If you suffered an injury while riding in a vehicle as a passenger, you may be wondering how you can be compensated for all of your medical bills. It can be confusing to figure out whose insurance provider's auto insurance to make the claim with. Here are some things to know about this unique situation.
Situations When Your Vehicle's Driver Is At Fault
Your injury may have been caused in an accident where the person driving the vehicle you were in was the person at fault, with no other driver involved. For example, they may have slid off the side of the ride and into a ditch or hit a parked car that they did not see. In this situation, you would want to make a claim against the driver's insurance policy. Even though the person that was driving may be a friend, family member, or coworker, it is the only way to get compensated for your medical bills. The driver is the one at fault for causing the accident, and the insurance provider will likely admit fault and payout for the claim. While making a claim against someone you are friendly with can be stressful, it is necessary in order to get compensation.
Situations Where The Other Vehicle's Driver Is At Fault
If the accident was caused by another driver and they are 100% responsible for causing the accident, then you would file the claim against their insurance policy. One of the problems that you will run into is the insurance company not admitting to being 100% at fault and trying to put some blame on the driver of your vehicle. If there is some sort of split in fault, then you would make a claim against each driver's insurance company for the appropriate percentage. This ensures that you do not have any out-of-pocket costs that you need to cover for your injury.
Situations Where You Are On Public Transit
Were you riding on a bus when it got into an accident? You wouldn't make a claim with the bus driver; you'd file a claim with the company that employs the bus driver and owns the vehicle. If it's a public transportation bus owned by a city, then you would need to make a claim with the government of that city to be compensated.
For help filing a claim with any of these entities so that you can get paid, work with a personal injury lawyer.