Those injured in accidents are not only the drivers of the vehicles involved, but also passengers. The injuries suffered by passengers are often just as serious if not more serious than injuries suffered by drivers. For example, a passenger in a front see may suffer a traumatic brain injury after his or her head strikes the windshield or dashboard. A back seat passenger may suffer a back or spinal cord injury, particularly in a rear end collision. Passengers are highly vulnerable to side collisions where the impact was on the passenger side of the vehicle. These types of injuries are serious and involve long recovery times, with the victim being unable to work for weeks or even months. However, under New York law victims of car accidents are allowed to seek compensation from the person whose negligence resulted in the accident. If you are in need of a New York Injury Lawyer because you or a family member were a passenger injured in a car accident it is important to contact an experienced Bronx Passenger Injury Lawyer who will help ensure that the person responsible for your losses is held accountable through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Liability When Passengers are InjuredIf you were a passenger in a vehicle and were injured in an accident caused by the driver of another vehicle, you have the right to seek compensation for your medical expense and other losses in the same way the driver of the car you is entitled to seek compensation. This is the case regardless of the cause of the accident—driver negligence, road hazard, or mechanical malfunction.
In many cases the person responsible for such an accident was a friend of family member of the driver. Filing a claim against a friend or family member may be uncomfortable and may seem immoral. However, regardless of who was driving, passengers have rights under the law when they are injured because someone else was negligent. This is the reason that drivers are required to have insurance.
Pursuing a ClaimDepending on the cause of the accident, the party legally responsible for injuries may be the driver of another vehicle, the driver of the vehicle in which you were a passenger, a government entity, or the manufacturer of the vehicle. The types of compensation that you may be able to recover if you file a claim against the negligent person include:
If a loved was killed in the car accident, you may be able to pursue damages through a wrongful death action. Under New York law a decedent's representative may pursue financial compensation for emotional distress to family members, loss of income from the deceased, funeral expenses, medical bills and more.
Beware that New York law has a specific time limit for filing a claim in a personal injury case. If you do not file your claim within the time period, you will be forever barred from collecting damages even if your case has merit. In addition, if the party responsible for your injury was a government entity then there are special procedures you must follow to file a claim.
Bronx Passenger Injury LawyerIf you are a loved one was a passenger who was injured in a car accident, you may be entitled to compensation from all negligent parties, which may include the driver of the car you were riding in as well as the drivers of other vehicles involved. However, to ensure that your rights are protected it is vitally important that you are represented by someone with experience. The staff at Stephen Bilkis and Associates has years of experience successfully representing those injured in vehicle accidents. We will thoroughly investigate the accident by reviewing police reports, accident scene evidence, eyewitness accounts, cell phone records and social media postings. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your car accident.