Passenger liabilities in car accidents

In-car accident claims, determining who is at fault tends to be the most important part of the process. Without declaring an individual at fault, it will be difficult to understand who exactly was negligent and to what extent. Without this knowledge, it is in turn even more difficult to determine who is entitled to compensation and from whom it should come.

In many instances, a passenger in a car accident will have an easier time filing for compensation than a driver. This is because it is highly likely that one of the drivers in question is the at-fault party. This is a practical perspective – more often than not, the driver of one of the vehicles involved is likely to be found at fault for the accident due to the fact that they were operating the car in question. That doesn’t mean, however, that the passengers in question have no liability whatsoever.

Contributory or Comparative Negligence

Most states tend to follow some measure of comparative, also known as contributory, negligence when it comes to determining fault in a car accident. This means that courts look at the circumstances of the accident and determine whether or not one of the parties involved carries all of the fault. If not, then they determine to what extent other parties are also at fault. This will, in turn, affect the amount of compensation that the parties in question are entitled to recover. There are three main variations of this rule: pure comparative fault, proportional comparative fault (50%), and proportional comparative fault (51%).

Pure Comparative Fault

When adhering to the rule of pure comparative fault, the courts determine to what extent each party is responsible for the accident. Perhaps the driver is found to have 90% of the fault while a passenger has 10% of the fault. In this scenario, let’s assume that the damages suffered by the injured passenger amount to $10,000. Because they are 10% at fault, they will not be able to collect 100% of their damages. Instead, the driver would cover 90% of them – $9,000 – and the injured passenger would be responsible for the remaining 10%.

Proportional Comparative Fault at 50% and 51%

Proportional comparative fault essentially sets a bar that says if you are determined to be more than a certain percent responsible for the accident in question, you are not entitled to file a lawsuit or liability claim against the other parties. In certain states, this percentage is 50% and in others it is 51%.

Pure Contributory Negligence

Note that the above is not true in certain states. Maryland, Alabama, North Carolina, District of Columbia, and Virginia, for example, adhere to pure contributory negligence. Under this rule, injured parties who are found to have contributed in any way to the accident are typically not entitled to recover any part of their damages.

Have you been involved in a car accident? Reach out to an experienced attorney for more information regarding how best to file your claim and recover your expenses! We can help.