Florida Auto Accident Lawyers
Protecting the Rights of Innocent Passengers

When someone gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, Florida law dictates that driver owes a legal duty of care to those around him or her while that vehicle is on the road. Many would assume that this legal duty of care extends to other drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists or anyone else who may happen to be in the area at any given time. While this is a correct notion, this legal duty of care also extends to passengers in a driver's vehicle.

Below you'll find information regarding how a passenger comes to have legal rights under Florida personal injury law if he or she is injured in a Florida auto accident as well as how you should proceed if you've been injured while riding in a vehicle and need the help of an experienced Florida auto accident lawyer.

Florida's Legal Duty of Care

The legal duty of care component of Florida personal injury law can be somewhat confusing, as different courts have carved out different meanings of this duty over time. Generally, the most widely accepted definition of duty of care in terms of which parties it extends to involves the inclusion of anyone who is in the 'zone of danger' at the time a person makes a mistake that causes injury.

This is an important distinction to make, as a person cannot generally pursue damages with a Florida personal injury lawsuit if he or she was not owed a legal duty of care at the time the plaintiff was injured by the defendant and suffered damages as a result. Basically, if someone is in the zone of danger, that person did not need to be specifically identified by the defendant before the incident in question occurred.

How this Relates to Vehicle Passengers in Florida Auto Accidents

If someone is riding along with a driver in a vehicle and that driver fails to navigate the vehicle properly such that it leads to an accident and injuries suffered by the passenger, the driver could be liable for damages if the passenger files a Florida personal injury lawsuit. Clearly, the passenger is in the 'zone of danger' of the driver because anything that the driver does will obviously affect the safety of the passenger.

Therefore, even if the driver is involved in a one-vehicle crash that injures a passenger, that passenger has legal rights that need to be explored and perhaps pursued. If you have been harmed while riding in someone else's vehicle, seek the help of a Florida auto accident lawyer who has years of experience in holding every type of defendant accountable. Contact Bernstein & Maryanoff today to schedule a free initial consultation.