Legal Options for Passengers Injured in Car Accidents
November 13, 2024
Owning a car is often a necessity in the United States. Most cities and towns are designed to be primarily accessible by car. Philadelphia and the surrounding areas are no exception. While there is some limited public transportation in Philadelphia, it is mostly restricted to the city limits.
If you don’t drive, you have two options: use inefficient public transportation or be a passenger in someone else’s vehicle. The latter is often preferable when it is even vaguely convenient. That convenience can disappear in a moment, though, if you are involved in a car accident. When you suffer an injury as a passenger, you might find the insurance and legal processes quite confusing. The legal options for passengers injured in car accidents are different from the legal options for drivers. Experienced lawyers at Wapner Newman can help you navigate these options.
How the Law Protects Legal Options for Drivers Injured in Car Accidents
When a driver gets injured in a car accident, they typically have two initial options. They can file a claim with their insurance company or with the other driver’s company. Some drivers will do both and let the insurance companies determine which claim was appropriate. There is usually no harm to that approach. This process is reasonably streamlined. Every car driver in Pennsylvania is required to purchase car insurance. Furthermore, Pennsylvania law requires every driver in a car accident to:
- Pull over and remain at the accident scene
- Stay with the car if it is safe to do so
- Call 911 if anyone was injured
- Exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver
- Report the accident to Pennsylvania DOT if the police did not show up at the accident.
These requirements ensure that the driver can file an insurance claim and potentially a lawsuit against other parties involved in the accident. Car accidents are common enough that the law attempts to streamline the process and protect the rights of everyone involved.
How the Law Protects Legal Options for Passengers Injured in Car Accidents
What most people don’t know is that passengers are also required to share information with other individuals involved in a car accident. This means you shouldn’t leave the accident scene until you have the contact information of everyone involved and the insurance information of all drivers. This information is just as important to you as it is to the driver, because you also have the right to file an insurance claim or a lawsuit. You may even need to file multiple lawsuits depending on the circumstances of the accident. Because the law protects the legal options of passengers injured in car accidents, if anyone refuses to provide you with contact or insurance information after a crash, you can get the police or your attorney to help you gather that information.
While you weren’t driving the car, you are still required to share all pertinent contact information with all others involved in a car accident. If anyone attempts to leave without giving you their information, you should advise the police and your lawyer.
Despite the protections of passenger legal options provided by the law, it can be easy for an injured passenger’s rights to be forgotten in the chaos after an accident. If you are seriously injured, medical personnel might transport you to the hospital before anyone can provide you with that information. Alternatively, the other driver might not even realize that they are required to give you this information. Thankfully, you should be able to get all relevant information from the driver of the vehicle you were in or the police report for the accident.
Were you seriously injured as a passenger in a car accident in or near Philadelphia? Dealing with insurance companies as a passenger can be complicated. Contact Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 to discuss your legal options with experienced attorneys.
How Comparative Negligence Complicates the Legal Options of Passengers Injured in Car Accidents in Pennsylvania
If you are the driver of a vehicle who was partially responsible for the accident, you can get partial compensation from the other driver in the accident. This is because of a legal concept known as comparative negligence. Under this system, when you are less than 51% responsible for the injuries you suffered, you have the right to petition the courts for compensation via a civil lawsuit. There is a caveat to this right, though. When you are awarded compensation by a jury, the value of that compensation will be decreased by a percentage equal to the percentage that you were responsible for your injuries.
This same regulation applies to passengers seeking compensation after getting injured in a car accident. However, typically passengers aren’t even partially responsible for their injuries. Instead, either one driver is fully responsible or the drivers share responsibility. This is where the problems start.
The first problem is that insurance companies will often have differing views on how much responsibility each driver has in an accident. All insurance companies involved will have a company representative investigate the accident. Typically, the investigator is biased and will determine that the other driver was partially or completely responsible for the accident. When both insurance companies are pointing fingers at each other, neither is willing to pay out your claim. Even if both insurance companies agree that their client was partially responsible, they may disagree on percentages, resulting in you getting a fraction of the compensation you should.
Often this means you will have to file a lawsuit against all drivers to get the compensation you deserve. While insurance companies can disagree with each other, they can’t disagree with the decision of a jury.
How Wapner Newman Attorneys Protect Your Legal Options After You Are Injured as a Passenger in a Car Accident in Philadelphia
By hiring lawyers from our law firm to represent you after an accident, you take away the advantage that the insurance companies have during the claims process. Our legal team will independently investigate the accident, gathering as much evidence as possible. Because our investigators aren’t biased toward a specific outcome, we can prevent the type of finger-pointing that usually occurs.
Furthermore, our legal team has experience negotiating with insurance companies. We can accurately calculate the value of your claim while apportioning responsibility. That puts us in a good position to negotiate with all insurance companies involved and get them to agree to fair compensation. Typically, insurance companies would rather negotiate with a lawyer than go to court. Defense counsel is expensive, and there is no way to know for sure how a court case will turn out. Most insurance companies would prefer to accept a negotiated settlement than spend a lot of money on a trial that could still turn out poorly. If any insurance company settles, all others will probably fall in line as well.
Contact Wapner Newman in Philadelphia Today
The car accident insurance claim process is designed primarily for drivers. Passengers are a secondary consideration. This means that when you are an injured passenger, you might find the settlement process difficult to navigate. That’s where a qualified lawyer comes in.
Our legal team fights to protect everyone injured in a car accident. Don’t try to handle the car insurance claim process without help. Contact our law firm at (215) 569-0900 as soon as possible to schedule a free consultation.