What Rights Do Passengers Who Are Injured Have in a Tampa Car Accident?

A passenger in a Tampa auto accident has rights that are often determined by who was at fault for the accident—the driver of your vehicle or another driver. But in Florida, regardless of who is at fault, the passenger’s own personal injury protection insurance or PIP would provide up to $10,000 in insurance for medical care and lost wages.

“Wait,” you might think. Why would an innocent passenger’s insurance company be on the hook for $10,000.00? It’s because Floridians live under the laws of a No-Fault State. That means regardless who is at fault for a Tampa auto accident, the first $10,000.00 must come from the injured party’s own insurance company. The insurance companies benefit from this arrangement because in exchange for potentially being liable to pay out up to $10,000.00 for a Tampa car accident where their insured was not at fault or even just an innocent passenger, the injured person is entitled to receive money for “pain and suffering” only when the injured person proves they suffered a permanent injury from the car accident.

If a passenger suffers a permanent injury in a Tampa auto accident, the passenger is then entitled to receive money from the at fault party’s insurance company if the at fault driver carried bodily injury insurance. But if the at fault driver didn’t carry bodily injury insurance or didn’t have sufficient coverage, the passenger can then contact the insurance company of the driver/owner of the vehicle they were in [assuming the driver is not the one at fault] and under what’s known as underinsured motorist coverage, they can potentially receive compensation for their injuries.

Finally, the passenger who is injured in a Tampa car accident can contact their own insurance company. If the passenger has uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage they can request reimbursement for medical bills, wages and pain and suffering [if they have a permanent injury]. A passenger would only need to contact his own insurance company for reimbursement of monies for medical bills, wages and pain and suffering if there is insufficient insurance carried by the at-fault driver and the driver/owner of the vehicle they were traveling in.

In addition to pain and suffering reimbursement, Tampa injury law firm attorneys will tell you that you can receive compensation for medical bills and lost wages that were lost in the past as a result of the accident and that are reasonably certain to be incurred in the future.

If you’re a passenger in a Tampa car accident, it can be very important to know your rights under the law especially since there may be several layers of insurance coverage available to you. Unless your injury law firm has significant experience handling auto accident cases, it’s easy for them to miss potential areas of auto insurance coverage.

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