Cab passenger in accident finds no one has to pay for her injuries

After hit-and-run, she learns Nevada law contains insurance loophole for taxis

Sam Morris

Kathy Graves, shown in her parents’ home Friday, learned firsthand about a loophole allowing taxicabs to operate in Las Vegas without uninsured motorist coverage after the cab she was riding in was struck by a hit-and-run driver and she was hurt. “Unfortunately, you’re out of luck,” says the claims manager at Yellow Checker Cab Co.

By Mike Trask (contact)

Saturday, March 15, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Cab ride to ’burbs can be a tough find (3-03-2008)
Board grapples for solutions to neighborhood cab problem (09-20-2000)
Unions claim violations of cab drivers’ 12-hour day (12-03-2007)

Taxi Cab Authority

Kathy Graves just wanted a cab ride but instead is getting the runaround while learning the hard way that Nevada law does not require taxis to carry uninsured motorist insurance.

In the early morning of New Year’s Eve, Graves, 49, climbed into a taxi at McCarran International Airport, bound for her parents’ east Las Vegas home.

She was visiting from Florida for the holidays, eager to catch up with her father, who had recently had heart surgery. He was doing better and was supposed to pick her up, but he got a flat tire.

So she took a cab instead, hopping into the seat behind the driver, admittedly without buckling her seat belt.

To say the least, the ride didn’t go as planned.

A vehicle ran a red light at Charleston Boulevard and Maryland Parkway and struck the cab hard enough that the driver had to be taken to the hospital. Graves was thrown around a bit, crashing into the back of the driver’s seat.

Wanting to get home to her family, she did not go to the hospital. But her medical records show she fractured her left ring finger and will need surgery to be able to bend it again.

Graves, who worked in catering in Florida, had no insurance. The other driver took off. And Graves ended up falling through a taxicab insurance coverage loophole.

Yellow Checker Cab Co. says it bears no responsibility, pointing to the hit-and-run driver as the responsible party. The police report shows that the accident probably was the other driver’s fault.

“Unfortunately, you’re out of luck,” said John Lucas, claims manager at Yellow Checker.

Other major cities’ taxicab oversight boards, including those in New York City and San Francisco, also do not require taxi companies to carry uninsured motorist coverage.

The situation would be no different if Graves had been riding in a friend’s car that didn’t have uninsured motorist coverage or if she had been walking down the street when she was hit. Either way the fault would be on the offending driver. And in her case, that driver was gone.

But hitching a ride with a pal and walking aren’t activities that are regulated by the state. And you don’t pay for them, Graves argues.

She has remained in Las Vegas with her parents since the accident. She says she cannot work in catering now because she can’t use her hand. Her life in Delray Beach, Fla., including her plans to build her own business, has been mostly forgotten, and a three-year relationship with her girlfriend is on the ropes.

“It’s perplexing because nobody has to take responsibility,” Graves said. “I didn’t want to be one of these people who went to the hospital and sued everybody on some trumped-up charge.

“I’d like to see them lobby for a bill that makes this illegal. The public needs to know they are not covered. It’s not a fluke. This can happen. There’s millions of people here with the tourism. They should know this.”

Discussion: 12 comments so far…

By Randy

3/15/08 at 6:15 a.m.

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“It’s perplexing because nobody has to take responsibility,” Graves said. Including you, I say. Do what anyone else does: buy your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Problem solved. Get a job with health insurance. Again, problem solved. Take some responsibility for yourself. Pathetic.
By mgkrebsii

3/15/08 at 10:29 a.m.

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I couldn't agree with Randy more! Stuff happens. Be prepared. Protect yourself!
By skipsdog

3/15/08 at 1:59 p.m.

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I an sure the tourist industry wants this kept under wraps.
By NW_Dweller

3/15/08 at 2:25 p.m.

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Pathetic? Irresponsible? Come on. Look at the number of people not only around the L.V. but the U.S. who do not have insurance. Is it because they are pathetic or irresponsible? What about the POS that did the hit-and-running? Last year I was hit and the POS that hit me gave Metro bogus information. I have uninsured coverage, and a job with health insurance (I guess that makes me responsible), but it still cost me over $1,000 out of my pocket for something I had zero fault with. I guess that would fall under "problem solved", right?.
By Randy

3/15/08 at 4:46 p.m.

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We all have choices. If you don't like your $1,000 deductible, pay a higher premium and lower it. It's your choice. Or don't pay any premium as Ms. Graves did and just risk everything. But to insinuate that the cab company should be financially responsible for something for which it had "zero fault" is ridiculous.
By stephenrblv

3/15/08 at 6:44 p.m.

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I am confused...How does having your own uninsured insurance help when you are injured in somebody else's car who does not have this type of coverage?

As I read my policy one is NOT covered in this case.
By Randy

3/16/08 at 10:27 a.m.

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Stephen, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage applies whenever and wherever you suffer an injury due to a motorist who is not insured or who has inadequate liability insurance to pay for your injury. Your policy might try to imply that this type of accident is not covered, but it definitely is. The Nevada Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed that uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage applies whenever, wherever. You could get injured by an uninsured motorist as a pedestrian, bicyclist, as a passenger on a commercial carrier or sitting in your livingroom, and it would still apply. If you have questions, either research it thoroughly on the internet, and if that does not confirm what I am writing, see an attorney who practices personal injury.
By NuevoAmericano

3/16/08 at 11:30 a.m.

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No, letting a regulated industry get away with this is not acceptable. The taxi cab industry should carry uninsured coverage. they make the profit. They know this is a forseeable incident. It seem Randy wants to give them a free lunch. Yes we all have choices and my choice is those making the money should pay for the insurance and that is the rich cab owners. The cab owners are the one who are pathetic. No more free lunch for them.
By William

3/16/08 at 5:44 p.m.

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If I am eating in a restaurant and a car crashes into the dining room I am covered by the liability insurance paid for by the restaurant because it happened on their premises.

This customer was in/on the premises of Yellow Checker Cab Co.
While in their place of business the customer's safety is guaranteed.

Not wearing a seatbelt is kinda foolish on her part, and the cabbies.
I am required by law to make sure that all passengers in my vehicle are seatbelted.
Why would that not be true for commercial vehicles?

A black eye on Vegas if she is left hanging out to dry.
If I were her I would yell loud and long till it hits them right in the wallet.

"Take a cab in Vegas? No way. Thats not safe!"

When bad news like this "Happens in Vegas" but doesn't "Stay in Vegas" the whole city will suffer.
By mikeinvegas

3/16/08 at 6:34 p.m.

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"I couldn't agree with Randy more! Stuff happens. Be prepared. Protect yourself!"

Or
Come to Vegas and expect to get screwed one way or another.
By mikeg

3/16/08 at 10:07 p.m.

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The cab companies here in Vegas make $20 to $30 million a year. They publish it in a back page of the Review Journal business section once a year.

I think they could afford to give this lady something, although she seems to be taking a lot of time off for a broken finger. Not a lot of lovable characters in this drama.
By taxibuzz

3/17/08 at 12:07 a.m.

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What became of the poor cab driver that had to go to the hospital? He was responsible for providing safe, affordable and courteous transportation to his passenger. Through no fault of his own he was crashed into and injured. His passenger admitted that she left herself unprotected by failing to buckle up, then after being injured by bouncing off the front seat she claims that she's been wronged by Yellow Cab because they carry no uninsured motorist insurance. And it's characterized in this article as a loop-hole.

This paragraph is what smells about this story:
[ Graves, who worked in catering in Florida, had no insurance. The other driver took off. And Graves ended up falling through a taxicab insurance coverage loophole. ]

She chose not to have insurance to cover her injury. Yellow Cab didn't have uninsured motorist coverage. How is that a loop hole? No motorists in Nevada are required to have uninsured or under-insured coverage.

She can't work because she broke one finger in her left hand 10 weeks ago?

She's looking for charity in this case. Lady, Hellen Keller did a lot more with a lot less than you have.

Comments that Yellow Cab should step up to the plate because they have the money simply defies reason. The fact is cab companies have few choices for insuring their fleets. They can self insure, if they can afford it, or buy coverage from the one or two companies that will even insure cab companies here. And those companies don't offer uninsured, under-insured, medical expense coverages or personal injury protection.

One of the benefits of having a couple of insurance companies that cover cab companies here, is if a driver is fired for his driving record, or having a chargeable accident then he can't get hired on at another cab company that is insured by the same insurance company.

The writer of this article could have done a little more research and learned these things. But then again it would have short-circuited another 'I been done wrong by the taxi industry story' by the Sun and their buddies at the RJ.