When Your Rideshare Driver Hits a Pothole or Road Debris: Who Pays for Your Injuries?
Posted December 10th, 2025 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Attorney Anthony Carbone, Auto Accidents, Lyft Accident, Personal Injury.
You’re riding in an Uber or Lyft, heading home after work or out to meet friends. Suddenly, the driver swerves sharply or slams on the brakes to avoid debris in the road. The violent maneuver throws you against the door, or the vehicle strikes a massive pothole that jolts everyone inside. You’re injured, shaken, and unsure what just happened. When a rideshare driver hits a road hazard and you get hurt, figuring out who is responsible can be complicated. Understanding your rights and the factors that determine liability helps you protect yourself and pursue the compensation you deserve.
At The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, we help victims of rideshare accidents navigate these complex situations and hold the right parties accountable.
Road Hazards Come in Many Forms
New Jersey roads present various hazards that can cause accidents and injuries. Understanding what qualifies as a road hazard helps establish the context for liability.
Common road hazards include deep potholes and cracked pavement that can damage vehicles or cause drivers to lose control. Fallen tree branches, especially after storms, create sudden obstacles in roadways. Construction materials like lumber, tools, or equipment that fall from work trucks pose serious dangers. Tire debris, parts that fall from vehicles, or unsecured cargo can appear without warning in travel lanes.
Other hazards include loose gravel or rocks, especially near construction zones, metal debris from accidents or vehicle breakdowns, and objects that fell from other vehicles like furniture, ladders, or cargo.
When a rideshare driver encounters these hazards, their response determines whether an accident occurs and who may be liable for resulting injuries.
Untangling the Web of Responsibility
Determining liability when a rideshare driver hits a road hazard requires examining several factors and potentially multiple responsible parties.
The Rideshare Driver’s Duty
Drivers have a legal responsibility to operate their vehicles safely and respond appropriately to road conditions. Even when a hazard appears suddenly, drivers must maintain reasonable control of their vehicles. If a driver was speeding, following too closely, distracted by their phone, or failed to keep a proper lookout, their negligence may make them liable even though a road hazard was involved.
However, if a hazard truly appeared without warning and the driver responded reasonably, they may not be at fault. For example, if debris falls from a truck directly in front of the rideshare vehicle with no time to react, the driver may not be negligent.
Municipal and Government Liability
Cities, counties, and state agencies have a duty to maintain roads in reasonably safe condition. When governments know about hazards like dangerous potholes but fail to repair them within a reasonable time, they may be held liable for resulting accidents and injuries.
Proving government liability requires showing that the hazard existed long enough that officials should have known about it and had time to fix it. Previous complaints, work orders, or reports about the specific hazard strengthen these claims. Government entities often have special rules and shorter deadlines for filing claims, making prompt legal action essential.
Other Drivers’ Responsibility
If debris or objects fell from another vehicle, that driver may be liable for your injuries. Drivers have a duty to properly secure cargo and maintain their vehicles. When loose items fall onto the roadway and cause accidents, the driver who failed to secure them can be held responsible.
Identifying the responsible driver can be challenging, especially if they left the scene. Witness statements, traffic camera footage, and debris analysis may help track down the at-fault party.
Shared Liability
Sometimes multiple parties share responsibility. For example, if a municipality failed to fill a reported pothole and a rideshare driver was speeding when they hit it, both parties may be partially at fault. New Jersey’s comparative negligence law allows you to recover compensation even when multiple parties share blame, though your recovery may be reduced if you are found partially responsible.
Steps to Protect Your Rights After the Accident
If you are injured when a rideshare driver hits a road hazard, taking immediate action strengthens your claim and protects your ability to recover compensation.
Get Medical Care Immediately
See a healthcare provider right away, even if injuries seem minor. Road hazard accidents can cause whiplash, neck and back injuries, head trauma, and internal injuries that may not produce immediate symptoms. Medical documentation links your injuries to the accident and establishes their severity.
Report to Police
Call law enforcement to the scene. A police report provides official documentation of the accident and may include important details about the road hazard, its location, and its appearance. Officers may photograph the hazard and note whether it appears to have been present for an extended period.
Document Everything Yourself
Take extensive photos of the road hazard from multiple angles, showing its size, location, and appearance. Photograph all vehicle damage, the accident scene, road conditions, traffic signs, and any visible injuries. The hazard may be removed or repaired quickly, so immediate documentation is crucial.
Gather Witness Information
Collect contact details from anyone who saw the accident occur or can confirm the hazard’s presence. Witnesses may provide important testimony about how long the hazard has been there or how the driver responded.
Preserve Your Ride Details
Screenshot all information from your rideshare app including driver name and photo, vehicle details, route, timing, and fare. This data proves you were a passenger and establishes the driver’s status.
Report the Hazard
Notify the appropriate municipality or agency about the road hazard. This creates a record of the problem and may support your claim that officials should have known about it.
Avoid Premature Statements
Do not provide detailed statements to insurance adjusters or sign releases before consulting an attorney. Insurance companies often use early statements to minimize claims.
Contact an Experienced Attorney
Cases involving road hazards and rideshare accidents present unique legal challenges. The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone knows how to investigate these crashes, identify all potentially liable parties, and navigate the complex claims process involving government entities, rideshare companies, and multiple insurance policies.
Why These Cases Require Skilled Legal Help
Road hazard cases demand thorough investigation and legal expertise. Your attorney must determine whether the hazard was avoidable, how long it existed, whether it was reported, and how the driver responded. This requires obtaining government maintenance records, previous complaints, work orders, and witness statements.
Claims against government entities follow special procedures with strict deadlines that differ from standard personal injury claims. Missing these deadlines can destroy your right to compensation. An experienced attorney ensures all procedural requirements are met while building the strongest possible case.
Your lawyer also handles communications with multiple insurance companies, calculates full damages including future medical needs, and fights for maximum compensation covering medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and long-term impacts.
Hold the Right Parties Accountable
When a rideshare driver hits a road hazard and you get injured, you deserve answers and compensation. Whether the driver, a government agency, another motorist, or multiple parties share responsibility, skilled legal representation helps you navigate these complex claims and recover what you need to move forward.
