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passenger in parked car hit by drunk driver in Palms Casino parking lot

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bonnieg416

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? nevada

My seventeen year old son was a passenger in back seat of car hit by drunk driver... was at birthday party at Palms Casino....leaving party got into car in parking spot had just started car and was messing with radio and out of no where a drunk speeding driver who was leaving Palms drove into car he was in parking spot and pushed there car into parked car in front of them

My question is who's insurance is responsible for my sons injuries. Is it the driver of car he was passenger in or the drunk drivers?
 
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ecmst12

Senior Member
Normally, a passenger can recover from both drivers. But in this case, there was only ONE driver and one party that has any potential of being at fault. His claim is with the driver.
 

Banned_Princess

Senior Member
Normally, a passenger can recover from both drivers. But in this case, there was only ONE driver and one party that has any potential of being at fault. His claim is with the driver.
Is NV a no fault state, in that the car he was in would be responsible?
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
It's not, and even if it was, in no-fault states the injured person's insurance comes first, not the insurance on the car he was in.
 

Banned_Princess

Senior Member
It's not, and even if it was, in no-fault states the injured person's insurance comes first, not the insurance on the car he was in.
Ahh, thanks for the clarification, I still haven't grasped "no fault" yet, with 3 or 4 years in insurance sales and policy maintenance. lol.

(even with your explaination, I still dont totally get it lol)
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Except in Michigan (where no-fault also applies to property damage), no-fault just means that every person's own insurance PIP coverage pays their medical bills. It's a pretty simple concept. In some states, the injured party can still pursue the at-fault party for pain and suffering, in other states they can only do so if they meet the "serious and permanent injury" threshold.
 

butterflyrodeo

Junior Member
I found out the hard way that in NV you can only recover part of your deductible if you are less than 50% (or is it less than 51%) at fault.
Yay.
What do they call this ecmst12?
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Comparitive negligence.

Anyone in a parked car is automatically 0% at fault. Any PASSENGER in an accident is also 0% at fault.
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
Anyone in a parked car is automatically 0% at fault. Any PASSENGER in an accident is also 0% at fault.
Automatically? At 2am, I turn off the lights and park my car in the fast lane of the expressway just over the rise of a blind hill in order to mix my mojito without spilling any. Not negligent? While mixing said mojito, my passenger decides to release the parking brake to make room for her "King Bong" and the car rolls down the hill, across the shoulder, and into the bedroom of the house at the bottom, killing the entire company of traveling nuns that was staying there overnight while they were ministering to local children with cancer. Passenger not negligent?

My only point being is that absolutes in law are very, very rare :D
 

xylene

Senior Member
Whose insurance to file with... that is the main concern - are you crazy?

Your son was seriously injured by another, in circumstances that are criminal.

You need to get legal representation before you talk to anyone or accept any payout or settlement.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Automatically? At 2am, I turn off the lights and park my car in the fast lane of the expressway just over the rise of a blind hill in order to mix my mojito without spilling any. Not negligent? While mixing said mojito, my passenger decides to release the parking brake to make room for her "King Bong" and the car rolls down the hill, across the shoulder, and into the bedroom of the house at the bottom, killing the entire company of traveling nuns that was staying there overnight while they were ministering to local children with cancer. Passenger not negligent?

My only point being is that absolutes in law are very, very rare :D
By definition - that's not parked ;)
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Yup, the car was MOVING - not parked.

In any NORMAL circumstances, anyone in a truly parked car would be 0% at fault.
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
Yup, the car was MOVING - not parked.
Fair enough - the hypo was geared toward passenger liability. Instead of KingBong releasing the handbrake, what if a semi came barreling over the hill and sent the (now) parked car careening off into the orphanage that was next to the highway? (But we are getting far afield at this point).
In any NORMAL circumstances, anyone in a truly parked car would be 0% at fault.
And this I agree with wholeheartedly. But making this stuff clear now (hopefully) saves future similar questions being asked because we all know people read old posts before posting, right?
 

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