Remedies Available for Passengers Involved in Car Accidents

When involved in an accident, both driver and passengers can be affected. About 2.6 million passengers suffer injuries in traffic accidents annually, causing damages such as medical bills, loss wages and compensation for pain and suffering. Since occupants involved in car accidents are not to blame, there are remedies available for passengers involved in car accidents.
 

Determining Fault

Before an insurance company accepts responsibility for a passenger’s claim, they must determine liability by answering a series of questions. Determination of this factor will be decided by, obtaining statements of parties involved, review of the police report, and or speak to any independent witnesses who witnessed the accident and were not directly involved in the collision.
 

Relationship Between Driver and Passenger

The relationship between the passenger and driver is very important in the claims process. If the driver of the vehicle in which the passenger was in is placed at fault, and passenger and driver are blood related and/or live in the same household, the passenger may not be able to bring forward a claim against the driver’s liability insurance policy. Most insurance companies have a clause in their policy manual, that doesn’t allow family members or household relatives to file a claim due to intentional acts and to minimize false injury claims.
 

Recorded Statements

DO NOT MAKE ANY RECORDED STATEMENTS WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY. Statements about your injury are often obtained in the early stages of your claim. Insurance adjusters preserve the information you provided to them and later use it against you. The interest of an insurance company is to make money for its shareholders, and every dollar they pay out in claims is a dollar lost in their business profit. It is recommended to reach out to an attorney’s office, so they can represent you and guide you in every phase of your claim.
 

Filing a Claim Against the Insurance Companies

In a two car collision, it is recommended that the passenger make claims against both drivers involved in the accident. If the other driver is found primarily at fault, the passenger can pursue a claim against their insurance coverage. In addition, if the driver of the vehicle that the passenger was not primarily at fault, the passenger may bring forward a claim against them. This is because both drivers share liability in the collision. In a scenario where both drivers share some sort of liability, a comprehensive lawyer can assist a passenger to negotiate with both drivers’ insurance companies to pay the maximum compensation deserved as remedies available for passengers involved in car accidents.
 

Using Your Own Insurance Coverage

In some occasions, passengers must face the fact that either the at-fault driver may not have insufficient coverage for their losses, and/or that there are multiple claimants bringing forward an injury claim from the same collision. If there isn’t enough coverage to properly compensate them, there may be a policy in which they can potentially recover from.

Underinsured Motorist (UIM) pays for losses related to your accident, that result when the at-fault driver’s policy has too little or not enough coverage to pay for your injuries. Don’t worry about your insurance rates increasing. California’s Proposition 103 states that insurance companies are not allowed to raise rates or drop you because you made a claim against your underinsured motorist coverage. Since occupants can be severely affected after an accident, there are remedies available for passengers involved in car accidents to properly compensate them for their losses.
 

Contact A Passenger Attorney Today

Car accidents can result in serious injury, emotional and financial distress, and other damages. The insurance company’s main job is to reduce the amount paid out in every single claim, regardless of the losses suffered. Let our experienced car accident lawyers take care of the communication with insurance companies, while you focus on healing. If you have recently been involved in a collision, call the experienced attorneys at Sweet Law Group at (800) 203-3061 , to arrange a free consultation today!