Passenger Killed in Single Car Crash in Lake City, Florida
A car driven by Dennis Watt in Lake City, Florida (which is about an hour west of Jacksonville, Florida) crashed after the driver lost control, left the road and hit a couple of trees, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The passenger in the vehicle was seriously injured as a result of the crash and flown to Shands Medical Center in Gainesville.
In a single vehicle auto accident where the passenger is injured, what recourse does that passenger have to recover his/her damages? Most accidents involve at least two vehicles where one of the drivers is at fault. The injured party can make a claim against that other driver's insurance company for damages. In single car accidents, a passenger can still make a claim against the driver's insurance company where the driver was negligent in causing the crash. In this case, there is an indication that the driver was driving too fast. Additionally, blood was taken from the driver to determine wehther he was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. Those factors would allow the passenger to make a stronegr claim against the insurance company for the driver for damages.
The passenger may also be able to make a claim against his own insurance company. Even though the passenger was not in his own vehicle, if he has uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, he can make a claim against his own insurance company if the driver of the vehicle either has no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover the passenger's damages, which would likely be significant given the nature of this crash.
