Claims for Damages When Your Child is Hurt Riding in Someone Else’s Car
Children spend a lot of time in cars other than yours—perhaps your child care provider picks them up from school, or the parent of a friend often takes your child to their home or to team practice. In all likelihood, these drivers are as cautious as possible when they have your children in their car, but there’s still always a chance that an accident can occur. When your child is hurt in an accident while in someone else’s car, how do you go about recovering for their injuries?
As a rule, passengers generally have a lower burden for proving that another driver was at fault in an accident. Since there is no way that the passenger him or herself was responsible for their injuries, the passenger simply files a claim against all drivers involved in the crash that caused their injuries, including the driver of the car they were in. If your child is the individual hurt in a crash, you’d file a claim with all drivers’ insurance policies on your child’s behalf.
The sorts of damages you can recover on behalf of your child, perhaps surprisingly, depends on the form of car insurance you have. In New Jersey, drivers are automatically enrolled in a form of no-fault insurance controlled by the “limitation on lawsuit” or “threshold” rule, unless the driver deliberately opts out. This insurance governs the accident injury claims of the driver and the driver’s entire household. Customers with insurance governed by the “limitation on lawsuit” rule are only permitted to file a lawsuit based on a car accident claim under certain circumstances, such as when the victim breaks a bone or suffers a permanent injury, and are not permitted to recover for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, without filing a lawsuit.
If you or your loved one has been injured in a car accident in New Jersey, ensure that your claims for medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering are fully compensated by contacting the skilled Wayne personal injury attorneys at Massood Law Group for a consultation, at 844-4MB-HURT.
