Being hurt in a crash you had no power to prevent is frightening and unfair. As a passenger, you don’t control the vehicle and you can’t avoid the collision — yet you can still be left with serious injuries, mounting medical bills, and questions about who is responsible. The good news: Missouri law gives injured passengers a clear path to compensation. If you were hurt while riding in someone else’s car, you may be able to hold the at-fault parties accountable by filing a passenger injury claim.
How a Passenger Injury Claim Works
Injured passengers are often in a stronger position to recover compensation than drivers, because these crashes frequently involve more than one at-fault party. When multiple vehicles are involved, you can pursue a claim against each responsible driver, which may increase your total recovery. There are two common exceptions:
- Rear-end collisions: If the car you were riding in was rear-ended, you generally wouldn’t file against your own driver.
- Family members: If your driver was your spouse or an immediate family member, you may share the same insurance policy, so a claim against that driver usually isn’t the right move.
When More Than One Driver Is at Fault
If two or more drivers share the blame, each one can be named in your claim. Should the case go to trial instead of settling, a jury assigns every driver a percentage of fault, and each pays their share of the award. For example, if you’re awarded $100,000 in a two-driver crash and the jury finds one driver 60 percent responsible and the other 40 percent, the first pays $60,000 and the second pays $40,000. Sorting out these percentages is where an experienced car accident attorney makes a real difference.
When Several Passengers Are Injured
When a crash injures more than one passenger, each person can bring a claim against the at-fault drivers. Because payouts are capped by the drivers’ insurance policy limits, total damages that exceed those limits may have to be shared among everyone involved. In these situations, careful documentation and a well-argued claim can make a real difference.
Compensation Available to Injured Passengers
What you can recover depends on how serious your injuries are and how deeply they’ve affected your life. A well-documented passenger injury claim may seek:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income and reduced earning ability
- Pain and suffering and other noneconomic damages
- Emotional distress, especially if a loved one was killed in the same crash
If a family member lost their life in the collision, you may also have grounds for a wrongful death claim alongside your own injury case.
Why Injured Passengers Across Southwest Missouri Turn to Us
From our offices in Springfield and Joplin, the Law Offices of Bryan Musgrave helps injured passengers throughout southwest Missouri pursue the compensation they deserve. We bring a wealth of experience and legal knowledge to every claim, deal with the insurance companies on your behalf, and work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we win. You’re welcome to review our case results or read how our contingency fee works before you commit to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Passengers injured through no fault of their own can file a claim against the driver or drivers responsible for the crash.
Yes. When multiple drivers share fault, each can be named in your claim, and each is responsible for their assigned percentage of the damages.
If your driver is your spouse or an immediate family member and you’re covered under the same policy, filing against that driver usually isn’t the right approach. We can review your coverage and identify the best path forward.
Depending on your injuries, you may recover medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and — in cases involving the death of a loved one — damages for emotional distress.
We work on a contingency fee basis, so there are no upfront costs, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.