Passenger Injury Claims and No Fault Insurance: An Overview

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How does a passenger injury claim after a car accident in a no-fault car insurance state differ from a claim in a traditional fault state? To answer this question, we’ll take a brief look at how no fault insurance works, and then explain how an injured passenger might go about making a claim.

What is No-Fault Car Insurance?

No-fault insurance means that a driver’s automobile insurer will pay for certain types of damages, like medical bills and lost earnings (up to certain monetary thresholds), regardless of whether that driver was at fault for the accident. Every state’s law is different, so the types of no-fault damages that an insurer will pay in any given state depends on that state’s law.

States created no-fault insurance in an attempt to keep automobile insurance costs low. So, no-fault insurance involves a tradeoff. On the one hand, the injured person will get some or all of his/her medical bills and lost earnings paid almost automatically, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. This law gets the injured person some money relatively quickly.

But the flip side of the no-fault law is that the injured person is generally not allowed to make a claim against the negligent driver for pain and suffering unless his/her medical bills reach a certain level or the injury is deemed sufficiently serious. So this is the tradeoff when it comes to no-fault; you get some money for part of your damages quickly, but you cannot claim pain and suffering if you only have a minor injury.

Examples of No-Fault Laws And Limits

There are about a dozen states that follow a no-fault car insurance system. Although every state’s law may be different, this will give you an idea of what a no-fault law might be like. For example, one state might require the driver’s insurer to pay for the first $8,000 of medical bills for any injured passenger, regardless of fault, but prohibit claims for pain and suffering against the at-fault driver unless the claimant's medical bills exceed $2,000.

Alternatively, another state might prohibit claims for pain and suffering against the negligent driver unless the injured person had $5,000 in medical bills or a broken bone.

Lastly, another state might require the driver’s insurer to pay for the first $25,000 of medical bills and lost earnings.

So you can see how there are many different ways to enforce a no fault insurance law. If you have any questions about your state’s no fault, you should contact a lawyer in your state.

Passenger Injury Claims In A No Fault Car Insurance State

A passenger injury claim is just like any other type of car accident claim, except that the passenger would want to make the claim against both drivers (assuming it was a two-car accident). The only exception would be situations where one of the drivers was obviously not negligent, like if he/she was rear-ended at a red light. In that case, the passenger would only make a claim against the driver who did the rear-ending.

After the accident, the passenger should get the insurance information for each driver and file claims with each driver’s insurance company. The passenger’s no-fault benefits would come from the insurer of the driver of the car in which the passenger was riding.

When the passenger is ready to try to settle the case, the passenger or (their lawyer) would negotiate with both drivers’ insurance companies, unless the accident was obviously the fault of only one of the drivers.

How Does a Passenger No-Fault Claim Work?

Let’s take an example. Let’s say that you were a passenger in a car accident where both drivers appear to be partially at fault. Let’s say that your accident involves the following facts and no-fault law:

• your state’s no-fault limit for medical bills is $2,000 for people with health insurance, and $8,000 for people with no health insurance
• your state requires no-fault insurers to pay half of the injured person’s lost earnings up to $5,000 of lost earnings
• you do not have health insurance
• you have $5,000 in medical bills and $7,000 in lost earnings
• your state requires people injured in a car accident to have $4,000 of medical bills before they can make a claim against (or sue) the negligent driver.

In this case, you would make claims against both drivers’ insurers, but your no-fault claim would be against the driver of the car that you were in (call him Driver 1).

Driver 1’s insurer would pay all $5,000 of your medical bills. This is because you have no health insurance, and the limit is $8,000. Driver 1’s insurer would also pay you $2,500 toward your lost earnings. This is half of the first $5,000 of lost earnings, which is the limit for lost earnings.

That is the no-fault claim. Then, because you had more than $4,000 of medical bills, you met your state’s minimum medical bill requirement for filing a claim against the negligent driver, and so you can make a personal injury claim against both drivers.

You Must Cooperate with the No-Fault Insurer

One important thing to remember in a no-fault claim is that you must cooperate with the no-fault insurer. Depending on the state, the no-fault insurer might be able to require you to give a recorded statement, and will generally be able to require you to attend an independent medical examination with a physician of the insurer's choice. If you fail to cooperate with your no-fault insurer, the company is generally entitled to terminate your no-fault benefits.

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained.

Source- http://www.all-about-car-accidents.com/resources/passenger-injury-claims-in-no-fault-car-insurance-state.html