Experienced Lawyers for Passengers Injured in California Accidents

As a passenger in a vehicle, a person usually has a stronger case than if they are a driver. The reason is that no one can claim the passenger did anything wrong in the accident. Even in a very clear case when there is a driver involved, sometimes the other side tries to claim that the driver is partly at fault.

The passenger also has the advantage of often being able to collect damages both from the driver of the other car and the driver of their own car. Many people are concerned that if the driver is a friend, they are going to damage the friendship or hurt the driver’s insurance rates by making a claim. It is important to know that our office will never make a claim against your friend unless you want us to. However, there are many different ways a passenger can recover for injuries in an automobile accident without bringing a case against a driver or their friend.

We have successfully represented thousands of passengers injured in vehicle accidents. The legal issues involving injured passengers are different from the legal issues involving injured drivers. We know these issues well and have over 35 years of experience in successfully navigating these issues. We have handled cases for passengers against all of the major insurance companies in California including State Farm, California State Automobile Association, Farmers Insurance, Mid-Century Insurance, All-State Insurance, Progressive Insurance, and GEICO.

Many times passengers are reluctant to pursue a case because they are afraid it will hurt their relationship with their friend or it will raise their friend’s insurance rates. We are always happy to give a free consultation on this issue to help a person think through the pros and cons. We are often able to arrange a recovery for an injured passenger with no damage to the friendship and no effect on the driver’s automobile insurance.

Other times we, in consultation with the passenger, come to the conclusion that it is not in the passengers interest to pursue a case against their friend. We will always think this through for you and help you balance the friendship with the economic problems that might be solved by bringing a case. The decision is always up to the client, and all we do is make a recommendation. We always tell our clients that our recommendations are merely that and that the client is the boss as to what they want us to do.

Additionally, the consultations are free and if a person decides not to go ahead with a case, hopefully, even though they owe us nothing for the consultation, we have been of use in thinking through the issue and plugging in the information necessary for them to make a balanced decision.