As a passenger with injuries in a car accident, you have rights. In most cases, you cannot be found at fault, so you normally have the right to recover the entire amount of your damages and injuries.
This article discusses passenger injuries in car accidents, how to file a claim, how to determine a possible settlement amount, and your overall rights as a passenger in a car accident.
In any personal injury car accident case, liability is usually important to prove. The plaintiff has to show that the defendant was liable for the crash. Second, they must show that the actions of the defendant led to the plaintiff's accident injuries.
However, when a passenger is injured in a car accident, the personal injury claim is often easier. This is because liability is less of an issue: One or other of the drivers is responsible, and one or both of them will have to pay for your accident injuries. In virtually all two-vehicle accidents, one driver or the other will be found negligent. It is almost unheard of for a two-car crash to not have one of the drivers blamed.
In a one-car accident, such as the driver slamming into a tree, the driver is usually found to be negligent. Generally, when a driver strikes something, they generally are found to have done/not done something that constitutes negligence.
Occasionally, there are car accidents where the passenger is found partially liable. For example, if you grabbed the steering wheel and this led to the crash, your recovery could be lowered by the share of the fault you had in the accident. If you were found to be 20% at fault for the crash, your recovery would be reduced by 20%.
Head and back: Head injuries are the most severe of injuries in a car accident. Drivers and passengers in car collisions may slam their heads into the windows, dashboards or wheels. This can cause a traumatic brain injury or TBI. Back injuries also may involve back muscles and discs. In the worst cases, there could be damage to the spinal cord.
Neck and chest: A passenger in a car accident can suffer from whiplash, which is damage to the muscles and ligaments in the neck. The level of injury with whiplash can vary from person to person. The chest area can have severe trauma that includes cracked or broken ribs, trauma to the heart, lungs, liver or spleen. People who have heart problems can even enter cardiac arrest.
Other injuries: Passengers may suffer broken arms, legs, hands and feet. Cuts and scrapes from broken glass are common. Emotional trauma can be severe as well.
All of these potential accident injuries can leave you without the ability to work or to pay your medical bills. But car passengers do have rights when they are injured in accidents. You have the right to obtain compensation for your medical bills and lost wages from the driver who is responsible for the accident.
The question is in these accidents: On which auto insurance policy should you file your claim?
If you are hurt in an accident as a passenger, the first option is to file a lawsuit or claim against the driver who is liable for the accident. In most states, drivers must carry a state minimum amount of liability coverage. In that amount of required coverage, there is property damage liability and bodily injury liability. BI insurance will cover your accident injuries and it pays up to a certain limit for each person. There also is a limit for the entire crash. For instance, in New York, the minimum BI insurance is $25,000 for each person and $50,000 for each incident.
There are commonly some obstacles involved with filing a claim for passenger injuries with the other driver's policy. First, the other driver's policy may not have enough coverage to pay for your injuries. If only you were hurt, it may be sufficient. But if there were several passengers or drivers injured, that amount has to be divided between all parties. The more injured people, the less it is likely that your injuries will be fully covered.
The odds are lower if the driver who is liable only has minimum levels of insurance. In some states such as Arizona and California, the state minimum is just $30,000 per car accident. If you have medical costs of $60,000 and others were hurt, you might only recover a few thousand dollars. In the worse case, your claim could be denied if there are no more insurance benefits available.
Also, filing a claim through the other driver's policy can be a major headache. In some accidents, it is unclear exactly who was at fault. If that is true in your passenger injury case, it could take weeks or months to decide who was at fault. If fault is fuzzy, it may benefit you to hire a personal injury attorney to obtain fair compensation for your passenger car accident injuries.
Another option: file your injury claim through the insurance policy of the person who drove the car you occupied. The easiest way is to use your friend's Personal Injury Protection or PIP coverage. Another possibility is to use the person's Medical Payments or MedPay benefits. Both of these types of insurance cover all car passengers. They are considered to be 'first party benefits.' This means that your car's driver can file a claim, and no matter who was to blame, will receive compensation for medical costs.
As a passenger in a car accident with injuries, this may be your best bet. You will probably enjoy fast reimbursement for your injuries. Your rates will not increase, either. On the down side, PIP only is required in 12 states, and MedPay is not mandatory in any state at this time. If the accident did not happen in a state with PIP, your driver probably does not have this type of insurance.
If your car driver lacks PIP or MedPay, another choice is to file through their bodily injury policy. But if the driver is a friend or is a member of your 'non-immediate' family, you may not want to do this. Who wants to sue the driver as a passenger in a car accident when you are friends or family?
This is an entirely understandable feeling, but think about it this way: You are not really going after them yourself for money. You merely are filing a claim on their insurance policy. You would simply file an insurance claim on their insurance policy to get a certain amount of money to pay for your medical costs and lost wages. Your friend or family member does not have anything else to do with the claim.
Filing a claim for your passenger injuries on your own policy is another option. Why would you do this? You were not driving, so how would that work? If your policy features PIP or MedPay coverage, this could be used to pay for your medical costs. But as you personally are filing a claim, it will probably cause your rates to increase. Also, PIP and MedPay have limited benefits. It means that severe accident injuries probably will not be fully covered. But such a claim would likely at least pay for your medical bills.
If you have a health insurance policy, you also may use it to pay for your accident medical bills. It is possible that you may have to use all of your auto insurance benefits first. Health insurance providers can vary widely in how they handle this situation, so you should check with your health insurance company.
Before you file a claim with any insurance company, it is critical to determine how much your accident injuries are worth. This should be a reasonable amount that you would take for giving up the right to go to court to settle the matter. Many insurance companies use various formulas to get a rough idea where to start for a settlement in a car accident case.
Multiplier for non-economic damages – this is for pain and suffering that you have endured. Depending upon how serious the injuries are, you may want to use a multiplier of 4 or 5, times the above economic damages. For less serious injuries, a multiplier of 2 or 3 is appropriate.
All car accident injury cases are different. Therefore, it is challenging to state with any certainty what type of compensation you can anticipate in your case. Some cases with minor injuries could be settled for $3000. Serious accident cases can settle for $250,000, $500,000 or more. Personal injury attorneys can access recent settlements and verdicts in your part of the country.
That is why it is useful to consult with a personal injury attorney in many accident cases. Initial consultations with personal injury attorneys are usually free of charge. Talk to an attorney if you want to get a good idea of the size of a potential claim for your passenger injuries.
Can I sue if I was the passenger in a car accident?
If you become injured in a car accident as a passenger you have privileges to sue too. In the unfortunate chance that you were a traveler in a vehicle that was associated with an accident and you endured injuries because of that mishap, you can seek compensation for your medical expenses, missed wages from being unable to work, pain and suffering and more. So, whom you can sue and what happens if the driver of the vehicle you were the traveler in was found to blame? You have the right to sue the other driver that was at fault for the accident for these damages. If your driver of the vehicle you were in is found at fault, you can sue them for damages as well. Further, in the event that the two drivers are similarly to blame, you can sue the two drivers for the damages.
Can I claim whiplash if I was a passenger?
On the off chance that you sustain any type of injury, including whiplash from being a passenger in a collision, you reserve the option to claim your whiplash injury and seek compensation for your damages. Weather or not the driver of your vehicle was found at fault, or the opposing driver was found at fault, you are able to sue Driver A, Driver B or both depending on if both were partially at fault. Due to the negligence of the driver(s) you are able to sue for the whiplashed caused by the accident.
Does my car insurance cover me as a passenger in another car?
This will all depend on what type of insurance coverage plan you have. You already know that when you are driving your own vehicle and you get injured you will be covered by your own protection policy. So, who will cover your personal injuries in the event you are injured as a passenger? It's important to know that in the unfortunate event you become injured as a passenger, you may be covered by multiple insurance policies including your own, the driver of the car you are riding in, and/or the opposing driver. If you become injured as a passenger in another vehicle, in this case it is the faulted drivers insurance company that is responsible for covering your damages. In most states, you are obligated to have personal injury liability through your insurance plan however, depending on what policy you have the coverage might not be enough to cover all of your medical expenses and other expenses that come along with personal injuries. If you have opted to have full coverage through your insurance company, it will cover the damages done to the third parties.
How do I file a claim as a passenger in a car accident?
It's hard to know exactly what steps to follow after an accident and even more confusing if you are injured as a passenger in a car accident. Thankfully, as a passenger you have multiple options in order to be compensated for your injuries. If the driver of the car you were the passenger in and that driver is deemed to be at fault, you can file a claim against that driver. If the other driver is faulted for the accident and you sustain injuries as a passenger, you can file a claim against the other driver's insurance policy. Filing a claim is simple especially with the help of an attorney. Be sure to have a medical professional examine you and seek treatment shortly after the accident. As a passenger, your medical expenses are paid for by the driver's medical portion of their coverage policy.
What's the average settlement for passengers injured in auto accidents?
After these expenses are added, a multiplier is applied to the total expenses and that number typically ranges 1-5 in regards to pain and suffering. On the scale, 1 represents minimal pain with a quick recovery and no lingering injuries. And 5 represents maximum pain with ongoing injury related issues.
I was the passenger in a car accident without insurance. Can I sue?
The good thing about being a passenger is you are less likely to be found at fault and you have a right to sue the faulted driver. There can be complications when it comes to insurance for instance, if the driver of the vehicle in doesn't have insurance you are not able to sue because you have no policy to go after. But if the other driver has caused the accident and they DO have insurance, you are able to file a claim against their policy.
Can a passenger be liable for a car accident?
Yes. In the unfortunate event you become involved in collision as a passenger, you will likely imagine that your injuries are the responsibility solely of the driver of the car you were riding in, or the other driver involved. However, it is not always the drivers' responsibility and there are some cases where the traveler can actually be blamed or partially blamed for causing the accident. There are instances where the passenger may be arguing or for whatever reason decides to grab the steering wheel and in this situation the passenger technically becomes the driver since the vehicle is still in motion and can be found at fault.
Who should I sue if I was an injured passenger in a car crash?
As a passenger, you have a few options when it comes to whom you are able to sue. If you are injured as a passenger making a third party claim depends on whom the negligent driver was. First you must determine the driver that was found at fault for the accident and then take it from there. You can file a claim against the insurance policy of the driver of the car you were in, or the insurance policy of the opposing driver. If you have suffered injuries in a car accident as a passenger, you can file a claim or personal injury lawsuit to collect compensation for your injuries and damages. Just like drivers, you can hold the at-fault driver liable for your injuries. You may be able to recover compensation from the driver of another vehicle that caused the accident, the driver of their vehicle if they caused the accident, and even both drivers if they share fault for the crash.
A passenger who is injured in a car accident often has a simpler case than the driver. The reason is the passenger has no need to prove liability. One of the drivers involved will be liable and that driver's insurance policy will be responsible for the passenger's injuries.
A passenger personal injury claim will proceed as with other auto accident claims, except that the passenger will need to make a claim against each driver in a two car crash.
Because several auto insurance policies may be involved in the accident, determining an average settlement for a passenger hurt in a car accident is challenging. But we do know that car accident claim data shows a typical settlement range of $14,000 to $28,000, with the average being $21,000.
Yours could be much more or less, depending on your injuries.
As with any car accident with injuries, the amount that you can recover in a settlement depends widely on the circumstances of the accident. Some car accidents with minor injuries can be settled for less than $5000 and may not even require an attorney. But many more serious car accidents with passenger injuries can settle for five and six figures. If there are serious injuries and multiple insurance policies involved, it is possible that the settlement could be much higher. If the at fault driver or drivers do not have insurance, the passenger may be able to tap their own uninsured or underinsured insurance coverage to cover their damages.
Remember that you can always have your case reviewed at no charge by a personal injury attorney in your state. He or she can give you a better idea of what you could get in a settlement, based on your level of injuries, the auto insurance policies involved, and the level of liability for each driver.
In most situations, a car passenger is not liable for a car accident, but there are some situations where the choices of the passenger can affect negligence and liability in a personal injury lawsuit.
For example, if a passenger knowingly enters a vehicle with an intoxicated driver and is injured in an accident, they would be unlikely to recover damages because of their nonverbal content to a risk of injury. Passenger nonverbal consent also can come into play in cases of speeding, reckless driving, distracted driving, drowsy driving and failure to announce a foreseeable hazard. In those cases, it is possible that the passenger would be unable to recover damages if injured in the subsequent accident.
If a passenger were to grab the steering wheel, however, he would effectively become the driver at that point and could theoretically be held liable in an accident.