What if I’m Injured as a Passenger in a St. Louis Car Accident?

By The Cagle Law Firm | October 2, 2025 | Car Accidents, Featured, News, Personal Injury

If you are injured in a car accident as a passenger, you may wonder how to proceed.  While the drivers and owners of the vehicles seem to have obvious responsibility,  you may feel odd asking for information from the driver of the vehicle. When the police arrive, you may feel you have to defer to the driver of the car for information especially if they are one of your friends or colleagues.  Since many people are injured as passengers in motor vehicle crashes, it does not have to be an scenario where you forgo protecting yourself.

As a passenger injured in a car accident, you have to take steps to protect yourself.

What are my rights to compensation as passenger in a car accident?

We are all passengers in someone else’s vehicle at one time or the other. Most often you are a passenger in a friend or family member’s vehicle.   It makes sense since we travel with friends and family.  Yet, passengers who are hurt often feel reluctant to ask questions or inquire about insurance coverage.  It can feel like you are creating problems for your friend, the driver. Everyone in a crash can get defensive and sometimes passengers just don’t ask questions because they don’t want to create a riff or disagreement with the driver.  However, many people do understand that making a claim against an insurance company is not really going after the driver personally.  Meaning, you are not trying to get the driver of the car to come out of pocket for any of your injuries.

Can I be Liable (have fault) in a Car Accident when I am a Passenger?

The simple answer is RARELY.  Typically passengers are just along for the ride and suffer consequence of another driver’s negligence. There are rare instances where a passenger may do something overt such as put their hands over  the driver’s eyes or other behavior–you can use your imagination. Those instances are really rare.  As a passenger, you do not have a responsibility to pay attention, be sober or even be awake.

Steps I Should Take If I Was a Passenger Injured in a Car Accident

• Report the Crash to the Police–  Obviously, the drivers in the crash should call 911. If they do not or cannot, call the police yourself.  Often we talk to folks who thought since they were not driving, they could not make the decision to call the police.  As a passenger, sometimes people think they do not have the right and must rely on the driver to make those decisions.  Once the crash has occurred, the driver is not longer in charge of making decisions for you. If it is a rideshare crash, absolutely call the police.
• Gather Evidence:  Evidence at the scene will be important in proving fault for the crash, establishing the crash occurred and other driver information.  The parties or drivers who caused the crash can be held liable for your injuries.  Take photos or video of the crash scene with your phone. If the drivers are physically able to give their information and insurance information, get it.  You can download our Iphone/Android App, Injury Attorney, to help you through the steps of information gathering.
• Seek Immediate Medical Attention: You do not have to wait for permission or approval from anyone to seek medical help. See a doctor as soon as possible. Do not say you are “not hurt” at the scene to simply avoid an ambulance.  If needed, take the ambulance. If you do not wish to go by ambulance, you can state that you are going to see your own doctor. Seeking medical help when you are hurt is critical to your own well being and important for any injury claim you may make.
• Contact a St. Louis Car Accident Attorney Right Away: Again, if you are injured, you do not have to get the driver’s permission to consult an attorney.  There is no good reason why you need to use the same attorney as the driver.  In some instances, it can be a conflict of interest for an attorney to represent multiple people in a crash.  You have the right to find that out.

Again, as a passenger you do not have to have a driver’s permission or consent to consult an attorney.  Crashes involving two vehicles and two drivers may get complicated when either or both dispute liability. As a passenger, you can feel like you are left out and in the middle of their dispute.  You do not have to be in the middle and you do not have to sacrifice relationships with people you know to protect yourself.  If you are hurt, you have to look out for yourself.  The driver of the vehicle you are in may say they want to be sure your injuries are compensated, but they have little control of that actually happening.  Unfortunately,  insurance carriers don’t just act on the driver’s good intentions.  An insurance company is supposed to look out for their own drivers, however, you should not ultimately ever rely on that being real.

Our attorneys are aware that passengers are often in relationships of varying kinds with the driver of the vehicle. We have represented individuals who were in crashes as passengers while they were on a date. In at least two  of those occasions, they went on to get married.  We are not promising you will find your love connection, but we are saying it does not have to be relationship ending scenario to get help if you are hurt. There are some family exclusions when it comes to car accidents, so you will want to talk to an expert car accident attorney to navigate that process.

Seeking compensation for an injury caused by a car accident as a passenger does not mean you have to be in conflict with the driver. More often than not, hiring an attorney eliminates that conflict with the driver.

Who is Held Liable for My Damages as Passenger?

The liable party depends on who caused the crash.  Since Missouri is an at-fault state for car accidents, the party who caused the crash is liable for the damages.  If the driver of the car in which you were a passenger is at-fault, your claim would be against that driver. Let’s be clear, that is not saying you are going after the actual money in the driver’s pocket or bank account.  The driver’s name may be on the case, but the insurance carrier is the entity making decisions, offers and denying claims.  Crashes can sometimes have multiple causes, thus you may be able to bring a claim against both parties

Pure Comparative Fault

Missouri uses a pure comparative fault system, meaning a plaintiff can recover damages even if they have some fault for their injuries.  Their percentage of fault is then subtracted from their final amount.  This may sound confusing as a passenger because it is.  As car accident attorneys, we can explain your particular explanation based upon facts you share and incident reports.  Again, there are rare occasions that a passenger has any fault whatsoever.  The issues for a passenger generally involve which driver is at-fault, the severity of your injuries and coverage available.

Too often, injured passengers wait to contact an attorney. Their case suffers and their relationships suffer.  If you are in a crash with a friend, the last thing you want to do is start talking to your friend about how they are responsible for your medical bills.  Use your health insurance to seek medical treatment. If your driver friend is injured, they will have to do the same. Auto insurance companies do not pay-as-you go for medical treatment. If you wait for an auto insurance adjuster to “grant you permission to see a doctor”, you won’t see a doctor.  Do not even talk about your injuries to an auto insurance adjuster.

When you start talking to your friend about what “they” owe you, relationships have a way of deteriorating.  Insurance adjusters will even use that against you, saying, “You’re going to sue your best friend?”  Clearly, they take that out of context because no, you are not trying to get your friend to part with their hard earned money.  Drivers buy full coverage insurance to protect themselves and occupants in the vehicle.  As well, if you have auto insurance, you may also be able to make a claim with your own insurance.  Talking to a skilled attorney is really critical.

Advantage of Hiring an Injury Attorney

When you are injured as a passenger, you know the driver unless you are in a rideshare crash. Rideshare crashes work much differently and you really DO need an attorney if you are injured in a rideshare crash.  When you know the driver, it can get complicated on you really quickly even if they are not the at-fault party.  There are a lot of misunderstandings that occur when people are in a car accident and hurt.  People panic.   You do not have to sacrifice relationships to look out for yourself.  Even if you end up not hiring one of our attorneys, get a free consultation so that you know your rights and how to protect yourself.  Simply having an injury is overwhelming enough.  Don’t make is worse by feeling like you are in the middle of other people’s fight or left in the dark.

Whether you were injured in a crash in Missouri or Illinois, The Cagle Law Firm has two decades of experience in both states.  Missouri and Illinois laws work a little differently and the statute of limitations is vastly different.  Early action and advise of counsel usually saves a great deal of time spent in worry and stress.

Contact us seven days a week toll free 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681

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