if you find one to sue Uber as a co respondent. The driver has to be the primary defendant of course.

"Settles lawsuit" is usually "Uber paid over some amount and in return the case was withdrawn, with a non disclosure agreement"

I will try to locate someone in Chandigarh for you.

Yes, i did come across this case when I can researching and thought the same. Would be helpful if you can locate some in Chd please.

Originally Posted by sudev

Sorry to hear that your mother is still in comma. Praying for her early recovery.

First this incident again underscores the need for helmet by all on two wheelers. We seriously compromise our safety when we ignore this simple truth and responsibility.

Second I do not understand your reluctance to pursue case legally. Be it driver or the company the insurance company will pay the claim. That is what motor vehicle third party insurance is for.

Lastly I do not understand the psychology of users wanting claim to be paid by "company"? An accident has happened, the remedy is available by launching claim. Be it a individual car or cab or Uber or truck or state transport bus....the procedure is same .

I totally agree with your point on helmets.

I am not reluctant to pursue this legally, I am just looking at my options. Also because my mother is still in come and the outcome uncertain as of now, a few lawyers I have discussed the case with, have advised us to wait for a few months to see the extent of damage/ recovery so we have a clear idea of claim.

Originally Posted by hserus

Depends on how much insurance the driver has and just how much third party damage it covers.

Come to think of it there's also medical insurance for your mother hopefully she had that.

Getting money out of Uber will not be a very easy process. And it will cost you in time and lawyer fees. So make sure you can commit both before you proceed.

Does the third party insurance has a limitation on the amount covered?

Which medical insurance are you talking about here? We didn't get anything except from my company's corporate medical insurance which covers parents also. I am ready to commit time and resources if I have a case against them.

[hserus]

Yes I meant any medical insurance your mother might have had - I am glad that was available.

Yes wait for a clear idea - and also because the driver in question will face a culpable homicide charge if your mother passes away rather than a lesser charge.

But make sure you lay a claim against his insurance for the ongoing treatment etc ASAP. File a FIR against the driver immediately if you haven't yet.

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by dhruv45in

On Sep 3 my parents were involved in a hit and run accident involving an Uber. My parents were riding on a two wheeler and the uber car hit their scooter from the rear left side. While my father was wearing a helmet and sustained superficial injuries, my mom who was not wearing a helmet fell on her head causing multiple fractures and brain injury. She is in coma still fighting for her life.

I pray for your mother, that she makes a full recovery.

I just wanted to ask, since it was a hit and run, how did you come to know about the vehicle, and that it was an Uber cab?

I am asking this, because, had your parents been inside the cab and on an Uber trip, it would have been easier to make Uber a party in the case.

Since, they were struck by the cab, and if it is not owned by Uber and if it was not on an Uber trip, it would be difficult to claim anything from them.

[drmohitg]

Wouldn't the courts also take into account the fact that your mother wasn't wearing a helmet? I guess that is now a legal requirement in most metro cities in India.

Wish your mother a speedy recovery.

[dhruv45in]

Originally Posted by hserus

Yes I meant any medical insurance your mother might have had - I am glad that was available.

Yes wait for a clear idea - and also because the driver in question will face a culpable homicide charge if your mother passes away rather than a lesser charge.

But make sure you lay a claim against his insurance for the ongoing treatment etc ASAP. File a FIR against the driver immediately if you haven't yet.

That's what I have tried to find out unsuccessfully here about claiming against ongoing treatment. All the lawyers I have consulted here are of the opinion that I can settle the claim in one full and final installment only and there are no recurring payments. Do you think it's possible to actually make a claim against ongoing treatment?
The FIR was lodged against the driver a few days after the incident.

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

I pray for your mother, that she makes a full recovery.



I just wanted to ask, since it was a hit and run, how did you come to know about the vehicle, and that it was an Uber cab?



I am asking this, because, had your parents been inside the cab and on an Uber trip, it would have been easier to make Uber a party in the case.



Since, they were struck by the cab, and if it is not owned by Uber and if it was not on an Uber trip, it would be difficult to claim anything from them.

At the time of the accident, the Uber cab was on a trip carrying four passengers. After the accident, the passengers asked the driver to stop and these four boys actually got out of the car, helped my parents and took them to the hospital. The driver in the mean time, fled the spot after the passengers got out of the cab. So the cab was definitely on an Uber trip carrying Uber passengers. One of the passenger is actually an eye witness in the case as well.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Wouldn't the courts also take into account the fact that your mother wasn't wearing a helmet? I guess that is now a legal requirement in most metro cities in India.

Wish your mother a speedy recovery.

Thanks mohit. In Chandigarh women are exempt from wearing a helmet as it hurts the religious sentiments of a certain religion. I am not saying she shouldn't be wearing one but it wasn't against the law.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by dhruv45in

That's what I have tried to find out unsuccessfully here about claiming against ongoing treatment. All the lawyers I have consulted here are of the opinion that I can settle the claim in one full and final installment only and there are no recurring payments. Do you think it's possible to actually make a claim against ongoing treatment?

In a worst-case scenario, insurers in other countries may have to pay for treatment/care for life, and they do.

A senior claims manager once told me that, to an insurance company, death can be much cheaper than serious injury and permanent disability. Sounds cynical, but it is simply a fact of the business.