First, it is common to believe the event that you were involved in was an accident and it was not. Someone made a choice to put your safety at risk and violate society’s norms of safe driving. No one ever plans to be in a car crash. The injuries can be devastating and often permanent, ranging from soft tissue injuries, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and death. In many cases, you may miss work due to your injuries and have lost wages as a result. Furthermore, you may have mounting medical bills that you cannot afford to pay and still have the medical care that you need.
Luckily, there are legal options for passengers injured in car crashes. Laws in Missouri are available to hold drivers accountable for the car crashes they cause. Missouri requires all drivers to have insurance to drive on their roads. Many insurance companies will attempt to low-ball or flat-out deny injured passengers’ claims. Knowing how to get past the insurance company’s tactics can be very frustrating so you should know what rights passengers have.
Passengers Involved In Car Accidents
As a passenger, you have the right to potentially bring a third-party claim or lawsuit against different parties. You can file a third-party claim against the owner of the car that you were a passenger in; you can also file a lawsuit against the driver of the other car.
If the driver of another vehicle caused your car crash, Missouri law allows you to file a third-party claim or lawsuit against that driver for any injuries you sustain. In certain situations, you may be able to file a third-party claim or lawsuit against both drivers involved in the car crash. This is a very important option to have if injuries you have sustained exceed the insurance limits of one driver.
The most important point here is that an injured passenger can make a claim or pursue a lawsuit as an injured passenger in Missouri to recover compensation for injuries. You may seek to recover from the driver of the vehicle you were a passenger in, the other driver or drivers of the automobiles involved in the crash, or the at-fault driver.
Please call The Law Offices of Justin L. Mason, LLC to speak with a St. Louis car accident lawyer to discuss the path to maximize your recovery from your car crash.
Types of Compensation for Passengers In Car Accidents
There are various types of compensation that Missouri law provides for a passenger in a car crash. As a passenger in a car crash, you are entitled to pain and suffering. Pain and suffering may include pre-existing and new physical injuries, mental and emotional stress, disfigurement, disability, and loss of normal life. In some instances, you may also be able to recover from what will be suffered in the future. In addition to recovering from pain and suffering, you may be able to recover lost wages that have been lost, as well as loss of future earnings. We have worked with some of the best economists to successfully show the loss of earnings as well as loss of future earnings for many of our clients involved in car crashes. These types of relationships have allowed us to put together the best team so that we can produce high results for our clients who are passengers injured in car crashes. As an injured passenger in a car crash, you are entitled to all past and future medical costs and expenses, with one distinguishing factor: you must get medical treatment if you are hurt.
A major concern for most passengers injured in a car crash is medical treatment and how they will pay for that medical treatment. To be clear, you must seek medical care if you require it after your crash. You must go to the nearest emergency room, urgent care, call your primary care physician if you have one. Call an ambulance if you need immediate medical care. You must seek necessary medical care and complete any prescribed treatment is key to maximizing your car crash claim or lawsuit. Every car insurance policy issued in the United States provides coverage to pay for medical expenses for those injured in a car crash. It can be an uphill battle to settle these claims and the insurance company may make it even harder by taking as long as possible to review the medical records and bills that have been submitted to them. If you have health insurance, you may use your health insurance to pay for the medical bills that you incur as you seek and complete your medical care.
Depending on the type of health insurance plan you have, your health insurance provider may be entitled to reimbursement and may be required to reimburse from your car crash settlement or lawsuit. Regardless of the type of or lack of insurance, you must seek medical treatment to maximize the amount of compensation that your crash may have. Depending on the language of the automobile policy of the driver or owner of the vehicle you were in at the time of your crash, as well as potentially your own automobile policy, you may have medical payments coverage.
Medical payments coverage will allow you to submit your medical bills to the appropriate automobile insurance company and have those bills paid. Medical payments coverage will not cover an unlimited amount of medical bills that you might have as a result of your crash, but it may be able to pay for the emergent care that you may have needed right after your car crash. No matter what, you must seek medical care and complete that medical care right away. If you fail to seek medical care right away, the insurance company may say that your injuries are not tied to your car crash, making it that much harder to maximize your recovery.
Those injured in a car crash typically receive much higher payouts when they have an attorney as opposed to those that do not.
Connect With An Experience Car Accident Attorney
Please contact our office so we can help you understand your rights and responsibilities before making a claim for injuries as a passenger in a car crash.