When a person is injured while a passenger in a vehicle, he or she may be entitled to monetary compensation for the damages that he or she sustained. The ability to recover and the amount of recovery is based on a number of factors.
Liability
If the plaintiff sues the driver or seeks to recover under an auto insurance claim, he or she must be able to show that the driver is liable. One or both drivers is liable for the accident. If only one vehicle was involved in the accident, the claim will be on the driver’s insurance policy. This type of case is more straight forward because the driver has usually done something wrong or failed to do something that resulted in the accident. In cases involving two drivers, the insurance claim is filed against the driver who was liable for the accident. At times, the claim is filed against both insurance companies until fault is determined.
Damages
The passenger may be entitled to the damages that are the direct result of the accident. Damages may include property repairs, medical expenses and lost wages. It is the plaintiff’s responsibility to provide evidence of the damages that he or she suffered.
Process of Filing a Claim
Passenger injury claims work similarly to claims filed by the non-negligent driver. The passenger will want to get insurance information from each driver. He or she may file a claim against both insurance companies. Whether the passenger files a single claim or multiple claims depends on the circumstances. For example, if one of the drivers was obviously not negligent based on the circumstances, such as being in a legally parked vehicle or being rear ended, the passenger may file a claim against the other driver.
The process of filing a claim may be different if the accident occurred in a no fault state. These claims do not require on the showing of negligence in order to provide for the medical portion of the claim.
Settlement Issues
The next part of the process is to attempt to settle the claim. If two vehicles were involved in the accident, neither party may want to settle because each party claims the other was negligent. Another issue may be if multiple passengers were in the vehicle and sustained damages. Insurance policies include a maximum amount of compensation for all injury claims. If multiple passengers suffer serious injuries, each passenger may need to file a lawsuit against the negligent driver in order to recover the full amount of his or her damages.
Comparative Fault
In some instances, insurance companies may try to mitigate their potential liability by showing that the victim’s own negligence contributed to the accident. In a typical situation in which drivers are the only parties involved, this may be accomplished by showing that the victim was disobeying traffic laws, speeding or completing distracting activities. When passengers are involved, this defense may be raised if the passenger was interfering with the driver’s operation of the vehicle or otherwise contributed to the accident. In states that use the comparative fault system, the passenger’s damages would be reduced by the amount that he or she was responsible for the accident. For example, if the passenger contributed to the accident by 10 percent and suffered damages of $10,000, his or her claim would be reduced by $1,000, so the maximum recovery would be $9,000.
