California’s laws for rideshare accidents have been seriously shaken up, and a lot of the changes aren’t good for accident victims trying to get paid. If you’re in Savannah, watching how California law is shifting around Uber and Lyft gives you a good preview of how the legal fights over transportation network company (TNC) incidents are playing out across the country. While Georgia’s laws are different, the basic struggle of proving damages and dealing with the headaches of medical liens is pretty much the same everywhere.
Key Takeaways
- Starting January 1, 2027, Senate Bill 623 (SB 623) puts a cap on what you can recover for some medical treatments paid for on a lien. The cap is the 70th percentile of FAIR Health’s billed charges for the same services in that area.
- The new law demands a lot more transparency about medical liens, forcing disclosures if a lien is sold or transferred and what money changed hands.
- SB 623 tightens up background check rules for rideshare drivers and requires new safety options inside the apps for female passengers.
- The law also puts new limits on how attorneys can refer clients to specific healthcare providers, trying to make those relationships more transparent.
- A lot of the old protections for rideshare accident victims didn’t go away, including rules about uninsured motorist coverage and a company’s liability for its driver’s screw-ups.
What Went Wrong: The Pre-SB 623 Field and a Costly Ballot Fight
Before SB 623, the rules for rideshare accident claims in California were a mess, constantly being pulled apart by TNCs, consumer groups, and trial lawyers. Uber, for example, was pushing a ballot initiative that would have changed all of California personal injury law, not just cases involving rideshare accidents. It would have affected pretty much any car wreck claim in the state.
Facing a long and incredibly expensive fight over that ballot measure, the different sides finally came to the table to negotiate. The result of that compromise was SB 623. It was a legislative fix aimed squarely at the problems unique to TNCs like Uber and Lyft. This move prevented a massive rewrite of all personal injury law and kept the focus on the rideshare industry. For a good breakdown of the original changes, check out the analysis from J&Y Law.
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Start my free evaluationJune 25, 2026: Governor Newsom Signs SB 623 Into Law
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 623 into law on June 25, 2026. This was a huge deal for anyone in California involved in an Uber or Lyft crash. Even though this is a California law, it’s packed with ideas that reflect the national debate about holding rideshare companies accountable and fairly paying victims. If you live in Savannah, watching this unfold can give you clues about where Georgia’s own TNC regulations might go next.
The bill hits a few key points. It changes how some damages get calculated in rideshare cases, especially when medical liens are involved. It forces more transparency about those liens, beefs up driver background checks, and adds new safety features in the apps for women. You can see the legislature trying to find a middle ground between the rideshare companies’ business interests and the safety of everyone on the road.
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January 1, 2027: New Limits on Medical Expense Recovery
One of the biggest legal shifts in SB 623 kicks in on January 1, 2027, and it’s all about recovering medical bills that were paid for on a lien. In the past, a medical lien was a simple way for an injured person to get treatment they couldn’t afford upfront. The doctor or hospital would just agree to wait for payment until the personal injury case settled.
As Parham Nikfarjam, Senior Trial Attorney at J&Y Law, puts it, “Getting medical treatment quickly after an accident is one of the most important things an injured person can do, not just for their health, but for their case. Insurance companies look for gaps in treatment almost immediately. If someone waits weeks to see a doctor or misses appointments because they can’t afford care, insurers will often argue the injuries weren’t that serious or were caused by something else. Medical liens let people get the treatment they need right away instead of waiting until they can pay. This is better for patients and it produces better outcomes, both medically and legally.”
But under this new law, what you can recover for certain lien-based treatments is now generally capped. The recoverable amount can’t be more than the 70th percentile of what FAIR Health says are the billed charges for similar work in that geographic area (or what a similar commercial database says). This is meant to standardize how medical bills are valued in a lawsuit, and it could definitely change the final settlement or verdict amount. For anyone in a wreck in Savannah, it’s just as important to understand how medical liens work under Georgia law, especially the hospital lien statute O.C.G.A. Section 33-24-51, because we have similar systems for getting people care.
Increased Transparency for Medical Liens and Attorney Referrals
SB 623 is also cracking down on secrecy around medical liens and attorney referrals. The law now has extra disclosure rules that force more information out into the open during a lawsuit, including details about:
- Any sales or transfers of a person’s medical lien.
- The financial price paid to buy those liens.
- Specific financial ties between the companies that own liens and the doctors providing care.
- Certain information about an attorney’s referral for lien-based treatment.
In some situations, if a medical lien was sold, the law can actually limit the recoverable medical damages to whatever the new owner paid for the lien. The whole point of these rules is to make the money trail behind medical liens totally clear during a case, hopefully cutting down on fights in front of a jury over how much the medical care was actually worth.
On top of that, SB 623 creates new restrictions on lawyers referring clients to specific doctors. The idea is to get the financial relationship between the law firm and the medical provider out in the open. This is a big deal in any P.I. claim, and if you’re in Savannah, you need to know the ethical rules the State Bar of Georgia has for attorney conduct.
What Didn’t Change: Core Protections for California Uber Accident Victims
Even with all the changes from SB 623, some of the most basic protections for Uber and Lyft accident victims in California are still there. The bedrock principles of negligence and liability haven’t gone anywhere. If a rideshare driver’s carelessness causes a wreck, the victims still have the right to demand compensation for their injuries and losses.
Rideshare companies are also still required to carry huge insurance policies for their drivers. That insurance, which is often a multi-million dollar policy, is the backstop that pays for a victim’s damages. The exact amounts and when the policy applies can get complicated, but the fact that the insurance has to exist is a fundamental protection.
And victims can absolutely still demand money for the full range of their losses, including pain and suffering, lost income, damage to their car, and future medical care. SB 623 mainly just tweaks how some of those medical bills are valued. It doesn’t take away the right to recover them. So even though parts of the process are different, your fundamental right to get justice hasn’t disappeared.
Conclusion: Working through the Evolving Field
If you’re an Uber accident victim in California, SB 623 brings some very specific new rules you have to navigate, especially with medical lien transparency and valuation. If you’re here in Savannah, our local accidents are governed by Georgia law, but the California fight shows just how quickly rideshare laws can change and why having an expert lawyer is so important for any accident claim. For instance, seeing how New York Uber driver injury myths are getting shot down can give you a good idea of the kinds of misinformation floating around out there.
What does California legally consider a “Transportation Network Company” (TNC)?
Under California law, a TNC is just a company that uses an app or online platform to connect paying passengers with drivers using their own personal cars. Think Uber and Lyft, those are the big ones.
When did SB 623 actually become law in California?
The bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on June 25, 2026.
How does SB 623 change the value of medical bills in an Uber accident case?
Starting January 1, 2027, the law caps what you can recover for some medical treatments on a lien. The ceiling is generally the 70th percentile of FAIR Health’s data for similar services in that city, or data from a similar database.
Did SB 623 affect the background checks for rideshare drivers?
Yes, it did. SB 623 actually made the background check requirements for drivers stricter in an effort to make rides safer for passengers.
What stayed the same for California Uber accident victims after this new law?
The basics are still intact. You can still sue for negligence, the big rideshare companies still have to carry massive insurance policies, and you can still pursue money for things like pain and suffering or lost wages.
