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You did not cause the crash, but you may still face serious injuries and medical bills. Arizona law allows injured passengers to pursue compensation when another person’s negligence caused their injuries. The responsible party could be the driver carrying you, another driver, or more than one person.
The bigger question involves insurance. Which policy may cover your injuries? What if the driver was your friend or family member? What if the at fault driver has little or no insurance?
A car accident lawyer can help identify potential coverage, evidence, and legal deadlines. This can matter after a crash on I 10, I 17, Loop 101, Loop 202, or a Phoenix street.
Can a Passenger File a Car Accident Claim in Arizona?
Yes. An injured passenger may pursue a claim when another person’s negligence caused the crash or injuries. You do not need to be the driver to have a personal injury claim. It can involve the driver who carried you, another driver, more than one at fault driver, or applicable UM or UIM coverage. Your relationship with the driver does not decide the claim. A friend, spouse, parent, relative, or coworker may have been driving.
Who Pays When a Passenger Gets Hurt in an Arizona Car Accident?
There is no single insurance policy that pays every passenger claim. The answer depends on who caused the crash and which policies apply.
The Driver Who Was Carrying You
If that driver caused the collision, the driver’s liability coverage may apply to your bodily injury claim.
Another Driver Caused the Crash
Another driver’s liability coverage may provide compensation for your injuries if that driver caused the collision.
Multiple Policies May Matter
Other coverage may also include uninsured driver, underinsured driver, or medical payments coverage.
Do not assume that every policy applies automatically. Policies do not always pay in the same order. Only one policy may apply based on the facts and coverage.
What Are Arizona’s Minimum Car Insurance Limits?
Arizona requires minimum liability limits of $25,000 for one person’s bodily injury, $50,000 for two or more people, and $15,000 for property damage. These limits have applied to policies issued or renewed since July 1, 2020. A policy limit does not determine the full value of your injury claim. Several passengers may suffer injuries, or one passenger may need extensive treatment.
What If the Driver Who Caused the Crash Has No Insurance?
Uninsured motorist coverage, or UM, may provide another source of compensation. Arizona law requires insurers to offer UM coverage to automobile policyholders. The coverage can protect insured persons against bodily injury caused by an uninsured motorist, subject to the policy terms.
Arizona DIFI also explains that UM coverage can protect you or passengers in your vehicle when an uninsured driver causes bodily injuries.
What If the At Fault Driver Does Not Have Enough Insurance?
Underinsured motorist coverage, or UIM, may matter when the responsible driver’s liability coverage does not adequately cover your injuries. A serious Phoenix crash can create this problem. The other driver may carry minimum limits while treatment and lost income continue. Arizona law allows insurers to offer UIM coverage. The applicable policy determines available benefits and conditions.
Can Medical Payments Coverage Help an Injured Passenger?
Medical payments coverage, often called MedPay, can help with qualifying medical expenses after a covered automobile accident. Arizona DIFI explains that MedPay can cover necessary and reasonable medical and funeral expenses for the insured or passengers in the vehicle, subject to the policy limit.MedPay differs from liability insurance and can help with covered medical expenses without deciding the total claim value.
What If the Driver Was My Friend or Family Member?
You may feel uncomfortable making a claim when the driver is someone you love. You may worry that doing so means suing that person personally. An injury claim may instead involve the driver’s applicable insurance coverage. You still need to establish what happened, document your injuries, and identify policy limits or other available coverage.
Can a Passenger Be Partly at Fault in Arizona?
Being a passenger does not automatically make you responsible for a crash. Arizona follows comparative negligence rules. Under A.R.S. § 12 2505, a claimant’s damages can be reduced according to the claimant’s percentage of fault when applicable.
Passenger conduct can become relevant in some cases. Seat belt use can also raise legal questions under Arizona law. This is not always the case in every claim. An injured passenger does not automatically lose a claim without a seat belt. The facts matter, including whether the conduct contributed to the claimed injuries.
What If You Were Hurt as an Uber or Lyft Passenger?
Rideshare passengers can face different insurance rules. Arizona requires transportation network companies to maintain specific insurance coverage. When a passenger occupies the rideshare vehicle, primary commercial liability coverage must reach at least $1 million per incident. The law also contains specific commercial uninsured motorist requirements.
The applicable coverage can depend on the driver’s status, the ride request, and the circumstances of the crash.
What Injuries Can a Passenger Suffer in a Car Accident?
Passengers can suffer serious injuries in collisions. Common injuries include neck and back injuries, whiplash, broken bones, shoulder injuries, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, and internal injuries.
What Compensation Can an Injured Passenger Seek?
An injured passenger may seek compensation for damages supported by the facts and applicable law. Economic damages can include medical expenses, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and other documented financial losses. Non economic damages can include physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Claim value depends on the actual circumstances. No reliable formula applies to every passenger injury case.
What Should You Do After Being Hurt as a Passenger?
Take the following steps after the crash:
- Get medical attention.
- Report the crash when required or appropriate.
- Obtain the accident report.
- Photograph your injuries and the vehicles.
- Keep medical records and bills.
- Save information about lost work and income.
- Collect insurance information.
- Preserve photographs and witness information.
- Avoid settling before you understand your injuries and available coverage.
What Free Consultation With Auto Accident Lawyers Phoenix Help You Understand?
A Phoenix car accident lawyer can review responsibility, insurance, liability limits, UM or UIM coverage, MedPay, evidence, losses, and potential deadlines. For a Phoenix passenger injury, a Phoenix car accident attorney can review the police report, medical records, insurance communications, and crash evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a passenger file a car accident claim in Arizona?
Yes. An injured passenger may pursue a claim when another person’s negligence caused the injuries.
Can I make a claim against my friend’s insurance?
Potentially. If your friend caused the crash, the applicable liability policy may provide coverage for your injuries.
What if the at fault driver has no insurance?
Applicable UM coverage may provide another source of compensation. The policy and Arizona law determine whether coverage applies.
What if the driver’s insurance is not enough?
UIM coverage may help when the available liability coverage does not adequately cover your damages.
Can a passenger be partly at fault?
Passenger conduct can become relevant in some cases. Arizona comparative negligence law can reduce damages based on a claimant’s percentage of fault.
Hurt as a Passenger in Phoenix? Get a Free Consultation
You may be dealing with medical bills, missed work, pain, and insurance questions. Those concerns can become harder when the driver was someone you know.
Harris Injury Law, PLLC 1136 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85014 (480) 800-4878
Harris Injury Law can review the facts of your passenger injury case and explain your potential options. If you were hurt in a Phoenix car accident, contact Harris Injury Law for a free consultation.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice and reviewed by Jason A. Harris, Harris Injury Law.
