A rideshare collision can leave an injured passenger balancing medical treatment, insurance issues, and questions about who must pay for care. California's newest rideshare legislation changes how certain injury claims involving Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies are handled, while adding safety measures aimed at preventing avoidable harm.
The SB 623 California rideshare law, also called the Fair Medical Billing & Rideshare Safety Act, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on June 25, 2026. It establishes new rules for lien-based medical expenses, preserves injured victims' access to medical care and legal representation, and strengthens rideshare driver screening. Most lien-related changes apply to qualifying accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2027.
The law followed a negotiated agreement between Uber and the Consumer Attorneys of California and replaced competing ballot measures with a legislative solution. Understanding what SB 623 does, and what it leaves unchanged, is an important first step for anyone injured in an Uber or Lyft collision. An experienced California Uber and Lyft accident lawyer can help put the law in context for your specific situation. The legislation's purpose and scope come into focus first.
SB 623 California Rideshare Law: What Is California SB 623?
California Senate Bill 623 is the _Fair Medical Billing & Rideshare Safety Act_, a law focused specifically on crashes involving transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the measure on June 25, 2026. The law addresses two connected concerns: protecting injured people from excessive or unnecessary medical billing practices and strengthening safety requirements for rideshare drivers. The Senate announcement describes SB 623's purpose and major provisions.
A negotiated solution to a ballot-measure fight
SB 623 did not emerge from an isolated legislative proposal. It resulted from a negotiated agreement between Uber Technologies, Inc. and the Consumer Attorneys of California. Before that agreement, competing ballot initiatives threatened to put rideshare liability and medical-billing issues before California voters. The compromise replaced that confrontation with a legislative solution addressing both medical claims and driver safety.
The agreement also had a formal election-law consequence. If the Legislature approved the bill, proponents agreed to withdraw the two ballot initiatives as permitted by California Elections Code Section 9604. The withdrawal allowed the negotiated framework to take effect without the competing measures proceeding through the ballot process. The Senate Judiciary Committee's background paper documents that agreement and the Section 9604 withdrawal provision: SB 623 background paper.
Who sponsored SB 623?
Senator Thomas J. Umberg, a Democrat representing Santa Ana and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsored the bill. His role was significant because the measure required stakeholders with opposing interests to reach a common statutory framework. The resulting law is designed to preserve injured victims' access to medical care and legal representation while creating clearer rules for rideshare companies, medical providers, and claim handling.
For anyone researching the SB 623 California rideshare law, the central point is that this is a rideshare-specific reform, not a rewrite of every California auto-accident claim. Its medical-billing provisions, transparency requirements, and safety rules must be evaluated in the context of the accident date. the driver's rideshare status, and the type of medical treatment involved. Those details can affect how an injured passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, or driver evaluates a claim.
How SB 623 Affects Medical Expenses After a Rideshare Crash
The medical-expense provision is one of the most consequential parts of the SB 623 California rideshare law. New Civil Code section 3333.9 addresses treatment provided on a lien basis after a qualifying transportation network company, or TNC, accident. A lien-based provider agrees to wait for payment from the claim proceeds rather than requiring payment at the time of treatment. Under the new rule. The amount recoverable for those medical expenses is generally limited to the 70th percentile of FAIR Health's billed charges for the same or a similar service in the relevant geographic area. A comparable commercially recognized database may also be used. Read the California Senate Judiciary Committee background paper for the statutory framework.
When does the medical-expense limit apply?
The rule applies to civil claims and arbitrations against a TNC, its subsidiary or an app-based driver when the claim arises from an automobile accident occurring on or after January 1, 2027, and the injured person received treatment from a lien-based medical provider. The date of the crash matters. The provision does not apply to medical services rendered, liens created, or receivables assigned before January 1, 2027. An attorney must therefore examine the accident date, treatment dates, lien documents, and any assignment records before determining how the statute affects a particular claim.
Why does the FAIR Health benchmark matter?
The 70th-percentile benchmark creates an evidence-based reference point for evaluating billed charges. It does not mean that every injured person will receive the same recovery or that the benchmark can be applied without reviewing the treatment involved, the geographic area, the timing of treatment, medical records, and the provider's lien documentation. The statute is directed at the recoverable amount for lien-based medical expenses in covered TNC claims, not at whether an injured person needed medically appropriate care.
What lien information must be disclosed?
SB 623 also increases transparency around medical liens. Transfers of a lien, the amount of consideration paid for that transfer, and related financial relationships must be disclosed and made discoverable. Those records can help identify whether a lien was sold or assigned and whether financial arrangements may affect the amount asserted against a claim. The changes are intended to address practices that can reduce the compensation available to accident victims, while preserving access to medical care and legal representation. Because these records may be central to valuation and negotiation, preserve every lien notice, billing statement, assignment, and treatment record after a rideshare crash.
What SB 623 Means for Your Uber or Lyft Injury Claim
For an injured Uber or Lyft passenger, SB 623 does not take away the right to obtain medical care, hire a lawyer, or pursue a claim. The law addresses specific rideshare-related practices, including lien-based medical treatment and the way certain claims are handled. It is intended to preserve access to care and legal representation while reducing practices that can diminish an accident victim's recovery. The California Senate's announcement describes the law as a measure to protect accident victims and strengthen rideshare safety. For more context on how these changes interact with your case, DC Law Group provides a comprehensive Uber and Lyft accident lawyer resource covering California rideshare injury claims.
The law is limited to rideshare claims
SB 623 applies to claims involving a transportation network company, its subsidiary, or an app-based driver. It is not a general change to California personal injury law. The bill does not govern every collision involving a private motorist, commercial truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, or bicycle. Whether it applies depends on the parties involved, the driver's relationship to a rideshare platform, the date of the accident, and the type of medical arrangement used.
The new lien rules in Civil Code section 3333.9 address qualifying claims arising from automobile accidents on or after January 1, 2027, when the injured person receives treatment from a lien-based medical provider. The statute's scope means that an attorney must evaluate the facts of the crash before assuming SB 623 controls the claim. California's legislative information and the bill's official background materials provide the governing language.
What to do after an Uber or Lyft crash
SB 623 does not replace the practical steps that protect an injury claim. If you can do so safely, document the scene, vehicle positions, visible damage, roadway conditions, and the rideshare trip information. Obtain contact details for witnesses and preserve screenshots, receipts, app messages, and other records connected to the ride. Seek a prompt medical evaluation, even when symptoms initially appear manageable. Medical records can help connect later symptoms to the collision.
Do not give a recorded statement to an insurer or rideshare representative before you understand your rights. A recorded interview may create statements that are later taken out of context. Instead, consider speaking with a California rideshare accident lawyer about the available insurance, liability issues, medical documentation, and the effect, if any, of SB 623 on your case. The law changes selected rideshare claim procedures, but it does not prevent you from seeking counsel or pursuing the compensation supported by your injuries and evidence.
Stronger Safety Requirements for Rideshare Companies
SB 623 treats driver screening as an ongoing safety obligation, not a one-time formality. For California passengers and other road users. That is an important improvement because a driver who qualified when first activated may not meet the same safety standard years later.
Annual background checks and pre-activation screening
Transportation network companies must complete a background check before activating a driver and repeat the check every year afterward. The recurring review gives rideshare companies a structured opportunity to identify disqualifying criminal or driving history before a driver continues carrying passengers. The annual requirement is one of the law's central public-safety measures, and it applies alongside stricter eligibility standards.
Expanded disqualifying offenses
The statute adds DUI convictions and other specified offenses to the conduct that can disqualify an applicant or driver when it occurred within the previous seven years. This lookback period is designed to prevent a recent history of dangerous driving or other listed misconduct from being overlooked simply because the person passed an earlier screening process. The legislative text sets out the applicable categories and timing, so the exact record matters when evaluating whether a rideshare company complied with its duties.
These rules do not guarantee that every collision will be prevented. They do create clearer oversight expectations for Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies. If a crash involves a driver who should not have been activated or retained under the applicable screening rules. That history may become relevant to the investigation and the injured person's legal claim. The California Senate describes the measure as strengthening rideshare safety through annual background checks and tougher driver eligibility standards. Read the Senate announcement about SB 623's safety provisions.
Optional gender-based matching
SB 623 also allows women passengers or drivers to request gender-based matching through the platform. This option recognizes that some users may feel safer when matched with a driver or passenger of a specified gender. It gives eligible users an additional safety preference without replacing the broader screening requirements that apply to the rideshare system.
Together, these provisions make prevention and accountability more central to California's rideshare framework. The full requirements, including the seven-year disqualification rules and matching provision, appear in the official legislative text for SB 623.
What SB 623 Does NOT Change
SB 623 changes specific rules for lien-based medical expenses and rideshare safety. It does not replace the basic legal protections that injured passengers and other crash victims rely on after an Uber or Lyft collision. Understanding those boundaries matters when evaluating what the SB 623 California rideshare law means for an individual claim.
Contingency-fee representation remains available
The legislation preserves access to legal representation for injured rideshare victims. It does not impose a limit on attorney fee recoveries under a contingency-fee agreement. The broader ballot proposal that prompted the legislative fight was defeated, and the enacted law is narrower than that proposed measure. As Holland & Knight explains, SB 623 preserves access to counsel and medical care while addressing particular rideshare-related billing and liability issues: California's SB 623 legislation.
That does not mean every claim has the same value or that every fee agreement is identical. It means the statute does not eliminate a victim's ability to consult counsel or require an injured person to handle a complex rideshare claim without legal guidance. SB 623 also preserves access to medical care for injured victims, even as it creates new rules for certain lien-based treatment and reimbursement arrangements. The California Senate described preserving medical care and legal representation as part of the law's protections for accident victims.
The three-phase rideshare insurance model remains
SB 623 also leaves California's existing rideshare insurance framework in place. Coverage continues to depend on what the driver was doing when the collision occurred:
Driver Status| Applicable Insurance| Policy Details
---|---|---
App off (personal driving)| Driver's personal auto insurance| Uber and Lyft carry no liability in this phase
App on, waiting for a ride| Contingent TNC liability coverage| Covers gaps when personal insurance denies or limits are exhausted
Ride accepted or in progress| Commercial rideshare policy| Uber and Lyft maintain $1 million in coverage for this phase
These coverage questions still require careful review of app records, trip status, policy language, and the facts of the crash. For broader guidance about pursuing a rideshare injury claim, see DC Law Group's Uber and Lyft accident lawyer resource.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SB 623?
SB 623 is California's Fair Medical Billing & Rideshare Safety Act. It changes certain rules for transportation network company claims, including lien-based medical treatment, while adding rideshare safety requirements. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill on June 25, 2026. California Senate District 34
When does SB 623 take effect?
The new lien rules apply to civil claims and arbitrations arising from rideshare automobile accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2027, when the injured person received treatment from a lien-based medical provider. The signing date and the effective date are therefore different. California Senate Judiciary Committee background paper
Does SB 623 apply to non-rideshare accidents?
No. The bill's lien provisions address claims involving a transportation network company, its subsidiary, or an app-based driver. A collision involving only privately operated vehicles is evaluated under the laws and insurance rules that otherwise apply to that accident.
Does SB 623 limit attorney fees?
No. The legislation does not impose a limit on attorney fee recoveries or eliminate contingency-fee arrangements. It preserves injured victims' access to legal representation, although the terms of any representation should always be reviewed carefully with counsel.
How does SB 623 cap medical expenses and improve safety?
For covered lien-based medical expenses, Civil Code section 3333.9 uses the 70th percentile of FAIR Health billed charges as the applicable cap. The law also calls for annual driver background checks and stricter eligibility standards, including additional disqualifying offenses. The precise effect on a claim depends on the accident date, treatment arrangement, and available insurance coverage. California Senate Judiciary Committee background paper
Ready to discuss your rideshare injury claim?
SB 623 may affect how your Uber or Lyft accident claim is evaluated, making focused legal guidance important as you consider your next step. DC Law Group's team understands the nuances of this new law and how it applies to California rideshare injury claims. REQUEST A FREE CONSULTATION to review your case and discuss the options available to you.