Injured as a Passenger? Your Rights in Texas Car Accident Claims
Driving in Texas can be a harrowing experience. Between dealing with construction zones, commuters rushing to work and tourists traveling through unknown territory, it’s amazing that most people arrive at their destination safely.
Although the fatality rate in Texas has decreased over the past couple of years, there are still many vehicle accidents that cause serious injuries. As the passenger in a car wreck, it’s natural to be unsure of where you stand regarding being held liable and filing a claim.
Fortunately, passengers tend to have good outcomes for their car accident claims. In most cases, passengers aren’t at fault for the accidents they experience. You also have similar rights compared to the drivers of the vehicles regarding your ability to work with a car accident lawyer and file a claim.
Taking a look at your rights and what to do following your accident helps you have the best outcome for receiving compensation that helps with your recovery.
Understand the Basics of Liability and Insurance When You’re Not the Driver
Liability is a term that describes who is at fault for an accident and the extent of their responsibilities for covering the cost of any damages that occurred. In Texas, all drivers are required to carry liability insurance coverage to drive legally on public roads.
Liability insurance is designed to cover the cost of property damage and personal injuries that occur during an accident. Once a car accident occurs, it’s important to quickly begin identifying the responsible party to ensure that they are held liable for the damages.
As a passenger, you’ll typically fall under the guidelines for being eligible to receive compensation for your injuries. But, you may need to work with a car accident attorney to prove the other party’s fault and uphold your rights when filing the claim.
Know the Immediate Steps to Take After the Accident
In the aftermath of an accident, you may be so distraught that you forget to take essential steps that could help your case. Naturally, your first step after an accident is to assess your injuries.
In a severe accident, you may need to seek emergency medical care immediately. If so, then take care of your health first, and a car wreck lawyer can help you gather evidence later.
If you have time, then you’ll want to take these steps at the accident scene that can help you with insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits.
- Gather the other driver’s information
- Take pictures of the damage at the scene of the accident
- Get information from any witnesses
- Write down the details you remember immediately
As you work through these steps at the scene, remember to get as many details as possible. For instance, you’ll need the other party’s name along with information about their insurance company.
You may also need to move your vehicle from the main road to stay safe. If so, then take note of the exact location where the accident occurred and the time. A car wreck attorney can often gather evidence from local traffic and dash cams, along with witness statements, to reconstruct what happened at the time of the incident.
Once you get home, you’ll want to reach out to the insurance companies involved to begin the process of reporting the accident and filing your claim. Keep in mind that insurance companies often offer lowball settlements in the earliest days after an accident.
In most cases, it’s best to wait until you’ve talked to a car crash lawyer before you accept any offer. You could have injuries that reveal themselves over time. Or, you might be eligible for compensation that isn’t included in the initial settlement offer.
To help your case, make sure to save any documentation of the expenses that occur due to the accident. Your medical records, hospital bills and other costs can all help you demonstrate proof of the injuries that you sustained in the accident. Your car crash attorney can also use this information to identify the amount of compensation you might be entitled to for a strong recovery.
Determining Liability
Although you may have an up-close view of the accident as a passenger, determining liability for an accident isn’t always as simple as saying the other car was speeding. Insurance companies, courts and lawyers look at all of the details that impact the case to identify whose negligent actions contributed to the accident.
Factors that include the driver’s behavior, road conditions and defects in the vehicle could all be partially or solely responsible for the accident occurring. In some cases, both parties could be at fault. For instance, someone could be speeding through an intersection at the same time that the other vehicle runs a red light.
In situations where liability is in question, your car crash attorney can use the police report, witness interviews and videos of the incident to demonstrate whose actions led to the incident. As a passenger, it is rare to be liable for an accident since the drivers of the vehicles are expected to always be in control of their operation.
Be Aware of Your Rights As an Injured Passenger
Occasionally, people falsely believe that passengers don’t have as many rights as drivers in an accident. Although you might not be entitled to compensation for property damage to a vehicle that isn’t yours, you have the same rights as everyone else to file a claim for personal injuries and other damages.
You also have the right to request medical care in the immediate aftermath of the accident and the time that follows the event. Passengers can request the other party’s name, phone numbers and insurance information.
One of the most important rights that you have as an injured passenger is the ability to choose how you want to handle your case. Insurance companies can sometimes try to push a fast settlement offer to pressure a passenger into accepting the lowest amount possible. Making sure to uphold your right to speak with a vehicle accident lawyer first can save you from making a potentially costly mistake.
Explore How Insurance Works for Passengers
As you may have already experienced, dealing with insurance companies and figuring out what a policy entails can get complicated. Injured passengers may not always be able to identify exactly what types of damages are covered and in what amounts on their own.
For most passenger injuries, your best course of action is to work through the liable party’s insurance company. If the driver was properly insured, then their policy should cover compensation for personal injuries for anyone in the vehicle. In the event the driver lacked insurance, then your car accident attorney may recommend following other courses of action, such as filing a personal injury lawsuit or a claim with your insurance policy if it covers this scenario.
Vehicle passengers may also be able to seek compensation from the insurance company that covers the person driving the car they were in at the time. The driver of the vehicle you are riding in may have personal injury protection that covers injuries for passengers even when they aren’t completely at-fault for the accident.
Working with a vehicle accident attorney can help you ensure that all of your possible options for coverage are identified. Your attorney might even identify other parties that could be held responsible for your injuries. For example, a car part manufacturer could be held liable for faulty brakes or other components that contributed to the accident.
Prepare for Any Potential Impacts On Your Liability
In rare instances, passengers could be found liable for a car crash. However, you would typically know if you engaged in activities from the passenger seat that led to the incident occurring.
Naturally, there is a general expectation that passengers won’t interfere with a driver’s ability to drive safely. Grabbing the steering wheel without a reasonable cause could be an action that a passenger might take that leads to an accident. The same is also true of doing something that could obstruct the driver’s vision, such as holding your hands over their eyes or putting something in their field of view on the windshield.
Sometimes, a driver may claim that the passenger was encouraging them to speed or run red lights. Encouraging the driver to engage in high-risk activities is never a good idea, and it’s important to talk to young passengers about the importance of practicing proper vehicle safety standards.
In fact, passengers also have the right to let a driver know if they feel unsafe and find an alternate way to their destination. Although it can be hard to demonstrate a passenger’s liability for an accident, these situations are becoming easier to prove with in-car vehicle technology such as dash cams.
If someone involved in the incident accuses you of being liable for the accident, your car wreck attorney can work on your behalf to demonstrate all of the factors that led to the collision.
Follow These Tips to Strengthen Your Claim
The actions that you take immediately following an accident play a significant role in the compensation that you receive for your injuries. The first tip to follow is to always seek medical care for your injuries.
Many symptoms of an injury can start off mild and slowly get worse over time. For instance, you could have a neck or back injury that you can’t feel at first due to the adrenaline rushing through your body as a stress response.
Asking a health care provider to perform a thorough car accident injury exam is essential for being able to show that your symptoms or diagnosis occurred due to the collision.
Once you receive a health assessment, you’ll want to start a file that you can use to document every medical bill, report and receipt for other expenses that you accumulate.
Reaching out to a car accident attorney as soon as possible can also help you begin the process of filing a claim and finding evidence that supports your case. In Texas, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim after a car accident is typically two years. However, it is usually in your best interest to file far sooner than the deadline, since medical bills tend to start accumulating in the first few days following an accident.
If the statute of limitations has already passed, then you can still reach out to a car crash lawyer. While it is rare, extenuating circumstances could allow you to still recover compensation for your injuries.
Although you may be eager to receive compensation for lost wages and medical bills, it’s important to remember to be patient. Your car accident lawyer might need time to gather evidence and research the facts involving your case to determine the amount of compensation you are entitled to receive.
As your attorney works on your behalf, remember that you’ll want to avoid doing things that could negatively impact your case. Insurance companies might check social media and perform other acts during their investigation that could cause your claims to be questioned.
Always consult with your lawyer before posting on social media about your accident or attempting to negotiate with the insurance company. Allowing a professional to handle your case gives you the best potential outcome for moving forward with addressing your injuries.
Seek Professional Advice From an Experienced Car Accident Attorney
Right now, you might still be reeling from the stress that occurs after a car accident. As a passenger, it’s important to know that you have the same rights as the driver for seeking compensation for your injuries.
Once you treat your initial injuries, your next most important step is to contact an experienced car wreck attorney. Together, you can begin working on the details of your case to submit a car accident claim that leads to you receiving the compensation you deserve.