Rideshare accident settlement amounts in Connecticut

If an Uber or Lyft crash left you hurt in Connecticut, the size of any settlement turns on one question before anyone talks about your injuries: which insurance policy was live at the moment of impact. Connecticut answers that with specific dollar figures written into state law, and the figure changes depending on what the driver was doing when the cars collided.

That single detail can swing a claim from a $25,000 policy to a $1,000,000 one. A realistic settlement range starts with the coverage tier your crash fell into, then bends up or down based on the Connecticut rules below.

For scale, Connecticut recorded 103,489 reported crashes statewide in 2025, and 1,737 in March 2026 alone.¹²

The coverage that pays depends on what the driver was doing

Connecticut regulates Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) under Public Act 17-140, the 2017 law whose insurance provisions took effect January 1, 2018 and now sit in Chapter 244c of the General Statutes.³ The insurance rules are in section 13b-120, and they set different minimums for different moments in a trip.⁴

App off. When the driver isn't logged into the network, only their personal auto policy applies. Connecticut's minimum is 25/50/25: $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.⁵
Logged in, waiting for a request. Once the driver is connected to the digital network but hasn't accepted a ride, section 13b-120 requires primary coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage.⁴
Engaged in a prearranged ride. From the moment the driver accepts a request through the moment the last passenger gets out, the required primary coverage rises to $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury, death, or property damage.⁴

Section 13b-116 draws that last line precisely. A "prearranged ride" begins when the driver accepts your request through the digital network, continues while you're being driven, and ends when the last rider exits the vehicle.⁶ If you were a passenger when the crash happened, you were almost certainly inside that $1,000,000 window, and so was any pedestrian or other driver the rideshare vehicle struck during the trip.

Section 13b-120 also lets that coverage come from a policy held by the driver, by the company, or by a combination of the two.⁴ In practice, that's why a claim during a trip usually routes through Uber's or Lyft's commercial insurer rather than the driver's personal carrier.

The waiting period is where fights start. A driver cruising with the app on but no ride accepted carries far less coverage, and this is the window rideshare insurers most often dispute. Connecticut's answer is the $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 primary layer.⁴

Uninsured and underinsured coverage is part of the package

Section 13b-120 doesn't stop at liability. It also requires uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage during both the waiting period and the ride, tied to Connecticut's UM/UIM statute, section 38a-336.⁴⁷ This is the piece injured passengers overlook.

Say the driver who caused your crash wasn't the Uber driver but a third party who ran a light and carried only the 25/50 state minimum. If your medical bills run past $25,000, UM/UIM steps in to cover the gap. Under section 38a-336, every Connecticut auto policy must carry UM/UIM at least equal to the driver's own liability limits, with a floor of 25/50, unless the named insured signs a commissioner-approved form choosing a lower amount.⁷ During a prearranged ride, that UM/UIM protection rides along with the $1,000,000 layer, so a passenger can recover whether the fault sits with the rideshare driver or the other car.

What Connecticut law does to the number

Once you know which policy applies, state law decides how far it can stretch.

Connecticut puts no cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary crash claim. There's no statutory ceiling on medical expenses, lost income, or pain and suffering, so the practical limit is the available policy money measured against what your losses actually prove out to. Punitive damages are the narrow exception. Under the long-standing rule in Vandersluis v. Weil, they're limited to the plaintiff's litigation expenses, which usually works out to attorney's fees minus taxable costs.⁸

One Connecticut multiplier is worth knowing. If the at-fault driver was drunk and deliberately or recklessly violated the DUI statute (section 14-227a), and that violation was a substantial factor in the crash, section 14-295 lets a victim ask the court for double or treble damages.⁹ When a bar or package store served a visibly intoxicated adult who then caused the crash, Connecticut's Dram Shop Act adds a separate claim, though recovery there is capped at $250,000 under section 30-102.¹⁰

Fault also cuts the number. Connecticut follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar under section 52-572h.¹¹ If you're found 51% or more at fault you recover nothing; at any lower percentage your award drops by your share, so a $200,000 result at 20% fault pays $160,000. A rideshare passenger is rarely assigned fault, so this rule usually decides the split between the drivers rather than your own right to recover.

Distraction runs through a lot of these cases. Connecticut bans handheld phone use and texting behind the wheel as a primary offense, meaning an officer can stop a driver for that alone, with fines of $150, $300, and $500 for a first, second, and third offense under section 14-296aa.¹² A citation like that can help prove the other driver's negligence.

The deadline that can end a claim before it starts

Connecticut gives you two years to sue for a crash injury, running from when you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the harm, with a hard outer limit of three years from the date of the crash, under section 52-584.¹³ The same statute covers property damage. Miss it and the strongest injuries settle for nothing, so this is the one date to calendar the week you get home from the hospital.

Before you settle

Pull the official crash report first, because it anchors the who-hit-whom question every adjuster starts from. You can find Connecticut crash reports through thatcarhitme.com. If your car was damaged or totaled, its lost resale value is a separate claim from the repair bill, and Connecticut drivers can read how that works on the diminished value page.

Rideshare claims involve layered policies and corporate insurers, so an injured passenger negotiating alone is at a real disadvantage. To compare attorneys who handle these cases in Connecticut, start with the legal directory.

No two Connecticut rideshare crashes settle for the same amount. The figure comes from the coverage tier that was live at impact, the strength of the fault evidence, and how well your losses are documented before you sign anything.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

thatcarhitme.com, Connecticut (Statewide) Crash Report, 2025 annual. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/connecticut/statewide/2025-annual-report
thatcarhitme.com, Connecticut (Statewide) Crash Report, March 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/connecticut/statewide/march-2026-report
Connecticut Public Act 17-140 (2017), An Act Regulating Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2017/ACT/PA/2017PA-00140-R00HB-07126-PA.htm
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 13b-120, Transportation network company automobile insurance. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_244c.htm#sec_13b-120
Connecticut Insurance Department, Auto Insurance (minimum limits and UM/UIM requirement). https://portal.ct.gov/cid/consumer-information-center/auto-insurance
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 13b-116, Transportation network companies. Definitions. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_244c.htm#sec_13b-116
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 38a-336, Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_700.htm#sec_38a-336
Vandersluis v. Weil, 176 Conn. 353, 407 A.2d 982 (1978). https://law.justia.com/cases/connecticut/supreme-court/1978/176-conn-353-2.html
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-295, Double or treble damages for personal injury or property damage resulting from certain traffic violations. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_248.htm#sec_14-295
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 30-102, Dram Shop Act; liquor seller liable for damage by intoxicated person. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_545.htm#sec_30-102
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-572h, Negligence actions. Doctrines applicable. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_925.htm#sec_52-572h
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-296aa, Use of hand-held mobile telephones and mobile electronic devices by motor vehicle operators. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_248.htm#sec_14-296aa
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584, Limitation of action for injury to person or property caused by negligence. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_926.htm#sec_52-584

Rideshare Accident Settlement Amounts in Connecticut