Injured Passengers

Car accidents may cause catastrophic injuries to passengers. These injuries may include spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, amputations, burns, and disfigurement. After a serious accident in East Tennessee, insurance adjustors for the driver of your car or another car involved in the crash may try to get you to accept a lowball settlement. It is important to consult Maryville car accident attorney Mark Hartsoe to determine whether you may have a basis for a claim. At the Hartsoe Law Firm, we can help injured passengers evaluate their options, and we can represent them in lawsuits against any drivers responsible for their injuries.

In many cases, you may sue the driver of the car in which you were riding, the driver of another vehicle, or both. To establish liability, you will probably need to show that the defendant was negligent. This means that you will need to prove that the driver failed to drive safely under the circumstances and that their negligent actions caused the wreck and your injuries. Insurance policies prohibit you from bringing a claim against the driver if you are a member of the same “household.”

Sometimes negligence by multiple drivers causes a car accident. Tennessee only requires a defendant to pay an amount of damages that is equal to their degree of fault. The jury will assign percentages of fault to the parties involved, and a plaintiff's damages will be reduced by an amount equal to their assigned percentage of fault. It is rare for an injured passenger to be even slightly at fault for a crash. However, in many cases, both drivers involved in an accident bear some responsibility for the outcome. You will only be able to recover compensation from parties that are found to be at fault. Often, discovery during the litigation process sheds more light on who was responsible for an accident and why. Therefore, it is important to pursue claims against all of the parties that may have been responsible.

As an injured passenger, you may be able to recover your economic and noneconomic damages, including medical expenses, property damage, lost income, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost enjoyment of life. Maryville car accident lawyer Mark Hartsoe will help you bring a claim to recover all of the damages and losses you have sustained. His extensive experience representing injured parties will make the difference in your case. For example, there may be activities that you were able to do before the crash that you are not able to do afterward. Mark Hartsoe will try to gather this information so that he can present testimony to show how deeply you have been affected by your injuries.

If you have been injured with someone else at the wheel, Maryville car accident lawyer Mark Hartsoe can evaluate your situation and provide aggressive representation. Call the Hartsoe Law Firm at 865-804-1011 or contact us via our online form to schedule a free consultation. Hartsoe represents injured people who need a motor vehicle collision attorney throughout East Tennessee, including in Blount, Knox, Monroe, Loudon, Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, Campbell, Hamblen, Greene, Anderson, Cumberland, and Fentress Counties.