Filing a Claim As a Passenger in a Car Accident
If you have been injured in an accident, you almost certainly have a lot of questions about your car accident case, and depending on the incident, one of them may be, “Can a passenger sue both drivers?”
When a car accident takes place, an investigation will occur in order to assign fault. Insurance companies will review the data and police report and come to a determination. Sometimes, it is a single driver who is found to be negligent and at fault; perhaps they were driving drunk or made a reckless decision.
Let an experienced car accident lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys help answer your questions today with a free consultation.
When Multiple Drivers are Involved
Other times, two or more drivers involved can be found at fault in a car accident, if the investigation determines that they each played a role. As an injured passenger, you may be able to sue or file a claim against both drivers or one driver’s insurance company, depending on the circumstances.
In essence, in most states, you may file an injury claim only against the car driver, or car drivers that are deemed at fault for the accident by the investigators. In the course of the car accident investigation, the appraisers will determine not just who is responsible for the car crash, but what percentage of responsibility each at-fault driver carries.
For instance, in a two-car accident, there could be a case where Driver A is 60% responsible and Driver B is 40% responsible. Depending on the state, this may mean that Driver A pays out 60% of your medical bills and compensation, while Driver B pays out the remaining 40% of compensation. Again, this can change depending on what state your car was in at the time of the vehicle accident.
No-Fault Versus Fault-Based States
Your course of action is first determined by what state the car accident took place in. In No-Fault States, you or your lawyer may file an insurance claim with the insurance companies of all of the vehicle drivers that have been found at fault in the investigation.
In No-Fault States, which includes Pennsylvania, on the other hand, most drivers hold something known as a Personal Protection Plan (often referred to as PIP). This essentially means that drivers are insured to cover their own expenses, rather than to pay out expenses to another party.
So if you are traveling as a passenger in a no-fault state and an accident takes place, you will file a passenger injury claim under the insurance of the person who was driving you. You may only file a claim with the other driver if your injuries meet a specific threshold, the specifics of which vary from state to state.
The extent of your injuries will also play a role in the course of action you decide to take after a car accident. While all vehicle drivers in Pennsylvania are legally required to be insured, there are cases, of course, where a driver violates this law and drives while uninsured. If one or both of the drivers responsible for the accident and your injuries are uninsured, you may need to file a lawsuit in the form of a personal injury claim in order to receive compensation.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Car accidents often leave passengers with serious injuries, lost wages, and more. The injured party may find after an accident the driver’s insurance policies don’t cover the vehicle passengers injured in the accident. There may be a case where both are insured, but one driver or both of them does not have substantial enough coverage from insurance companies to meet the passenger’s needs. Or perhaps there were multiple injured passengers, and each of them files an insurance claim or personal injury against the driver at fault for the accident.
In this case, the value of all three passenger claims may exceed the limit of the vehicle driver’s insurance. Again, in a situation such as this, you may need to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver of the car involved. To receive maximum compensation as the passenger injured in a car accident, you will want to seek out the experience of a car crash lawyer. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Why Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Car Accident Lawyers?
After a car accident, if you’re asking yourself, “Can a passenger sue both drivers?” get a free consultation from an experienced car accident lawyer. No one should have to navigate the legal system alone, and if you sustained serious injuries or were involved in an accident as a passenger, we are here to support you as an injured passenger seeking to sue both drivers or file a claim for compensation.
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has dedicated and experienced lawyers who will work tirelessly to win your case and guide you through the process of receiving fair compensation. If you were injured in a car accident as a passenger, reach out to us today for a free consultation.
