Whether it is going to work, a mall, or a grocery store, many NJ residents take public transportation every day, like NJ Transit, Megabus, or Greyhound. However, bus accidents also happen and passengers can get seriously injured. After a bus accident in NJ, many injured passengers are worried about their medical bills. They want to know who is going to pay for the medical bills they incurred and will continue to incur as a result of the bus accident. The answer is, it depends.
NJ Bus Accident Law – Injured Passenger has Extended Medical Expense Benefits
If injured bus passengers have their own car insurance policies, they will make a claim under their “Extended Medical Expense Benefits” coverage, if elected. An injured bus passenger generally cannot make a PIP claim because buses are not “automobiles” under NJ PIP law. In order to make a PIP claim, the person must be injured while “occupying, entering into, alighting from or using” a qualifying automobile.
N.J.S.A. 39:6A-2(a) defines “automobile” as the following:
a private passenger automobile of a private passenger or station wagon type that is owned or hired and is neither used as a public or livery conveyance for passengers nor rented to others with a driver; and a motor vehicle with a pickup body, a delivery sedan, a van, or a panel truck or a camper type vehicle used for recreational purposes owned by an individual or by husband and wife who are residents of the same household, not customarily used in the occupation, profession or business of the insured other than farming or ranching. An automobile owned by a farm family copartnership or corporation, which is principally garaged on a farm or ranch and otherwise meets the definitions contained in this section, shall be considered a private passenger automobile owned by two or more relatives resident in the same household.
For example, consider a situation where a bus passenger is injured in a bus accident in NJ. The injured bus passenger is transported to a hospital for medical treatment and has a car insurance policy that has an Extended Medical Expense Benefit of $10,000. Therefore, the medical expenses will be covered pursuant to his Extended Medical Expense Benefits coverage.
What if the injured passenger does not have car or any applicable car insurance policies with Extended Medical Expense Benefits coverage? Click here to continue to read part 2 of the article which discusses this issue.
Suggested Reading: NJ Car Accident Law: Can You Recover Damages for Aggravation of a Preexisting Condition?
New Jersey Car and Truck Accident Lawyer with Over 35 Years of Experience. Free Consultations
If you were in a tractor trailer or truck accident on a New Jersey roadway, feel free to contact Phil T. Ciprietti, Esquire for a free initial consultation. 800.281.8695
*Disclaimer: Every case is unique and you should not take any action or make decisions in your case without speaking to a qualified car and truck accident lawyer in New Jersey. This website page does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Use of the contact form on this website or emailing Mr. Ciprietti does not create any attorney-client relationship. In addition, confidential information should not be sent through the contact form.