5,483 vehicle passengers died in traffic accidents in 2022, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
You might be wondering what happens if you are a passenger in a car accident and what your rights are.
If you are injured in a car accident as a passenger, you should get to safety, call 911, gather evidence like photos, insurance information, license plate numbers, driver’s licence numbers, and contact information of drivers and witnesses if you’re able to, and seek immediate medical treatment.
After that, you are likely entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and should pursue compensation by filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit with the help of a car accident attorney.
Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one was injured or killed in a car accident, as a personal injury attorney at our firm can help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, pain, suffering, wrongful death and more.
We won’t charge any fee until and unless we recover money on your behalf. Call us today.
Who Is Liable for Passenger Injuries in a Car Accident?
When a passenger files a claim with an insurance company after being injured in an auto accident, they can file an insurance claim with their driver’s insurance company, the insurance company for the other driver, or sometimes both companies.
Your Driver
- Liability: If the person driving the vehicle you were a passenger in was at fault for the accident, you might be able to start the claims process with your driver’s insurance company. Your driver’s personal auto insurance policy will likely cover your damages and injuries.
- Insurance claims: You should notify the insurance company for your driver about your accident and your injuries in order to start the process of recovering fair compensation. It might be needed to provide evidence such as medical records in order to support your claim.
- Personal injury lawsuit: Your driver’s insurance coverage may be insufficient to fully compensate you for your damages or injuries. Your driver’s insurance company may also deny your claim. In addition, what is even fairly likely is that your driver’s insurance company will only offer you low ball offers if you don’t have a lawyer. If any of these things happen, it may be a good idea to file a lawsuit with the help of a personal injury lawyer who has experience handling cases involving car accidents.
The Driver of the Other Car
- Liability: If your accident was another driver’s fault, you may be able to recover compensation from the insurance company of that driver. That driver’s insurance policy will likely cover your damages and injuries.
- Insurance claims: You should notify the insurance company for the at-fault driver about your injuries and accident. It will be vital for you to support your claim by providing necessary evidence and documentation, such as medical records and medical bills.
- Personal injury lawsuit: The at-fault driver’s insurance may be inadequate, or their insurance company may deny your claim or severely undervalue your claim. If any of these things happen, you might consider filing a motor vehicle accident lawsuit with the help of an experienced car accident lawyer.
Shared Liability
- Liability determination: In California, those who injure others via negligence are financially liable under the law for those injuries. This can apply when more than one party is found negligent for an accident. Comparative fault applies in California when more than one party is found negligent in an accident. What happens is each person at fault is assigned a percentage of fault for the accident and the damages they’re eligible to recover are reduced by that percentage of fault. So, say you’re found 10 percent at fault for an accident in which you suffered $100,000 worth of damages. You would be eligible to recover $90,000 in this case, since the amount you’d be eligible to recover would be reduced by 10 percent of $100,000, or $10,000.
- Insurance claims: You should notify the insurance companies for both companies about your injuries and accident. Both insurance companies will perform accident investigations and assess any liability based upon applicable laws and evidence.
- Negotiations or lawsuits: Liability for the car crash may be disputed. The insurance companies also may not reach a settlement which is fair. In these cases, you may wish to directly negotiate a settlement with the involved parties or file a lawsuit in order to determine liability as well as seek compensation.
Policy Limitations in a Passenger Car Accident
A notable limitation you may run into if you’re a passenger in a car accident is known as an intra-family exclusion.
Some insurance companies will not pay for the medical costs for injured passengers when the passengers are your family members and you caused the accident. Insurance companies with this policy will argue they should not have to pay for these injuries and will cite the purpose of health insurance and medpay. These policies are meant to make sure that people don’t defraud insurance companies via the staging of accidents.
Our lawyers do not necessarily endorse any specific insurance companies over any others. However, we can tell you that companies without an intra-family exclusion include Travelers, Grange, State Farm and Nationwide.
Companies which do have this exclusion include Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, American Family, Liberty Mutual and AIG.
Can Passengers Share Liability for an Accident?
Passengers in car accidents will not typically be found at fault for the accidents. However, there are certain situations in which a passenger may be found liable for an accident. As an example, when passengers knowingly distract drivers and it leads to accidents, they can be found liable.
According to the NHTSA, 15 percent of accidents involving distracted driving are caused by passengers interacting with drivers.
Another example would be an intoxicated passenger insisting on giving incorrect directions to a driver.
Additional examples include:
- Passengers aggressively grabbing steering wheels causing the driver to lose control over their vehicle
- Passengers covering drivers’ eyes as pranks leading to obstruction of vision
- Drunken passengers insisting that drivers take dangerous shortcuts while traveling at a high speed
- Passengers encouraging drivers to speed
- Passengers encouraging drivers to drink or do drugs
- Passengers encouraging drivers to watch movies while they drive
- Passengers putting their foot over the foot of the driver on the brakes or accelerator
These are simply a few examples. There are more ways that passengers may possibly cause accidents.
However, it isn’t always straightforward to determine fault in these types of cases. Courts will look into if reasonable people would be able to foresee harm coming from their actions.
There’s a lot of room for interpretation with this topic. This makes it vital for you to obtain the assistance of experienced lawyers like our attorneys if you’ve been involved in a similar incident.
We have seen countless similar, unique circumstances occur during auto accidents and nothing surprises us at this point.
We’ve been handling car accidents since 1990 and will make sure your case gets the attention it deserves whether you were a passenger or driver in a car accident.
It’s vital to know that, as a passenger, you can file a claim against your own insurance policy at times. You should get advice from legal professionals to figure out if you’re eligible to file a claim with your own policy.
When an Injured Passenger Should Pursue a Lawsuit
If you’re a passenger and you’re injured in a car accident, you should take legal action under specific circumstances, including:
- Serious injuries: If the injuries you sustained are severe, you’re going to have a lot of costs regarding your medical care, and it might be necessary for you to seek legal counsel. This can make sure that you are fairly compensated for your medical bills, pain, suffering, lost wages, and additional damages which result from your accident.
- Permanent or long-term injuries: If your injuries lead to permanent disability or long-term consequences, it’s vital that you consider taking legal action. Injuries like these might need ongoing rehabilitation, medical treatment or accommodations, and these can all lead to significant financial losses accruing.
- Disputed liability: If a liability dispute exists and it’s not clear whose fault the accident is, it may be necessary to take legal action. This is common when there is the involvement of multiple parties, or when conflicting accounts exist regarding the accident.
- Inadequate offers or claim denials: The insurance company might deny your claim or only offer you low ball offers which don’t fully cover your damages. If these things happen, your next step may be to pursue legal action. A lawyer can assist with negotiations with insurance companies or even file a lawsuit seeking compensation on your behalf.
- The legal issues are complex: Some auto accidents involve legal issues which are complex, including defective products, government entities, commercial vehicles or multiple parties. In cases like these, it’s smart to consult with a lawyer experienced in handling complex legal issues who can navigate the legal process for you.
Talk to an Experienced Passenger Accident Attorney Today
Call us today for a free consultation, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or text us from this page if you or a loved one was injured or killed as a passenger in a car accident. We have been representing injured passengers since 1990 and have recovered over $750 million for our clients. Our vast experience allows us to recover the most compensation possible for injured passengers.
If you can’t afford to have your injuries treated, we will be able to get you to doctors on a lien. This means that you won’t be charged for the injuries you suffered as a passenger to be treated until your case is over. Doctors do this for our injured passenger clients because they know we get great results for our clients.
We won’t charge a fee to handle your passenger injury case until and unless we recover compensation on your behalf. The only fee we’ll charge to handle your passenger accident case is a percentage of any compensation we recover for you, meaning no upfront fees or out-of-pocket fees will be charged.
Call us today for a free case evaluation.
Jeffrey Nadrich
Jeffrey Nadrich is a nationally-recognized California plaintiff’s personal injury attorney. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law. He has successfully represented thousands of injury clients over the last 40 years.
