Injured passengers in Indiana vehicle accidents may be entitled to compensation from the negligent driver for their damages. There are a few exceptions, but a skilled Indiana auto accident attorney can outline your options and support your efforts to get the settlement you are entitled to.
While drivers are frequently the focus of automobile accidents, wounded passengers can also have serious injuries, incur medical expenses, and experience lost wages due to their injuries. Even if the driver they were riding with was at fault, injured passengers might be entitled to claim with their insurance company or, if required, launch a personal injury lawsuit to recover their losses.
To find out which legal path is best for your situation, you should speak with a personal injury attorney Fort Wayne.
What is the liability in my injury case?
In a collision, either driver may be held legally responsible for paying damages to any passengers who were hurt. Due to Indiana’s comparative fault law, both drivers could be held accountable if both drivers contributed to the collision. It can make settling disputes more difficult. To get the full amount for your medical bills and other losses covered as an injured passenger, you might have to submit claims with both drivers’ insurance companies.
Are Passengers Not Entitled to Car Accident Compensation?
The State of Indiana has a time restriction on bringing lawsuits for passenger injuries against immediate family members.
According to Indiana’s Guest Statute (Indiana Code 34-30-11), if the at-fault driver is a parent, spouse, child or stepchild, brother or sister, or if they picked you up hitchhiking and you didn’t pay them for the ride, you cannot file a civil lawsuit against them. If the driver engaged in willful misbehavior that contributed to the collision, the Guest Statute AA is waived.
Based on Indiana’s contributory fault laws, there is a second exception (IC 34-51-2-5). If the wounded passenger’s fault exceeds all blame placed on the defendants in a claim involving one, two, or more defendants, they are not entitled to compensation.
A jury hears the evidence before determining the fault. The plaintiff receives nothing if the jury finds that they are more than 50% at fault. The jury decides how much blame the injured passenger will receive if the plaintiff’s involvement in the accident was less than 50%. After the jury assesses the case’s damages, it decreases the passenger’s compensation by the amount of fault they bear in the accident.
