Uninsured Driver, Injured Passenger: Can the Passenger's Insurer Go After the Driver in Pennsylvania?

Attorney Answer

It depends on what the passenger's insurer paid. For medical bills paid as first-party benefits, Pennsylvania law generally leaves the insurer nothing to collect from the driver: the passenger could not recover those amounts from the driver, and an insurer that steps into the passenger's shoes has no greater rights. If it paid an uninsured motorist claim instead, it may be able to pursue the passenger's claim against the driver for what it paid. If the passenger had no auto insurance at all and was paid by the state's Assigned Claims Plan, the Plan has a right of its own to recover. Separately, an owner who drove without insurance faces penalties of their own.

Medical bills paid as first-party benefits. The passenger's own auto policy, or a household member's, pays first-party medical benefits first (75 Pa.C.S. § 1713(a)). Those amounts cannot be recovered from the driver. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1722:

In any action for damages against a tortfeasor, or in any uninsured or underinsured motorist proceeding, arising out of the maintenance or use of a motor vehicle, a person who is eligible to receive benefits under the coverages set forth in this subchapter, or workers' compensation, or any program, group contract or other arrangement for payment of benefits as defined in section 1719 (relating to coordination of benefits) shall be precluded from recovering the amount of benefits paid or payable under this subchapter, or workers' compensation, or any program, group contract or other arrangement for payment of benefits as defined in section 1719.

The references to workers' compensation in that section, and in § 1720, were repealed in 1993 by Act 44, so they no longer apply; the rest of the section does. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1720 adds that there is no subrogation from a tort recovery for those benefits. An insurer that pays its policyholder stands in the policyholder's shoes and can recover only on a claim the policyholder actually has, as the Superior Court held in Universal Underwriters Insurance Co. v. A. Richard Kacin, Inc., 916 A.2d 686 (Pa. Super. 2007). Since the passenger cannot recover those benefits from the driver, the insurer has nothing to step into. The statute makes no exception for an uninsured driver.

An uninsured motorist claim. If the passenger carried uninsured motorist coverage, which pays for injuries caused by an uninsured driver (75 Pa.C.S. § 1731(b)), the insurer that paid that claim may be able to pursue the passenger's claim against the driver to recover what it paid. Whether the passenger's wish not to sue makes any difference depends on the policy's terms and the facts, and is a question for a lawyer.

If the Assigned Claims Plan paid. A passenger with no auto insurance of any kind may be able to claim first-party benefits from the Assigned Claims Plan (75 Pa.C.S. § 1752(a)). The Plan then has its own right to recover. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1756:

The Assigned Claims Plan or its assignee is entitled to recover, in accordance with the tort liability law of this Commonwealth, reimbursement for benefits or coverages paid, loss adjustment costs and any other sums paid to an eligible claimant under this subchapter.

How far that right reaches against a particular driver is a question for a lawyer.

The passenger's own claim. Beyond those benefits, the passenger can sue the driver for the rest of the injury within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2)). Even a passenger who chose limited tort keeps full tort rights against a driver at fault who had no insurance (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1)(iv)).

Driving without insurance. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(a):

(a) General rule.-- Every motor vehicle of the type required to be registered under this title which is operated or currently registered shall be covered by financial responsibility.

Under § 1786(d)(1), the vehicle's registration and the owner's operating privilege are suspended for three months, and under § 1786(f), operating without the required coverage is a summary offense with a $300 fine.

What you can do

1. If you were the driver and receive a letter or bill from an insurer, ask it in writing what it paid, under which coverage, and on what basis it says you owe it.

2. Do not agree to pay, or sign anything, before a lawyer has looked at it.

3. If you are served with court papers, respond by the date on them.

4. If you own the car, get it insured before it is driven again.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The passenger's claim against the driver must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2), and an insurer pursuing the passenger's claim generally stands in the passenger's position on that deadline.