What To Do If You’re a Passenger In a Car Accident
Posted on: March 11, 2025- Personal Injury Protection (PIP)—required by all Florida drivers—typically covers injured passengers in a car accident.
- If the driver only has the minimum of PIP coverage, it may not be enough to cover your medical treatment and lost wages.
- Injured passengers can file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
- Make sure you work with an experienced accident attorney who can represent your rights.
If you’re a passenger in a car accident, you may be wondering who is responsible for covering your medical bills and other damages.
While Personal Injury Protection (PIP) usually covers passengers as well as drivers, it may not be enough to cover the extent of your medical treatment, depending on the severity of the car crash. In these cases, you may need to file a personal injury claim.
Understanding how insurance covers passengers in an accident is key to ensuring you receive the compensation you deserve. Let’s break down what happens when a passenger is involved in an accident, what insurance options may apply, and how to protect your rights.
Does Insurance Cover Passengers In a Car Accident?
In most cases, yes.
If you are a passenger in a vehicle involved in an accident, the driver’s PIP policy—which is required for all Florida drivers—not only covers them, it covers their passengers as well.
However, Florida only requires that drivers carry a minimum of $10,000 of PIP coverage per person. The more severe the vehicle accident is, the greater the odds that they will exceed this amount.
In that case, how do you get the compensation you deserve?
The good news is that Florida—despite being a No Fault state—does allow accident victims to pursue compensation through the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. If the driver of the vehicle you were in is not at fault for the accident, you may make a claim against the other driver’s insurance policy under bodily injury liability.
In some instances, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against one or both of the drivers involved in the crash.
Wondering if you have a case? Take our quiz to find out.
Being in a car accident is always a jarring experience, even if you walk away without a scratch. But if you’re the unfortunate passenger who ends up injured, it can feel like a whole new level of nightmare.
Suddenly, you’re dealing with pain, medical expenses, insurance claims, and maybe even lost wages from being unable to work. It’s a lot to handle, but fortunately there are some things you can do to make the process a little bit easier.
The first and most important thing to do after a car accident is to collect as much information from the other drivers as possible. This includes their insurance information, contact information, and details about the accident.
If possible, you should also get a copy of the accident report. This will be helpful when you start the insurance claims process.
Depending on your state’s laws, you may be able to file a claim through your own insurance company. However, if you believe that one of the other drivers was at fault for the accident, you’ll want to file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company instead.
This can be a bit more complex, but it’s important if you want to get full compensation for your injuries.
Are Passengers In Rideshare Accidents Covered?
Riding along in an Uber or Lyft has just as many risks as driving around in your own vehicle. Unfortunately, accidents can and do happen.
The good news is that passengers who are injured in a rideshare accident should be covered to an extent. The bad news is that the insurance coverage isn’t always straightforward.
An attorney might be needed in order to help make sure you and any other passengers get the help you need.
What Should You Do If a Passenger Is Injured In Your Car?
First of all, don’t panic. You aren’t responsible for filing claims on behalf of the passenger. Still, you’ll want to be sure you have adequate insurance coverage in case the passenger is injured and you are found to be at-fault. The passenger can claim you were negligent, resulting in you being on the hook for a higher percentage of their bills.
In Florida, most drivers only carry the bare minimum of PIP coverage—$10,000 per person. As medical bills pile up, you will likely find that this coverage is insufficient. Therefore, you’ll want to evaluate how much liability coverage you need based on how often you drive passengers (who are not resident relatives) in your car.
If you regularly transport people for Uber or Lyft, for example, you’ll need more coverage than if you only occasionally give your friends and family members a ride to the movies. In fact, most personal policies will not cover you when operating your vehicle for ridesharing purposes. So, you will need to be certain that your employer is covering you while you have any rideshare passengers.
After all, being a responsible driver is about more than just driving safely from point A to point B. It also entails making sure your passengers are always taken care of.
So, if you find yourself in the awful situation of an injured passenger in your car, stay calm, follow these steps and make sure that everyone receives the assistance they require.
What About Other Possible Coverage?
If you personally were injured as a passenger and your driver was not at fault, you still may be eligible for uninsured motorist coverage from the vehicle you were occupying.
This is usually primary uninsured motorist coverage above any of your own uninsured motorist coverage. You will want an experienced attorney to look into all of the possible coverages available to you as a passenger.
Call Beers & Gordon Today
If you personally were injured as a passenger in an accident, or if someone who was riding in your car files a claim on your insurance, call the car accident lawyers at Beers & Gordon today. Don’t try to go through this difficult situation alone.
Our attorneys have extensive experience dealing with accident claims and can answer any questions you may have about the process. We have handled thousands of personal injury claims and have over 70 years of combined experience.
So put our experienced car accident attorneys and expertise to work for you. Call us today for a free case evaluation.
Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska in 1997, and two years later began working at a firm in Orlando handling insurance defense matters on cases involving vehicle accidents, negligence, product liability, and more. He established Beers & Gordon P.A. with David Beers in 2009 to represent the rights of people injured because of negligence. He is a member of the invitation-only National Trial Lawyers organization and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
