New Braunfels Lyft Accident Lawyer

Injured in a Lyft accident in New Braunfels, TX? Contact the top New Braunfels Lyft accident lawyer to seek justice and compensation.

New Braunfels sits at the crossroads of I-35 and the Hill Country, and the growth of app-based rides from the Comal River tubing hubs to the Gruene entertainment district has put more Lyft vehicles on local streets than ever before. When one of those rides ends in a crash, you are suddenly dealing with something very different from a standard fender-bender. A multi-billion-dollar rideshare company, its contracted drivers, and a stack of overlapping insurance policies now stand between you and the recovery you need.

If you were a passenger in a Lyft, a driver struck by one, or a pedestrian hit by a rideshare vehicle, you deserve a legal team that understands exactly how these claims work and refuses to let a corporate insurer dictate what your injuries are worth. At Vendt Accident Attorneys, we investigate your crash from the ground up, confront Lyft’s defenses head-on, and build your case for the full compensation Texas law entitles you to recover. You focus on healing. We will handle the fight.

Get a free consultation and discover how our Lyft accident attorneys in New Braunfels can help you seek the compensation and justice you deserve.

Get Your Free Case Evaluation

Why Lyft Accident Cases Are More Complex than Regular Car Crashes

A Lyft accident isn’t handled like a standard two-car collision. These cases involve layered commercial insurance policies, a rideshare company with dedicated legal teams, and a corporate structure built to limit how much you recover after a crash.

Lyft classifies its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, and that classification is the company’s primary shield against full liability. We know how to dismantle that defense and hold every responsible party accountable for the harm they caused.

Call Vendt Accident Attorneys at (832) 490-7088 for a free Lyft accident case review.

Who Pays After a Lyft Crash in Texas?

Liability in a Lyft crash comes down to one critical fact: what the driver was doing in the app at the exact moment of impact. Payment can come from the driver’s personal insurance, Lyft’s commercial insurer, a third-party motorist who caused the crash, your own uninsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, or a combination of these.

Regardless of whether you were riding in the Lyft, driving another vehicle that was struck, or a pedestrian hit at an intersection, you have the right to pursue full compensation from whoever was at fault.

What Insurance Covers a Lyft Accident?

Lyft’s coverage is divided into three periods based on the driver’s app status. Which period applies to your crash determines which policy you can access, and insurers count on you not knowing the difference.

App Status	Coverage Source	Liability Limits
App Off	Driver’s Personal Auto Policy	Texas state minimums
App On, Waiting for a Ride	Lyft Contingent Liability	$50K per person / $100K per accident
Ride Accepted or Passenger on Board	Lyft Commercial Policy	Up to $1,000,000

Lyft’s adjusters frequently argue the driver was “offline” or between trips to trigger the smaller policy. We immediately request app records, GPS data, and ride-status logs to prove the driver’s actual status and ensure the right coverage applies to your claim.

One pattern we consistently see in New Braunfels rideshare cases is that many Lyft crashes happen during tubing season and weekend events in Gruene, when drivers are juggling back-to-back pickups near the Comal River and along Hwy 46. In those cases, the driver’s app status at the moment of impact is almost always disputed. We request Lyft’s ride logs early, because the difference between the $50,000 contingent policy and the $1 million policy can come down to a few seconds of app data.

What to Do After a Lyft Accident in New Braunfels

The decisions you make in the hours following a crash can protect, or permanently damage, your right to fair compensation. These steps matter most.

Call 911 and Seek Medical Attention

A police report from the New Braunfels Police Department or the Comal County Sheriff’s Office creates an official record of the accident, including who was involved, where it happened, and any violations cited. Get evaluated by a doctor the same day, even if you feel fine, injuries like concussions, internal bleeding, and whiplash can take hours or days to surface, and early medical records tie your injuries directly to the crash rather than giving insurers room to argue otherwise.

Document the Scene and Gather Witness Information

Photograph both vehicles, the Lyft trade dress emblem on the driver’s windshield, license plates, property damage, road conditions, and any visible injuries. If bystanders saw the collision, collect their names and phone numbers before everyone leaves the scene.

Report in the Lyft App and Keep Your Statement Brief

Filing a report through the Lyft app notifies the company of the crash and is necessary to start the insurance process. Stick to the basic facts. Do not admit fault, downplay your injuries, or speculate about what happened, because anything you say can be used to minimize your claim later.

Do Not Give Recorded Statements to Insurance Adjusters

You will likely receive calls from more than one insurance company after the crash. You are not obligated to provide a recorded statement to any of them. Simply state that you have an attorney and that all communications should go through our office.

Save Your Trip Data Right Away

Screenshot your ride receipt, the driver’s name, the trip ID, and the pickup and drop-off timestamps before they become difficult to retrieve. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses can be overwritten quickly, so we move promptly to preserve it.

Evidence disappears quickly, call Vendt Accident Attorneys at (832) 490-7088 today.

How We Build Your Lyft Accident Case

The moment you hire us, we send a formal legal preservation letter to Lyft requiring them to retain all app records, GPS data, driver communications, and ride history tied to your trip. At the same time, we pull the police report, track down witnesses, and move to obtain traffic camera and business surveillance footage before it is gone.

When fault is contested, we bring in accident reconstruction specialists to establish exactly how the crash unfolded. Our team, led by founder Frank Vendt, Jr., former President of the Fort Bend County Bar Association, and veteran Texas trial attorney Scott M. Broussard, brings extensive personal injury experience to every case we handle. We know how to fight rideshare companies, and we have the courtroom record to prove it.

What we see across Lyft claims in Comal County is that the driver’s personal insurer and Lyft’s insurer each try to point to the other. While they argue, medical bills from CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital in New Braunfels or a San Antonio trauma center keep arriving. We force the coverage question early so your claim keeps moving instead of stalling between two adjusters.

What Your Lyft Accident Claim May Be Worth

What your case is worth depends on how seriously you were hurt, how your injuries have changed your daily life, and which policies are in play. We pursue every category of damages Texas law allows:

Medical Expenses: Emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, and the future treatment or rehabilitation your injuries will require going forward.
Lost Income and Earning Capacity: Wages already missed and future earnings reduced by any lasting limitations your injuries create.
Pain and Suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, and the loss of activities and relationships that mattered to you before the crash.
Property Damage: Repair or replacement of your vehicle if you were driving at the time of impact.
Punitive Damages: Available when a Lyft driver’s conduct was especially reckless, such as driving impaired, to punish behavior that put lives at risk.
Wrongful Death: We also represent families who lost a loved one in a fatal Lyft crash, pursuing every available avenue of recovery on their behalf.

Texas applies a modified comparative fault rule, meaning you can still recover compensation even if you were partly responsible, as long as your share of fault is below 51%.

“My wife and I were involved in a motorcycle accident a few years back and Scott handled everything from the hospital to the insurance. We were well beyond satisfied as he made the process very easy to understand and demonstrated a high level of professionalism. We highly recommend Scott Broussard as your attorney.” – Steve Ledford

How Long You Have to File a Lyft Accident Claim in Texas

Texas law gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, a deadline called the statute of limitations. Miss it and you permanently forfeit your right to compensation, regardless of how strong your evidence is.

Some situations shorten that window considerably. Claims involving a government-owned vehicle may require a formal notice of claim within six months, or as little as 90 days for some cities, and different rules may apply when the injured party is a minor or was legally incapacitated at the time. An attorney can identify which deadlines govern your specific situation before time runs out.

Common Injuries in Lyft Accident Cases

Rear-seat passengers have no steering wheel to brace against and far less structural protection in side-impact collisions. The injuries we most commonly see in Lyft accident cases include:

Traumatic brain injuries from unrestrained contact with windows, headrests, or seat backs
Herniated discs and spinal fractures from rear-end and T-bone collisions
Broken arms, wrists, legs, and ribs in side-impact crashes at intersections
Internal organ damage and bleeding that may not appear for hours after impact
Whiplash and soft tissue injuries that insurers routinely undervalue but can cause long-term pain and disability
Burns, lacerations, and scarring from airbag deployment or shattered glass

In our experience, Lyft passengers often delay treatment because they are visiting New Braunfels for the weekend and plan to see a doctor back home in San Antonio, Austin, or out of state. That delay gives the insurer an opening to argue the injuries are unrelated to the crash. We help out-of-town clients get evaluated and documented quickly, wherever they live, so the gap does not become the story of the case.

Why Choose Vendt Accident Attorneys

We are not a volume firm that measures success by how quickly cases close. We believe injured Texans deserve individualized representation from attorneys who know their name, understand their situation, and are willing to take a case all the way to trial when that is what justice requires.

Local New Braunfels Office: We are not a national brand with a regional mailing address. We are part of this community and know Comal County courts, local roads, and what it takes to win before a local jury.
Trial-Ready from Day One: Insurance companies track which firms go to trial and which ones fold early. Because we prepare every case for the courtroom, adjusters know they cannot lowball us.
Individualized Case Strategy: Your injuries, finances, and family are unique to you. We build a legal strategy around the real impact of the crash on your life, not a one-size-fits-all formula.
Multilingual Advocacy: Senior Counsel April F. Tabangay-Vigilla serves clients in Tagalog and conversational Spanish.
No Fee Unless We Win: We cover upfront costs and collect our fee only from the compensation we recover for you.

“I hired Scott when I was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Scott immediately put me at ease by thoroughly explaining the process of bringing a personal injury claim, including what can be expected and provided an honest evaluation of my case. I was completely impressed with his professionalism and his fantastic staff. They were all great! I would highly recommend Scott and his staff if you are ever seriously injured and need representation.” – Ron Darley

Lyft Accident Lawyer FAQ

Can Lyft Passengers File a Claim Against the Rideshare Company?

Yes. As a passenger, you are almost never at fault, and Lyft’s commercial policy applies whenever a driver has accepted your ride. We identify every liable party and pursue every available source of compensation.

Does Lyft Carry UM/UIM Coverage for Texas Passengers?

It depends on the policy. Texas law requires rideshare policies to include UM/UIM coverage unless it is rejected in writing, so we obtain Lyft’s actual policy to confirm what applies and also look to your own UM/UIM coverage if an uninsured or underinsured driver caused your crash.

What If Lyft Claims the Driver Was Not Active in the App?

This is a common tactic insurers use to limit their exposure. We subpoena Lyft’s internal app data and GPS records to verify the driver’s true status and force the correct, larger policy to apply.

Should You Report the Lyft Crash in the App Before Contacting a Lawyer?

Report the basic facts through the app to notify Lyft and initiate the insurance process, but do not give a detailed or recorded statement to anyone until you have spoken with an attorney.

How Long Does a Lyft Accident Claim Take to Resolve in Texas?

Cases with clear liability can sometimes reach a settlement in a few months, but those involving serious injuries or disputed fault, especially if a lawsuit is required, often take a year or more to fully resolve.

Talk to a New Braunfels Lyft Accident Lawyer Today

Your injuries are real, your losses are real, and the other side has been working to minimize what they owe you from the moment this crash happened. You deserve an attorney who sees your case as a personal commitment, someone who fights for every dollar and does not back down when insurers push back.

Call (832) 490-7088 or contact us online for a free consultation and discover how our Lyft accident attorneys can help with your case.

School Bus Accidents in Comal and Guadalupe Counties

When your child is hurt on a school bus, it is both a physical injury and a breach of trust. Our firm holds school districts and their contractors accountable to the specific safety obligations Texas law places on them.

These cases extend well beyond collisions while the bus is moving. Children are hurt in three distinct ways:

While riding: Hard braking, sharp turns, and collisions throw unsecured passengers against hard surfaces, causing broken bones, head trauma, and spinal injuries.
During boarding and unloading: A driver who releases a child at an unsafe stop creates liability when that child is subsequently struck or falls.
By stop-arm runners: Texas Transportation Code §545.066 requires all traffic to stop for a school bus stop arm. Drivers who ignore this law can be held personally liable for every resulting injury.

A pattern we see often in Comal and Guadalupe County school bus cases is the district producing the bus camera footage only after a formal preservation demand and only for the exact minute of impact rather than the full boarding sequence. In the claims we have worked through New Braunfels ISD and Comal ISD routes, the boarding and unloading footage often matters more than the crash itself, which is why we request the full file the same week we are hired.

Claim Type	Who You Sue	Key Deadline
Public School Bus (ISD)	Independent School District	6-month written notice under the TTCA
City or Regional Bus	Government Transit Authority	As little as 90 days per city charter
Private Charter or Greyhound	Private Bus Company	2 years under standard Texas law

Public Bus and City Transport Claims in New Braunfels

If you were hurt on an Alamo Regional Transit (ART) bus or another government-operated shuttle, your claim falls under the Texas Tort Claims Act. The TTCA partially waives sovereign immunity, the government’s default legal shield against lawsuits, but only in specific circumstances, including motor vehicle accidents involving a government employee.

The TTCA caps recovery at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence. It also requires formal written notice within a narrow window after the accident, a deadline many injured people don’t discover until it has already passed.

Private, Charter, and Intercity Bus Crashes

Greyhound, FlixBus, tour buses, church vans, and hotel or airport shuttles are legally classified as common carriers, transportation businesses that serve the general public for hire.

Interstate carriers also fall under federal regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and those records can be central to your case. We investigate:

Driver logs to identify hours-of-service violations
Pre-trip and post-trip vehicle inspection reports
Drug and alcohol testing records
Maintenance and repair history for the specific bus involved

Hurt on a Greyhound or charter bus? Call Vendt Accident Attorneys.

What we see consistently in charter and intercity bus claims moving through New Braunfels is that the carrier’s FMCSA driver logs do not match the dispatch records once both are pulled side by side. We have found that an hours-of-service violation buried in electronic logging device data is often the detail that turns a disputed liability case into a clear one.

Deadlines and Notice Requirements for Texas Bus Claims

Texas gives injured people two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, but when a government entity is involved, that window closes much faster.

Private bus (Greyhound, charter, shuttle): 2 years from the crash date under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003.

Texas school district or state agency: Formal written notice within 6 months under the Texas Tort Claims Act.
City of New Braunfels or municipal transit: City charters can require notice in as little as 90 days, one of the most compressed deadlines in Texas personal injury law.

Evidence We Preserve Immediately

On-board camera footage is routinely overwritten within days of a crash. Black box data from the event data recorder (EDR), which records the vehicle’s speed, braking force, and GPS location at the moment of impact, disappears just as quickly without formal legal intervention.

We send preservation demand letters the same day we take your case. We also subpoena the driver’s commercial license history, inspection logs, prior complaints, and training records, all of which can reveal a pattern of negligence that predates your accident. Working with accident reconstruction specialists and medical experts, we build a clear factual record of what happened and who is responsible.

“I was represented by Scott Broussard in my personal injury case. Scott helped every step of the way, answering all my questions (I had many!) and preparing me well for discovery. The office staff also was very responsive and helpful. I highly recommend Scott if unfortunately, you find yourself injured and don’t know what to do.” – Tina Michel

Common Injuries in Bus Accident Cases

Bus accidents cause some of the most severe injuries we see, largely because of the vehicle’s weight and the absence of seat belts for standing passengers.

Passengers inside the bus are commonly thrown from seats during sudden stops or impact, suffering whiplash, herniated discs, broken bones, and traumatic brain injuries. Pedestrians and cyclists face catastrophic harm when struck by a bus; large vehicles have significant blind spots that put anyone near a crosswalk or bus stop at serious risk.

Paratransit passengers face a distinct category of risk. Improperly secured wheelchairs, malfunctioning lifts, and inadequate operator training have caused spinal fractures, head trauma, and severe internal injuries in cases just like yours.

Across the paratransit claims we have handled in Comal County, a malfunctioning wheelchair lift or an improperly secured restraint is rarely documented in the driver’s own incident report. We push for the vehicle’s maintenance logs and prior lift-service complaints early, because that history is usually what proves the operator knew about the defect before it hurt someone.

What You Can Recover After a Texas Bus Accident

You should not carry the financial cost of an accident someone else caused. Texas law allows you to pursue full compensation for:

All medical expenses, from emergency care through long-term rehabilitation
Lost wages and diminished earning capacity going forward
Physical pain, emotional suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
Permanent disfigurement or disability
Wrongful death damages if a family member was killed in the crash

When conduct was reckless or intentional, what Texas law calls gross negligence, courts can award punitive damages under Civil Practice and Remedies Code §41.003. Because the TTCA caps government liability, identifying any private co-defendant often determines how much total compensation is actually available to you.

Why New Braunfels Families Choose Vendt Accident Attorneys

We don’t take cases to settle them quickly and move on. Every client gets a dedicated strategy, direct communication, and a team ready to go to trial when that is what your case demands.

Transit authorities and private carriers have legal teams that start working immediately after a crash, and you deserve an advocate who starts working just as fast. Our New Braunfels office gives us direct familiarity with the local courts, transit routes, and road conditions involved in your case. Senior Counsel April Tabangay-Vigilla provides bilingual support in Tagalog and Spanish, so language is never a barrier. When your case reaches a jury, attorney Scott M. Broussard brings over 25 years of Texas courtroom experience to your side. We work entirely on contingency; you pay nothing unless we win.

“Frank was great to work with. He represented me in a manner that was professional and very efficient. Frank does what he does because he has a passion for justice. I am very appreciative of all that Frank has done for me, and I will recommend him to anyone that needs legal representation conducted the ‘right’ way.” – Sharndell Carr

FAQs: New Braunfels Bus Accident Lawyer

How Quickly Must I Notify the City of New Braunfels or a School District?

City charter rules may require written notice in as little as 90 days. The TTCA gives you six months for school district claims. Missing either deadline permanently bars compensation. Contact an attorney immediately.

Can I Sue New Braunfels ISD or Comal ISD After a School Bus Crash?

Yes, but only under the TTCA’s narrow waiver for motor vehicle negligence, and only if you provide written notice within six months of the accident date.

How Do Private Charter Bus Claims Differ from Alamo Regional Transit Claims?

A private carrier like Greyhound follows standard Texas negligence law, no damage caps, two-year deadline. ART falls under the TTCA with shorter notice windows and strict recovery limits.

What Happens If Another Driver Caused the School Bus to Crash?

You may have a separate negligence claim against that driver, entirely independent of any action against the school district or bus operator; we pursue all available recovery on your behalf.

Does It Cost Anything to Hire Vendt Accident Attorneys for a Bus Accident?

There are no upfront fees. We work on contingency, meaning you pay attorney’s fees only if we recover compensation for you.

Talk to a New Braunfels Bus Accident Lawyer Today

Evidence disappears and legal deadlines move faster than most people expect. If you or your family were hurt in a bus crash in New Braunfels, our team is ready to act immediately on your behalf. Call us at (832) 490-7088, visit our office at 382 S I-35 South Frontage Rd, Building C, Suite 109, New Braunfels, TX 78130, or submit your free consultation request online.