California SB 623: What the New Rideshare Law Means for Accident Victims
California has enacted new rules that will affect certain rideshare accident claims beginning January 1, 2027. Senate Bill 623, signed into law on June 25, 2026, changes how certain medical expenses are handled in lawsuits involving transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft. The law also creates new requirements for rideshare driver background checks and allows certain gender-based passenger-driver match preferences.
For people injured in rideshare accidents, however, one of the most important changes involves medical treatment obtained through a medical lien. Under SB 623, the amount an injured person can recover for past medical expenses from a lien-based provider will be subject to a new statutory limit. The law also changes the rules governing the sale or transfer of medical liens and establishes restrictions on certain financial relationships between attorneys and lien-based medical providers.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP represents people injured in California motor vehicle accidents and understands the importance of identifying how changes in California law may affect a personal injury claim. Here is what injured passengers, drivers, pedestrians, and others involved in Uber & Lyft accidents should know about SB 623.
When Does SB 623 Apply to a Rideshare Accident?
The timing of an accident will be particularly important under SB 623. The new medical expense provisions apply to civil claims against a transportation network company arising from an automobile accident occurring on or after January 1, 2027. Additionally, the new law only applies when the injury victim receives medical treatment from a lien-based provider.
This makes the date of the accident important. A rideshare collision occurring in 2026 is not subject to the new medical expense limitations simply because the case continues into 2027.
What Is a Lien-Based Medical Provider?
A medical lien is an arrangement in which a medical provider agrees to provide treatment with payment to be made from the proceeds of a personal injury claim. Instead of requiring the patient to pay the medical bill immediately, the provider agrees to wait for payment until the claim or lawsuit is resolved.
This type of arrangement can be important when an injured person needs treatment but does not have health insurance or does not have another practical way to pay for medical care while a claim is pending.
SB 623 does not prohibit injured people from obtaining medical treatment through a lien arrangement. Instead, it establishes rules governing how much of those lien-based medical expenses may be recovered as past medical damages in covered rideshare accident cases.
How Does SB 623 Change Recovery of Lien-Based Medical Expenses?
For qualifying accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2027, SB 623 limits the maximum recovery for past medical expenses for services provided by a lien-based provider by comparing the doctor’s bills to a database of privately billed health insurance claims. If the doctor’s bills exceed 70% of what other doctors charge for the service according to the database, recovery will be limited to that 70% mark.
This new law does not cap all expenses; instead, it is intended to prevent inflated claims. So long as the doctor’s bills fall within the 70th percentile, an injury victim will be able to collect 100% of their medical expenses.
Because of this law, however, the amount a medical provider bills under a lien arrangement will not necessarily be the amount that can be recovered as past medical damages in a covered rideshare case.
The statute also makes clear that just because a bill falls within the 70th-percentile figure, that does not automatically establish that a plaintiff is entitled to recover that amount. A defendant can still challenge the amount of a claimed medical expense, and the statute does not create an entitlement to any particular amount for a medical service.
This distinction matters because a medical bill and recoverable damages are not the same thing under the new law.
Additionally, the law provides an exception for unusually rare or highly specialized medical treatment. A court may authorize recovery above the statutory maximum if the plaintiff establishes, by clear and convincing evidence and supported by expert testimony, that the treatment was exceptionally rare or highly specialized and that no reasonably comparable provider or service was available. The request must be decided by the court before trial.
If the court denies the request, the party opposing the motion may recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in opposing it. Unless the court authorizes a higher recovery, the statutory limitation applies.
The exception therefore requires more than simply demonstrating that a particular treatment was expensive. The statute establishes a specific evidentiary standard and requires expert testimony.
What Happens If a Medical Lien Is Sold?
SB 623 also addresses situations in which a medical lien, receivable, or right to payment is sold, assigned, financed, factored, or otherwise transferred to another party. Sometimes a doctor who agrees to provide services under a lien will sell that lien to a third party in order to receive payment without waiting for the case to conclude.
Under the new law, when a qualifying lien or related right to payment has been transferred, the maximum recoverable medical expense damages will be limited to the amount paid to acquire that lien, subject to the statute’s other limitations.
For an injured person, this means the sale of a medical lien may become relevant to determining the amount of past medical expenses that can be claimed in a rideshare case.
What Does SB 623 Change About Medical Bills?
SB 623 also establishes more specific documentation requirements for lien-based medical expenses.
Medical bills must be itemized using accepted health care billing standards, including applicable procedure and diagnosis codes such as CPT, HCPCS, and ICD codes or successor codes. The new law provides a mechanism for correcting or supplementing deficient documentation after a written challenge.
These requirements can affect the evidence used to establish past medical expenses in litigation. A rideshare accident claim may involve numerous medical providers, procedures, diagnostic tests, and treatment dates. Under the new framework, the documentation supporting those expenses becomes an important part of the claim.
Does SB 623 Limit All Damages in a Rideshare Accident?
No. One important distinction is that SB 623’s new limitation only concerns past medical expenses for treatment provided by lien-based providers in covered cases.
The statute does not establish a general damages cap for rideshare accident victims. It does not impose a dollar limit on pain and suffering, lost income, or other categories of damages simply because the accident involved Uber, Lyft, or another transportation network company.
The new law should therefore not be interpreted as meaning that every rideshare accident claim is subject to an overall cap on compensation. Its medical expense provisions are considerably narrower.
The distinction is particularly important for people who receive medical care through health insurance or pay medical expenses themselves. The new statutory provision only addresses past medical expenses for services rendered by lien-based providers and does not affect compensation received from collateral sources such as health insurance.
What Should Rideshare Accident Victims Know About SB 623?
SB 623 represents a significant change in how certain rideshare accident claims will be litigated beginning in 2027. The most direct impact on an injured person concerns medical treatment obtained through a lien. For covered accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2027, the recoverable amount of past medical expenses for lien-based treatment will be subject to the 70th-percentile FAIR Health benchmark or a comparable database, with a limited exception for exceptionally rare or highly specialized treatment.
At the same time, SB 623 does not impose a general cap on all compensation available to a rideshare accident victim. It addresses a specific category of past medical expenses and other aspects of the TNC industry.
What matters most is that you retain a respected personal injury attorney who can direct you to a reputable lien-based medical provider that will provide you with the medical care you need and carefully document those bills, thereby allowing you to recover the full extent of your medical bills and other damages.
If you were injured in an Uber, Lyft, or other rideshare accident in California, Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP can help you get the care and compensation you need and deserve. Contact Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP to discuss your injuries, medical treatment, insurance coverage, and potential options for pursuing compensation.
