If you drive for Uber, Lyft, Via or a black car base and you get hurt on the job, the app will tell you that you are an independent contractor. In most states, that would be the end of the conversation about workers’ compensation. In New York, it is not.
New York covers most for-hire drivers through a separate fund created for exactly this situation: the New York Black Car Operators’ Injury Compensation Fund, known as the Black Car Fund. It pays the same kinds of benefits as any workers’ compensation claim, medical care and wage replacement, without anyone having to prove fault. And you do not pay for it. The coverage is funded by a surcharge on passenger fares.
Many drivers never hear about it until they need it. This page explains who is covered, when, and how to start a claim.
What the Black Car Fund is
The Fund was created by Article 6-F of New York’s Executive Law and has provided workers’ compensation coverage since January 2000. For workers’ compensation purposes only, a covered driver is treated as an employee of the Fund. That matters because it sidesteps the fight over whether you are an employee of the app or the base. Our page on 1099 workers and independent contractors explains how hard that fight can be in other jobs.
The Fund’s members are the dispatch companies, which the law calls central dispatch facilities, and the statute was written to include rideshare companies by name. The large app companies are members, as are qualifying black car and limousine bases. The key condition is that you were driving for a base that is a registered member of the Fund.
Who is covered, and who usually is not
Generally covered:
- Uber, Lyft and Via drivers, in New York City and in the rest of the state
- Black car and limousine drivers affiliated with member bases
Generally not covered by the Fund:
- Yellow taxi drivers
- Many neighborhood car service drivers, because the bases that must join the Fund are ones that take mostly non-cash fares
- Food delivery workers on bicycles and e-bikes (see delivery worker injuries)
If you fall outside the Fund, that does not automatically mean you have no claim. It means the coverage question has a different answer, and it is worth a call before you assume anything.
When you are covered: in the city and outside it
This is where most disputes start, and the answer is not the same everywhere in the state.
In New York City, coverage is tied to what the law calls covered services, which means dispatches. An injury during a trip, from accepting the ride through drop-off, is the clearest case. A driver who is logged into the app but has not accepted a trip is a different question. The statute does not expressly cover that time in the city, so it tends to turn on the facts.
Outside New York City, where Uber and Lyft operate under the state’s rideshare law, the statute is broader. It covers a rideshare driver during a prearranged trip, and also a driver who is logged into the app, not on a trip, but engaged in an activity reasonably related to driving, considering the time, place and manner of the activity. Stopping for gas between rides while logged in is the kind of situation that provision was written for.
Either way, the app’s own records will matter. Take screenshots of your app status and the trip details as soon as you can after an accident, because what you were doing at that moment can decide whether the Fund pays.
It does not have to be a crash
Car accidents are the most common driver injuries, but they are not the only covered ones. If it happened while you were providing a covered trip, a claim can also come from:
- an assault or robbery by a passenger or someone else on a trip
- lifting luggage or a wheelchair
- a slip or fall at a pickup or drop-off point, such as an airport curb
- being struck by another vehicle while you were outside your car
How to start a claim
- Give notice within 30 days. For a covered driver, the law says notice to the Black Car Fund counts as notice to the employer. Report the accident to the Fund, and report it in the app as well.
- File a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board. The claim form is the C-3, and the general deadline is two years from the accident (see the two-year deadline). The Fund stands in the shoes of the employer and its carrier.
- See a Board-authorized doctor. Tell the doctor you were driving for work, for which company, and what happened. A medical record that never mentions work invites a dispute.
You do not have to come to the office to hire us. With your authorization, we sign and file the initial paperwork on your behalf, including the C-3 claim form and the OC-400 notice of retainer, so you can get started without losing more days off the road.
How your weekly benefits are figured
Weekly benefits in any New York claim are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, adjusted for your degree of disability and subject to the state maximum. For a driver, the hard part is the wage itself. You do not get a regular paycheck, and the carrier will want to count as little as possible.
What counts as your earnings, whether it is gross fares or what you actually take home, and which vehicle expenses come off the top, is a common fight in driver cases. The courts have sent cases back to the Board for failing to explain which expenses it deducted. Keep the records that answer those questions: weekly earnings statements from every app you drive for, your 1099s and tax returns, and records of what you spend on the car.
If another driver caused the crash
A Black Car Fund claim does not stop you from suing an at-fault driver. The two run side by side, and they affect each other. A lawsuit over a car accident generally has to meet New York’s serious injury threshold, no-fault insurance has to be sorted out, and the compensation side will usually have a lien on what you recover. Settling the lawsuit without handling that lien properly can cost you your future comp benefits. We explain how this works in the comp lien in a car accident case and global settlements.
If you were a passenger in a rideshare rather than the driver, see our page on rideshare accidents.
What to do now
- Screenshot your app. Your status, the trip details and the time of the accident.
- Get the police report information if there was a crash or an assault.
- Report the injury to the Black Car Fund and in the app, within 30 days.
- See a Board-authorized doctor and say you were working.
- Keep every earnings statement and 1099, from every app.
- Call us before you sign anything an insurer sends you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Uber and Lyft drivers get workers’ comp in New York?
Yes, in most cases. New York covers rideshare drivers through the New York Black Car Operators’ Injury Compensation Fund, created by Article 6-F of the Executive Law. For workers’ compensation purposes, a covered driver is treated as an employee of the Fund, so the question of whether you are the app’s employee does not stand in the way.
Do I have to pay for Black Car Fund coverage?
No. The Fund is paid for by a surcharge on passenger fares, not by deductions from drivers’ earnings.
Am I covered if I was logged into the app but did not have a ride?
It depends on where you were. Outside New York City, the law covers a rideshare driver who is logged in and engaged in an activity reasonably related to driving, considering the time, place and manner of the activity. In New York City, coverage is tied to dispatched trips, so time spent logged in without a trip is a fact question. Screenshots of your app status at the time of the injury can make the difference.
A passenger assaulted me during a trip. Is that a workers’ comp claim?
It can be. An injury that happens while you are providing a covered trip, including an assault or robbery, can be covered by the Black Car Fund in the same way as a crash.
I drive a yellow cab or for a neighborhood car service. Does the Black Car Fund cover me?
Generally not. Yellow taxis are outside the Fund, and many neighborhood car services are not required to join because they take mostly cash fares. That does not mean you have no options, but the coverage question has a different answer, so call before you assume.
Can I also sue the driver who hit me?
Often, yes. A Black Car Fund claim does not stop a lawsuit against an at-fault driver, but the lawsuit generally has to meet New York’s serious injury threshold, and the compensation side usually has a lien on what you recover. The lien needs to be handled before any settlement.
Talk to a New York workers’ compensation attorney
The Law Offices of Frank J. Dito, Jr. handles workers’ compensation claims from the office on Staten Island, for drivers and other injured workers throughout the five boroughs and across New York State. Driver cases often come down to the app records and the earnings numbers, and both are easier to fix early than late. Call, and we will tell you where your claim stands.
Call 718.701.2776 or 800.310.5520. Consultations are free. If we don’t recover money for you, we don’t get paid.
1610 Richmond Road #200, Staten Island, NY 10304