If someone you know or love has been injured as a passenger in a vehicle collision, there are many things that they need to know if they want to maximize their insurance settlement. As a passenger, they cannot be found to be liable at all. This means that the fault of the accident cannot be theirs, and as a result other insurance companies have to pay for their claim.
If they are injured in a car, and that car’s driver is at fault for a crash, they would pursue a claim against the at fault driver’s insurance. Similarly, if they are a passenger and a crash is the fault of a different driver, that driver’s insurance would be responsible. But that is the easy part. The more difficult part is determining in what priority or order other insurance companies have to pay. For example, if the passenger has their own “med pay” policy on their vehicle, then that policy may take priority to pay the medical bills over the responsible parties insurance. If the driver of a different car is at fault, the med pay for the vehicle that the person is a passenger in, may take priority to pay these bills. A lot depends on the wording of each individual insurance policy, and those can be very confusing. This is where the assistance of an experienced attorney can save you thousands of dollars.
If someone you know was a passenger in an injury collision, have them give our office a call for a free consultation. There is never any pressure to sign any paperwork at an initial consultation, and our office is always willing to offer our advise at no charge, even if you do not retain us for services.
Marty is a former criminal prosecutor in the Cascade County Attorney’s Office and now uses that experience to defend those accused of crimes. A University of Montana School of Law graduate, Marty focuses his practice on personal injury and criminal defense and is a premier DUI defense attorney. He is also well versed in the insurance claims industry and has negotiated significant settlements with nearly every major insurance company.