Passenger Car Accident: Fault, Settlements, Can You Sue?

If a passenger’ is injured in a car accident, the passenger may be able to get compensation.

A passenger’s injury claim has many similarities to a driver’s claim.  However, there are some differences.  This article focuses on passenger injury claims for Florida auto accident cases.

When I use the word “car”, I’m also referring to a truck.  Unless I say otherwise, assume that the accident happened in Florida.

Are passengers covered by car insurance?

On most Florida car insurance policies, a passenger is covered by Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance.  This assumes the passenger didn’t own his own car, or live with a relative on the date of the crash.

The bodily injury (“BI”) liability insurance of the car that the passenger was in (“the host car”) may pay for the passenger’s pain and suffering, medical bills and lost wages that aren’t paid by PIP.

The host car’s BI insurance only pays the passenger if the host car’s driver caused the crash.

PIP Pays if You Own a Car, and Are Hurt as a Passenger in Another’s Vehicle

If you are a resident of Florida and own a motor vehicle, you are required to purchase Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”).  You are covered by PIP if you are the named insured.

You, the insured, are covered by PIP when you’re a passenger in another’s vehicle.

Quick Overview of PIP Insurance

PIP insurance pays 80% of your medical expenses up to $10,000.  This assumes that you get medical treat within 14 days of the crash, and you diagnosed with an emergency medical condition (“EMC”).

PIP pays 60% of your lost wages, up to $10,000.

Example #1 – Named Insured While a Passenger in Another’s Vehicle

Mike lives in Florida and owns a car.  He purchases auto insurance on that car, which requires PIP to be on the policy.

Mike is the named insured because he is named on the policy.  Thus, he is covered by PIP while he is a passenger in another’s vehicle.

Resident Relatives May Be Covered While a Passenger in Your or Another Car

Resident relatives and the insured may be covered by your PIP insurance while they are a passenger in your or another’s car.

Example #2 – Resident Relative May Be Covered as Passenger in Your Car

Sylvia is Mike’s sister.  She lives with Mike, the insured.  Sylvia is a passenger in Mike’s car.

Sylvia may be covered by Mike’s PIP.  However, if Sylvia owns her own car, her own PIP would pay.

Example #3 – Resident Relative May be Covered as Passenger in Another’s Car

Sylvia is Mike’s sister.  She lives with Mike, who owns a vehicle that is not insured.

There are no other vehicles in the household.  Sylvia is a passenger in another’s car (“host car”).

If Sylvia did not own a vehicle, then the host car’s insurer will give Sylvia PIP benefits.

In this example, Sylvia was Mike’s sister.  The result would be the same if Sylvia was Mike’s minor daughter.  Commercial Union Insurance Company v. Williams, 309 So.2d 617 (Fla.1st DCA 1975).

If Sylvia was Mike’s stepdaughter, the result would also be the same.  Farley v. Gateway Insurance Co., 302 So.2d 177 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974).

Others Who Are Hurt While a Passenger In Your Insured Car May Get PIP

Example:

Mike lives in Florida and owns a car.  He purchases auto insurance on that car, which requires PIP to be on the policy.

Hugo is injured while a passenger in Mike’s car.  Hugo may be covered by Mike’s PIP.

If You Live Out of State, But Are a Passenger in a Florida Resident’s Car, You Get PIP

Assume Johnson was a passenger in a car driven by Stockton. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company insured Stockton.

Johnson claimed that he suffered physical injuries as a result of a collision in Plantation, Florida.  A motor vehicle negligently driven by Christensen collided with the car owned by Stockton.  Again, Johnson was a passenger in Stockton’s car.

At the time of the collision, Johnson was a resident of Missouri.

Stockton’s car was insured in Florida.  Thus, State Farm will pay Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) benefits to Johnson.

This is because Florida PIP law requires auto insurers to pay PIP benefits for accidental bodily injury sustained in Florida by any other person while occupying the owner’s motor vehicle.  Florida Statute 627.736(4)(e)4

Johnson sued for compensation against Christensen, who was insured with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

Johnson must meet the tort threshold in order to get money for pain and suffering in his lawsuit against Christensen.  This is because Christensen had insurance, and Johnson was entitled to PIP.  Johnson v. Liberty Mut. Ins.Co., 297 So.2d 858 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974)

Uber Passenger Injury Claims if Another Driver Caused the Accident

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Can a Passenger Sue the Driver of the Same Car?

Maybe.  A passenger can make a personal injury against the driver of the host vehicle if the driver’s negligence caused the accident.

In Florida, the passenger’s personal injury claim against the driver of the host car is usually for pain and suffering, and medical bills and lost wages that PIP hasn’t paid.

If the Passenger is a Relative of the Driver, Can the Passenger Sue the Driver?

Most Florida car insurance policies do not allow a passenger to sue the driver if the passenger was a resident relative of the driver on the date of the crash.

It’s Easier for a Passenger to Get Compensation

All things equal, passengers have better personal injury cases than a driver who gets hurt.

In a Florida car accident case, you have to show that a driver (other than you) was negligent in order to be entitled to compensation for:

• Lost wages or medical bills that aren’t paid by PIP.
• pain and suffering,

In almost every car accident case, a driver was negligent.  If a driver makes a personal injury claim, the full value of his or her case is reduced by his own percentage of fault.

Since a passenger is rarely, if ever, at fault, the passenger’s full case value isn’t reduced.  This often results in a passenger getting more money than a driver.

Passengers on a County or City Bus

City or county buses aren’t required to have PIP insurance.  This is because they are not considered “motor vehicles” under Florida’s PIP laws.

Thus, you won’t get PIP benefits if you’re on a city or county bus.

Can a Passenger Make an Uninsured Motorist Insurance Claim?

Maybe.  Assume Lisa Searle, is riding as a passenger in his friend Connolly’s car.  Searle is injured by the negligence of an uninsured motorist.

Searle has an insurance policy that has $25,000 in uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage and insures two cars.

Connolly has a policy with $50,000 in UM Coverage with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company that insures the car in which Searle was riding as a passenger and one other vehicle.

Searle doesn’t live with Connolly.  She may stack the coverage for the two vehicles on her own policy.

Searle may also use Connolly’s coverage on the car that he was in at the time of the accident.  She can’t stack coverage for Connolly’s cars.

Searle has $100,000 in available UM coverage.   Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Searle, 379So.2d 131 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979).

Can a Passenger Who is Hurt While Working Make a Claim With His Employer’s UM Insurance?

Maybe.  In Zurich American Insurance Company v Cernogorsky, Fla: Dist. Court of Appeals, 3rd Dist. 2017, the court discussed the steps to see if the employee gets to use his or her employer’s UM insurance.

The first step is to request a copy of the employer’s business automobile liability policy.  Make a UM claim with that policy.

(In addition, the employee can make a workers’ compensation claim.)

Look to see if the employer’s auto insurance policy has UM coverage.  If it does, the employee may be able to make a UM claim.

Even if Employer’s Auto Policy Doesn’t Have UM, Employee Might Still Get UM

If the employer’s auto policy doesn’t have UM, look to see if it is a primary liability auto insurance policy, or whether it’s an excess liability policy.

The employer’s auto policy is likely primary for vehicles that the employer owns or leases.  The employer’s auto policy is likely excess if the employee was driving his own vehicle.

If it’s a primary liability policy, the insurance company was required to get a written rejection of UM benefits.  Florida Statute 627.727(1)

If the insurance company failed to get written rejection, then the employee should get UM coverage up to the BI limits.

If the employer had an excess liability policy, and not a primary policy, then the insurer wasn’t required to get a written UM rejection.  Florida Statute 627.727(2).

Thus, if the policy is an excess auto liability policy, and it doesn’t have UM coverage, the employee likely won’t get UM coverage.

If the employee is a passenger in the vehicle, he or she is a class II insured.  This means that he cannot stack the UM coverage for the vehicles on the employer’s auto policy.

The employee can still make a claim for uninsured motorist (UM) insurance with his own personal car insurance.

Passenger in Car Accident Gets $150,000 Settlement for Back Surgery

A passenger was in a car that was heading straight.   A driver of another vehicle made a left turn and hit the car that the passenger was in.

The passenger was hurt, and later had back surgery.  Progressive Insurance Company insured the driver who made the left turn.  They paid the $50,000 BIL limits.

The passenger had UIM insurance, who paid the $100,000 UIM limits.

I represented the passenger.

Passenger in Car Crash Gets $135,000 for Wrist Fracture and Surgery

A passenger got a $135,000 settlement for an open distal radius fracture.  Another car crashed into the car that she was a passenger in.

The injury was:

1. Open distal radius and distal ulnar fractures.
2. Laceration to flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) tendon.
3. Laceration to flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) to index finger.

The passenger had the following surgery:

1. Irrigation and debridement of the volar wrist wound. (“Volar” means is the same side as the palm of the hand).
2. Primary repair of FDS tendon to index finger in zone 5.
3. Repair of the muscle belly to FDP muscle
4. Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of the distal radius fracture.

The driver of the other car got a ticket for failure to yield the right of way.  The accident happened in Hialeah, Miami-Dade County, Florida.

I represented the passenger.

$100,000 Settlement for Passenger Who Had Thumb Surgery from Car Accident

The Property & Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford paid $100,000 to a passenger in a one car collision.  The driver of the car pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

She drove into a fixed object.  The passenger had thumb surgery.  He also had knee pain, a head injury, neck pain and lower back pain.

I represented the passenger.

Passenger in Car Crash Gets $37,500 Settlement for Broken Wrist

See a left turn car accident where a passenger got a $37,500 settlement for a broken wrist (distal radius fracture).  The passenger had wrist surgery.

State Farm and Allstate paid a combined $35,000.  The at fault driver paid an addition $2,500.

I represented the passenger.

Family of Passenger Killed in a Car Accident Gets $244,419

This isn’t my case.  Persaud v. Cortes, Fla: Dist. Court of Appeals, 5th Dist. 2017 arose from a November 2008 accident.

A drunk driver, Visnu Persaud, crashed into the back of a car that 20 year old Joshua Batista was a passenger in.  Visnu was charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

The car that Batista was in struck another vehicle and then rolled over.  Batista died.

Joshua Batista was survived by his young son, Lorenzo Batista.  I assume that Lorenzo was no older than 5 years old, since Joshua was only 20.

A jury awarded Lorenzo $25,000 in past loss of parental companionship, instruction and guidance and pain and suffering from the date of the crash to trial.

They awarded $150,000 for the future loss of parental companionship, instruction and guidance and pain and suffering.

I don’t know why the wrongful death award was so small.  I don’t know how close of a relationship Lorenzo had with his dad, Joshua.

If Joshua wasn’t involved in Lorenzo’s life, then I possibly understand this low verdict.

Since Joshua was under 25 years old at the time of the crash, his parents sued also for pain and suffering.  Each parent was awarded $20,000 in past pain and suffering, and $10,000 in future pain and suffering.  This is also a small verdict.

The jury awarded funeral expenses of $5,419.  They were also awarded $750,000 punitive damages, but the court said that the amount awarded was too high because the DUI driver had no money.

The court ordered a new trial on punitive damages only.

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