Passenger Car Accidents

No one ever plans on being in a car accident, let alone getting injured in one. This is especially true if you were never even driving a car in the first place. If you were injured in a car accident as a passenger, you may be a little confused about your rights and what to do next. While car accidents may be a fact of life, there’s still a lot of confusion in the average person’s mind about what to do next if you’re a passenger rather than a driver.

I Was Injured As A Passenger In A Nanuet, NY Car Accident. Am I Entitled To Damages And Compensation From Insurance Like A Driver Would Be?

As an injured passenger in a Nanuet, NY car accident, you have just as much of a right to claims and compensation as an injured driver would have. For example, you have the right to file a no-fault claim under the insurance policy of whomever owned the car you were traveling in at the time that you incurred your accident.

These claims must be made within 30 days of the date of incurring the injury. If you make the claim within that deadline, they should reasonably cover at least $50,000 of out of pocket medical fees and potentially lost wages. Non-economic damages (like pain and suffering) are not available under PIP claims.

However, you may be able to file a third-party claim—that is, a lawsuit against the other party and their insurance company— if you sustained what is referred to in New York as a “serious injury.” This essentially means broken bones, lost limbs, permanent loss of use of a bodily organ, system, or limb, miscarriage/loss of fetus, an injury that results in significant disfigurement, dismemberment/limb loss, or death, and/or an injury that’s non-permanent but prevented you from performing your usual or average routine/activities for at least 90 out of the first 180 days after the accident.

If you have that sort of accident that you sustained as a passenger in a car, you may sue for damages—both economic and non-economic—like you would have the right to do if you were driving at the time of the accident. This is referred to as “reaching the no-fault threshold.”

Often, this means suing the person who was driving—which in many cases, passengers are hesitant to do, because the person driving is their friend or someone close to them. While it is each injured passengers’ own journey and decision as to whether they want to pursue damages against a friend, they certainly have the right to do so if their injuries are considered within the bounds of the “severe” category.

An experienced, knowledgeable attorney will be able to help you make heads or tails of your case, and sort out what sort of a claim you have and how to move forward as a passenger personal injury survivor. In Nanuet, NY, Reuven Epstein is just that attorney. Call for a free consultation on your case today.