In any discussion about a motor vehicle accident, it is assumed that the driver might be injured. Yet any injuries suffered by a passenger should also be addressed. The passenger deserves compensation for his or her losses.

Who is responsible for any injuries to a passenger?

The passenger has the right to sue the other driver, if the evidence indicates that he or she caused the accident. The passenger has the right to sue the driver of the vehicle in which that same passenger was riding. That fact holds true, even if the sued driver’s actions had entailed responding to one of the passenger’s comments. Passengers do not have to sue just one person. Each of them has the right to sue 2 or more drivers, if each sued party/driver was partly responsible for the accident.

Passengers remain immune from designation as the person at-fault.

A passenger cannot be held entirely at-fault. Despite the passenger’s immunity, he or she could be charged with comparative negligence. For instance, if someone smoked pot with a friend and then chose to get a ride in a car with the same individual, he or she would assume the risk of being charged with comparative negligence.

Unless those friends had waited until a full hour had passed, following the use of marijuana, both of them would have been under the influence of that substance. Being under that influence, the driver might have an accident, and the passenger could be charged with comparative negligence.

Why would it be to a passenger’s benefit to hire a lawyer?

If a passenger has been deemed partly responsible for an accident, that fact can lead the defense team to seek a reduction in the size of the passenger’s compensation package. By working with a Personal Injury Law Firm in Baldwin Park, a passenger can decrease the size of the amount of money deducted from the plaintiff’s/passenger’s award.

A decrease in the amount of money removed from the plaintiff’s/passenger’s award does not guarantee a large increase in the size of the compensation awarded to any passengers. Yet a lawyer might be able to fight for such an increase. That would entail gathering a larger amount of evidence.

Maybe some witness saw the responsible driver texting a message, in the moments before the accident. Perhaps someone standing at the intersection saw the responsible driver make a left-hand turn, when the passenger’s car was quite close to that particular intersection. Testimony from either witness could be used to show that the responsible driver ought to be paying the passenger a larger compensation package. Hence, the lawyer’s assistance would definitely serve to work in the passenger’s favor, providing him or her with a way to win more money.