Yes, sometimes, you can sue the driver of the vehicle if you were hurt as a passenger in Orlando, Florida. If the driver was negligent and that carelessness caused or contributed to the crash that injured you, the driver might be responsible for your losses.
The Required Factors for Driver Liability
You cannot automatically go after money damages from the driver of the vehicle you were a passenger in Orlando, FL, just because they drove the car. They must be liable under the law for the harm that you suffered.
We must prove all four of these factors to hold the driver responsible for your injuries:
- Duty of care: the driver must have owed you a legal duty of care. It is a simple matter to show a legal duty of care in a car accident case because everyone who operates a motor vehicle on public roads has a responsibility to drive safely and obey the traffic laws.
- Breach of the duty of care: if the driver of the car you were a passenger in failed to live up to the legal duty, it is negligence. For example, the driver of your vehicle was texting and read-ended another vehicle. Doing so violates the traffic laws and is unsafe, so the driver of the car in which you were a passenger was negligent.
- Causation: the driver’s negligence must be the thing that caused or contributed to the accident that hurt you. If the driver’s inattention caused the events that lead to your injury, the facts satisfy the causation element of liability.
- Damages: you must have suffered harm to pursue money damages for your injuries from a car accident. If you sustained physical injuries, the situation meets the measurable damages requirement.
It is important to note that you will likely need to exhaust the driver’s personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage before you can sue.
In some circumstances, there might be more than one person whose carelessness played a part in the Orlando, FL, accident that hurt someone. In those cases, we might be able to go after more than one party for compensation.
How a Lawyer Can Help
These are complicated cases and your time to act can be limited. A lawyer can help you navigate through the insurance claim process and file a lawsuit in Florida, if necessary, to recover your losses. A car accident lawyer can help you avoid problems that could take away your right to get compensation for your injuries. We can deal directly with the insurance company so that you do not have to do so.
Getting Legal Help for Your Orlando, FL Car Accident Injury Claim
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help people who get hurt because of the careless acts of others. We go the extra mile and provide responsive legal services. When we handle a car accident injury claim, our clients can focus on getting better, knowing that we are taking care of everything else.
You pay no upfront fees and owe us nothing unless we win.
There is no charge for the initial consultation. Call us today at 1-800-747-3733 to learn if you can sue the driver of the vehicle you were a passenger in a car accident in Orlando, FL.
