# UberX driver sued in fatal Hoffman Estates crash



## kalo (Jun 28, 2014)

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140820/news/140829809/

Operating a business without insurance. To many chances for problems.


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

kalo said:


> http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140820/news/140829809/
> 
> Operating a business without insurance. To many chances for problems.


Nowhere in the story does it say this guy was on the app at the time of the accident. Farmers covered him just as if he was driving his personal car.


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## The Rideshare Guy (Jun 3, 2014)

Sad story but to me this reassures my faith that I am safe to drive. App was off, got into an accident, personal insurance took care of everything. End of story.


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## kalo (Jun 28, 2014)

BeachBum said:


> Nowhere in the story does it say this guy was on the app at the time of the accident. Farmers covered him just as if he was driving his personal car.


Yes, I understand it "seems" the app was off.. We aren't 100% sure at this point. Likely they could sobpoena Uber. My point is we much more likely to have a law suit brought against us when operating a business. Either way, app off or on, the diver is being sued.

It's also interesting to consider.. Was he asked what he was doing prior to the accident? He told the truth? What if you lie..... get caught lying? Lying to a police officer = obstruction of justice??? Lying if you get dragged in to court = perjury..???


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## nicholsj100 (Aug 19, 2014)

Can anyone paste a copy of this article here? It wont come up there website.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

nicholsj100 said:


> Can anyone paste a copy of this article here? It wont come up there website.


Hey Brother J!
Here's another thread with the link and a link to another article on the lawsuit.
https://uberpeople.net/threads/uberx-driver-sued-in-fatal-hoffman-estates-crash.2227/


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

kalo said:


> Yes, I understand it "seems" the app was off.. We aren't 100% sure at this point. Likely they could sobpoena Uber. My point is we much more likely to have a law suit brought against us when operating a business. Either way, app off or on, the diver is being sued.
> 
> It's also interesting to consider.. Was he asked what he was doing prior to the accident? He told the truth? What if you lie..... get caught lying? Lying to a police officer = obstruction of justice??? Lying if you get dragged in to court = perjury..???


I don't know that you're any more likely to have a lawsuit filed against you just because you operate as a business. In most cases uber drivers don't operate as a business anyway. This was a horrible accident that appears on the surface to be the driver's fault. I would expect the driver would be sued whether or not he had anything to do with uber. Whatever he was doing prior to the accident, he obviously wasn't paying attention to the road! The accident happened at 5 am. I wonder how long this guy had been driving that night?


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

BeachBum said:


> I don't know that you're any more likely to have a lawsuit filed against you just because you operate as a business. In most cases uber drivers don't operate as a business anyway. This was a horrible accident that appears on the surface to be the driver's fault. I would expect the driver would be sued whether or not he had anything to do with uber. Whatever he was doing prior to the accident, he obviously wasn't paying attention to the road! The accident happened at 5 am. I wonder how long this guy had been driving that night?


If you file a Schedule C with the IRS, then you ARE a business! All Uber drivers will have to file Schd C. They might not be incorporated as a business, but will file as sole proprietors being self employed.
And All the assets of a sole proprietor are at risk in case of a bankruptcy or judgement arising from a lawsuit. Where as a corporation or a limited partnership only risks the assets of the business.


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## nicholsj100 (Aug 19, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> If you file a Schedule C with the IRS, then you ARE a business! All Uber drivers will have to file Schd C. They might not be incorporated as a business, but will file as sole proprietors being self employed.
> And All the assets of a sole proprietor are at risk in case of a bankruptcy or judgement arising from a lawsuit. Where as a corporation or a limited partnership only risks the assets of the business.


My business here is a LLC, and I use a law firm as the registered agent with the PUC, and state filings for my LLC. I am only a controlling board member, and the company has no assets. My vehicles are rented to me from another entity that I am "not associated with" ;-) However a driver can be personally sued for showing extreme negligence causing an accident. People personally sue drivers, cops, etc... all the time. So yes you can be personally liable after your insurance company pays.


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> If you file a Schedule C with the IRS, then you ARE a business! All Uber drivers will have to file Schd C. They might not be incorporated as a business, but will file as sole proprietors being self employed.
> And All the assets of a sole proprietor are at risk in case of a bankruptcy or judgement arising from a lawsuit. Where as a corporation or a limited partnership only risks the assets of the business.


If you watch your neighbor's dog while they're on vacation and they give you 600 bucks, they're required to file a 1099. Does that make you a business? I guess technically, to the IRS, yes. You would be considered a sole proprietor.

My guess is that 99% of Uber drivers would be considered sole proprietors.

Just the fact that someone is driving for Uber will, in most cases, mean they're judgment proof. In other words, they have no tangible assets.

You can sue me and win a huge judgement, the bad news is that you're never going to collect a dime.

Many states exempt a portion of your personal residence from judgments, and federal law makes it almost impossible to get at your retirement money in qualified accounts. The lawsuit BS is a paper tiger unless you're Bill Gates driving on weekends. The lawyers are really wanting to get into Uber's pockets, not yours.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

BeachBum said:


> If you watch your neighbor's dog while they're on vacation and they give you 600 bucks, they're required to file a 1099. Does that make you a business? I guess technically, to the IRS, yes. You would be considered a sole proprietor.
> 
> My guess is that 99% of Uber drivers would be considered sole proprietors.
> 
> ...


"Just the fact that someone is driving for Uber will, in most cases, mean they're judgment proof. In other words, they have no tangible assets."
Not true...Uber drivers are paupers! They have jobs, families, savings, cars, homes etc. Uber drivers don't live in a van down by the river! And they don't camp under the bridge as their primary residence.
I could be wrong but a vast majority of state do not exempt your home completely from bankruptcy arising from a judgement.


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## The Rideshare Guy (Jun 3, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> If you file a Schedule C with the IRS, then you ARE a business! All Uber drivers will have to file Schd C. They might not be incorporated as a business, but will file as sole proprietors being self employed.
> And All the assets of a sole proprietor are at risk in case of a bankruptcy or judgement arising from a lawsuit. Where as a corporation or a limited partnership only risks the assets of the business.


That is 100% false. I'm working on a post about LLC's because way too many people seem to think starting an LLC will protect your personal assets, it only provides one level inbetween. If you are found negligible your personal assets can still be at risk 100%.

Say I'm a landlord with an LLC and I refuse to fix a leaky sprinkler after numerous reports and someone slips and falls and breaks their neck and sues me for 1 million. My LLC and my personal assets are now at risk due to gross misconduct/neglect. Same exact thing applies with rideshare driving. There is risk just walking down the street in today's sue happy society. The key is figuring out what the odds are of things happening and insuring properly against that until you can afford to self-insure.


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