Can I Sue if I Was a Passenger in an Automobile Accident?

Can I Sue if I Was a Passenger in an Automobile Accident?

Yes, if you were a passenger in a car that was involved in a Louisiana car accident, you are entitled to sue for money damages to compensate you for any and all medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, damage to personal property, and other categories of damages allowed by Louisiana law. As a passenger, there are several potential parties that might be held liable for your injuries and damages. They include:

• The driver of the vehicle in which you were traveling
• The driver or drivers of the other vehicles involved in the crash
• The owner of the vehicle in which you were traveling, if the owner is not the same person as the driver
• An employer of one of the drivers involved, if the driver was engaged in work-related activities
• Automobile or parts manufacturers, if design or manufacturing defects were causally connected to the crash
• Automobile repair facilities, if mechanical failure was causally connected
• And more

All of these are potential defendants in a car accident lawsuit. “Defendants” are the parties sued by the accident victims.

Untangling the causal connections and deciding which defendants should be sued is legally complex and nuanced. Consequently, if you were injured as a passenger, you need to retain proven and experienced Louisiana automobile accident attorneys like the ones at Mansfield, Melancon, Cranmer & Dick LLC. You must retain lawyers who will examine the facts of the case and determine if one or all of the potential defendants should be sued.

This is important because, under Louisiana law, fault is assigned proportionally among the various wrongdoers. Whichever party is held liable by the jury is the party that must pay the verdict. If the wrongdoer is not sued, and that wrongdoer is determined to be the cause of the accident, then there is no recovery for the victim. For example, assume that the vehicle in which you were traveling was hit by another driver. That driver might be 100% responsible for the wreck. But, maybe the driver of the car in which you were a passenger was 100% at fault. At trial, a jury will assign the percentage fault. For this reason, as a passenger, it is important to sue both the other driver and the driver of your vehicle to ensure that you are awarded all of the money damages to which you are entitled. To continue the example, if the driver of the other vehicle is the only party sued and the jury assigns fault at 50%, then you, the victim, will only obtain a 50% recovery. In our example, to ensure 100% recovery, the lawsuit should be filed against both the driver of the other vehicle and the driver of the vehicle in which the passenger was traveling.

Mansfield Melancon Attorneys can Help: Call Today

If you have been injured as a passenger in a vehicle crash, contact the Louisiana car accident attorneys at Mansfield, Melancon, Cranmer & Dick LLC. We have a proven track record of success handling many types of Louisiana personal injury cases, including, but not limited to, car accidents, boating accidents, motorcycle accidents, premises liability accidents, and cases involving nursing care facility abuse/neglect. Contact us by calling one of our offices: New Orleans at (504) 500-1108, Baton Rouge at (225) 612-0800, or Lafayette at (337) 409-0003. You can also request a free consultation by using our “Contact Us” page.