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Passenger Injury Claims After a Car Accident in Waterbury, CT - Dan Petroskey · BSPE Legal Marketing Podcast

• 0:00
  Passenger Injury Claims After a Car Accident in Waterbury, CT As an injured passenger in a car crash, you had no control over the vehicle's speed or the driver's decisions, yet you are suddenly facing mounting medical bills and lost wages.
• 0:14
  Connecticut law gives injured passengers the right to file a claim against the driver of their own vehicle, the driver of another vehicle, or both drivers simultaneously.
• 0:23
  Collisions on Waterbury's downtown grid and at the busy I-84 and Route 8 interchange often involve two drivers pointing blame at each other, while the passenger had no role in causing the crash whatsoever.
• 0:35
  Attorney Dan Petroskey leads DeFronzo & Petroskey, P.C., building on a 60-year history of representing Waterbury crash victims from the initial investigation all the way through trial.
• 0:46
  Over 100,000 motor vehicle collisions occur in Connecticut every single year, and a significant share of those crashes leave passengers in need of strong legal representation to recover their losses.
• 0:58
  A passenger can absolutely sue the driver of the vehicle they were riding in if that driver's negligence contributed to the crash, and the claim can draw on that driver's bodily injury liability coverage.
• 1:08
  Because passengers typically bear no responsibility for causing a crash, they are uniquely positioned under Connecticut law to assert claims against every at-fault driver involved.
• 1:18
  Connecticut General Statutes Section 52-572h allows a court or jury to apportion negligence among multiple liable parties, so if one driver is 70 percent responsible and another is 30 percent, each pays their proportionate share of the damages.
• 1:34
  When a single liability policy at the statutory minimum cannot cover surgery, rehabilitation, and lost income, a second at-fault driver's policy can dramatically increase the total insurance available to compensate the injured passenger.
• 1:49
  A passenger can present claims to each at-fault driver's insurer at the same time, though release language in any settlement must be drafted carefully to avoid accidentally extinguishing rights against other parties.
• 1:59
  Connecticut also permits passengers to bring negligence claims against a family member who was driving, because the law firm's analysis of state statutes shows that household immunity in motor vehicle cases has been broadly abrogated.
• 2:11
  Many passengers hesitate to pursue a family member, but it is important to understand that the negligence claim targets the driver's liability insurance rather than the family member's personal finances up to policy limits.
• 2:24
  Household exclusion clauses in auto policies can limit coverage for resident relatives, but Connecticut General Statutes Section 38a-335 requires liability coverage to apply to resident relatives unless a specific endorsement excludes them by name.
• 2:41
  Connecticut law also requires automobile liability policies to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which can provide critical additional benefits when an at-fault driver carries little or no insurance.
• 2:53
  If all applicable bodily injury liability limits are exhausted and the UIM limit is higher than the total applicable liability limits, UIM coverage may offer supplemental recovery subject to the policy terms and the passenger's total damages.
• 3:08
  The most important step in any passenger injury claim is identifying every available insurance policy before settlement negotiations begin, because missing a single policy can mean leaving significant compensation on the table.
• 3:21
  Contact DeFronzo & Petroskey, P.C. at 203, 756, 7408, located at 255 Bank St # 2b, Waterbury, CT 06702, United States, to schedule your free consultation and get the representation your passenger injury claim deserves.