You answered the question. > I honestly don't understand, at all, what sort of liability would be in Uber's camp. > Uber ... do their damndest to pretend tha

You answered the question. > I honestly don't understand, at all, what sort of liability would be in Uber's camp. > Uber ... do their damndest to pretend that the drivers do not work for Uber. If I am in a vehicle accident and hit by a commercial vehicle (and in fact I have been, though not an Uber, vehicle totaled and I was injured), the insurance policy is held by the employer, and generally I would also sue the employer, not the individual driver (and if I did, I would expect that the employer or their insurer would come between us). The whole "pretending they don't work for Uber" is a free pass to all sorts of shenanigans. You're right, "how could they be possibly be aware?" - but that's the point, they're doing these things to try not to be aware, for exactly these reasons (as well as the employment benefits and local regulation crap).