Were You a Passenger Hurt in an Auto Accident?
You May Be Able to Recover Compensation
Ideally, car accident cases work like this:
- Driver A is driving recklessly and causes a collision with driver B
- Driver B then contacts driver A’s insurance company
- Driver A’s insurance company assess the damage to driver B’s car
- Driver A’s insurance company pays for repairs to driver B’s car or pays for the value of the car if the car is a total loss
Unfortunately, things aren’t always that simple. Oftentimes, there are passengers that are injured in one or both vehicles. In some cases, only one of the drivers has insurance on their vehicle. Factors such as these can turn a routine
car accident into a legal nightmare that only an experienced attorney can rectify.
In the event that you are a passenger in either car, you are entitled to file a claim against the defendant’s insurance company. Also, as a passenger, you may be able to receive compensation from the plaintiff’s insurance company as well.
Compensation for injured passengers
Injured passengers are entitled to be compensated for several types of damages. The State of Texas recognizes two types of damages: special and general. Special damages are the most straightforward. They include property damage, medical expenses, court costs, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity.
This category entitles a
plaintiff to any wages he or she would have secured had the accident not taken place. For instance, if an electrician who makes $60,000 is paralyzed in a car accident, he can no longer perform his job. As such, his accident directly resulted in his loss of income over the next twenty years. That theoretically entitles him to at least $1.2 million in damages as a result of his loss of earning capacity alone.
General damages are a bit more vague. They include things like pain and suffering, mental anxiety, emotional suffering, impairment or disfigurement, inconvenience, or a damaged reputation. These sorts of damages are much more subjective and only an experienced lawyer will know how to properly account for these damages. If you ask for too much, your claim can seem exaggerated and you will potentially damage your case. Ask for too little and you will get less than you deserve.
For example of the subjective nature of these types of
damages, consider an auto accident in which two victims were suffered burn injuries. They both suffered burns over most of their body, but victim A was rendered unconscious for most of his recovery process while victim B experienced his pain fully. Although medical costs would be similar for these two victims and their injuries would be almost identical, the victims experienced different amounts of pain and thus the damages to which they are entitled would be different.
When it comes to general damages, insurance companies don’t like to play nice. Many insurance companies will do whatever they can to prove that the defendant is not liable for any sort of general damages, as these damages typically amount to the largest portion of the claim.
This is where you can benefit from the services of a good
Dallas car accident lawyer. A good attorney knows all the tricks insurance companies have up their sleeves and can help you secure the damages to which you are entitled, no matter how subjective they may be. The attorneys of Grossman Law Offices can put their experience to work for you to make sure you don’t fall prey to the insurance companies’ tactics.
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Questions answered by this article:
What damages can an injured passenger collect in a car accident?
When a passenger is injured in a car accident, who pays for the medical expenses?
Can an injured passenger file a lawsuit?
What rights does an injured passenger have in a car accident in Texas?