Hiring a personal driver is easy thanks to rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. Unfortunately, not all rideshare drivers are as careful as they should be, which means car accidents will happen. This fact begs the question: if a passenger is injured in an accident caused by a driver, does the passenger have the right to sue?
Drivers & Duty of Care
In the legal world, a duty of care is when someone has a responsibility to care for others in a particular way. Teachers have a duty of care to students, landlords have a duty of care to tenants (and vice versa), and drivers have a duty of care to passengers.
If a driver acts irresponsibly and crashes, passengers in the vehicle also crash. Therefore, a driver has a duty of care to passengers because he is in total control of their safety while they are in his vehicle.
Passengers & Personal Injury Lawsuits
A valid personal injury case requires the following:
- Duty: Proving the responsible party had a duty to act with reasonable caution to avoid causing injury to others.
- Breach of duty: Proving the responsible party breached this duty by being careless.
- Causation: Proving the breach of duty caused someone to suffer an injury.
- Damages: Proving the effects of the injury adversely affected the injured.
As we have already shown that a driver has a duty of care to his passengers, the only evidence needed for a personal injury case is that the driver breached his duty of care through a reckless act.
If you were injured in a car crash, either the driver or another party (another driver or pedestrian) breached his or her duty of care, which means personal injury recovery is possible.
Need Experienced Representation?
If you or a loved one was injured by a driver’s breach of duty, you have the right to pursue just compensation for your injuries. The next step is to contact an experienced car accident attorney for your case.
Attorney Scot Kraeuter is an award-winning personal injury lawyer who is known for getting results. Call (912) 209-6513 now for a free consultation for your case.
