Dealing With Rideshare Accident Trauma
Rideshare services are widely thought to reduce overall traffic fatalities. However, a study by the University of Chicago challenges this notion. Analyzing the correlation between the prevalence of rideshare services and overall traffic fatalities, they found that Uber and Lyft are responsible for 3% of all traffic fatalities per year since they grew in popularity and demand.
Rideshare app Uber, however, contends that traffic safety is still of the utmost importance for the company. In fact, their yearly traffic safety report seems to support this claim, particularly their most recent one in 2020. They reported that 99.9% of Uber trips “ended without any safety incident.”
But it’s been almost three years, and no safety report has been made since then. And it’s very likely that rideshare services have seen an increase in traffic fatalities, as the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions brought up a sleuth of reckless driving reports. Per The Los Angeles Police Department, traffic deaths rose about 22% in 2021.
This is an indicator that rideshare accidents may not be as rare as it is initially thought to be. For this reason, people must be prepared to learn how to deal with rideshare accident trauma should the worst happen.
Here are 5 things you can do to cope with rideshare accident trauma:
1. Mental Health Counseling
There is a likelihood that you are going to get some sort of rideshare accident trauma after a car collision with Uber or Lyft, especially if they are severe enough to the point where you end up getting catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury.
While it seems intuitive to treat your physical wellbeing after a rideshare car accident, having some sort of mental health treatment is also just as important.
Oftentimes, people affected by a traumatic car accident report experiencing depression and anxiety. Therefore, having a mental health professional help you wade through your complicated feelings about the event will tremendously aid in alleviating any sadness and trauma you may be feeling after the rideshare accident.
2. Community Support
No man is an island — that adage is certainly true in the context of healing from rideshare accident trauma. While one-on-ones with a therapist help tremendously on bettering your mental health, having the support of your community will also aid in your healing in ways that your therapist alone cannot.
This is not to undermine the importance of a mental health professional. They are very important and will remain instrumental in lifting a traumatized rideshare rider’s struggle with mental health. But they can only do so much. It’s best to still go on your therapy sessions and still have some sort of community support at the same time.
“Community” can take the form of support groups, your family, your friends, even the people you come across with shared interests.
3. Accept Practical Support
As you wade through physical and mental ailments after experiencing a rideshare accident, the betterment of your mental health hinges on you accepting practical support from the members of your community.
You may be used to doing certain things on your own. Depending on the current state the accident left you in, doing simple things like brushing your teeth or getting out of bed may prove themselves to be arduous tasks. You have to get used to asking for and accepting help —at least until you’re healed.
People offering you practical help is a love language. It’s perfectly okay to accept the love that members of your community want to give you.
4. Physical Therapy
A lot of the trauma people get from a rideshare accident stems from the physical limitations imposed onto them. By overcoming these limitations, you exercise your mental fortitude. One way you can choose to do this is by going to physical therapy.
Not only does physical therapy help you with your physical strength, it also fortifies your mental health. The breakthroughs you will make with your physical therapist will give you a sense of fulfillment and spark hope that a better way of living is looming ahead of you.
In the same way that brain and body are interconnected, so is your physical and mental health. By taking care of your physical wellbeing, you simultaneously alleviate feelings of anxiety and depression surrounding the accident.
5. Maintain a routine
Just because you’ve gone through trauma, does not mean it’s the end of your life as you know it to be. Establishing a routine could help you cope with any anxieties you may be feeling as well as your depression. Doing so creates a sense of normalcy that could help you get through these tough and confusing times.
Finding a rideshare accident lawyer
Indeed, coping with the immense trauma that may come after a rideshare accident is hard to deal with. After all, no amount of “coping” will change the reality of the victim’s situation. They may incur fatal injuries as a result of someone’s recklessness which plays into how severe the trauma is.
All they can really do is move on from the situation. And nothing helps catapult someone towards healing more than justice can. If you or a loved one has gone through a traumatic rideshare accident, you will need a personal injury lawyer to help guide you through the legal process.
But when looking for a rideshare accident lawyer, you need to make sure that they meet the following criteria:
- You need to make sure that they have a track record of success. Look into any prestigious publications that they may be featured in or accolades they have accrued over the years. How much money have they gotten on behalf of their clients?
- You need to make sure that they are reputable, highly-skilled, and empathetic. What do the reviews say about them? Did past clients have a good or bad experience with them? Do they have almost 5 stars on Google or Yelp?
- You need to make sure that they are not charging upfront for any legal fees. Do they operate on a contingency fee basis?
Call Omega Law Group
The legal team at Omega Law Group consists of highly skilled and empathetic individuals who are well-versed in the world of personal injury. They are more than qualified to take on any rideshare accident case, and is, in fact, the best firm you could hire to represent you in a court of law.
With over millions of dollars accrued for their clients, on top of the various awards they’ve received from SuperLawyers, Best Lawyers, and features from Los Angeles Business Journal and the Los Angeles Times, the former heralding them as one of the “Most Admired Firms,” it’s no doubt that Omega Law Group is one of the best in the business.
True to their mission to provide quality yet equitable legal services, they still operate on a contingency fee basis to ensure that everyone — regardless of their financial circumstances — are able to get represented.