How Does The Personal Injury Process Work In Pennsylvania?

We have a statute of limitations in Pennsylvania of two years. Accident cases, including auto accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and any kind of injury to a person caused by someone else’s negligence, a lawsuit has to be filed within two years from the date of the injury.

With automobile cases, it’s very important to understand that your selection of what is called “the tort option” controls your ability to be able to recover for pain and suffering. In Pennsylvania, if you are a driver of an automobile and you are insured, if you elected the limited tort option, (so that you could pay less of a premium), you’re giving up your right to sue for all accident cases in which you are injured. You’re only allowed to sue to collect your pain and suffering for the most serious of injuries. We encourage people to select the full tort option, where you pay a little more for your insurance and do not give up any of your rights.

With full tort, any injury, no matter how serious, caused by someone else, is recoverable. We take full tort option cases. With a full tort case, you would come into the office and then we would gather up the documents, put the other driver’s insurance company on notice of your injury and your claim against their insured. We make sure that you are getting medical treatment for your injury and forward your medical records. When you finish treatment, we send your claim to the other driver’s insurance company and try to settle your case out of court.

Personal injury lawyers charge on a percentage basis. If there’s no recovery, the lawyer doesn’t get paid. Most of my cases settle.

The other thing about personal injury cases in Pennsylvania is that it’s the other person’s insurance company policy limits that dictate how much money you can collect. If you’re hurt really badly and the other driver only has a $15,000 policy, you’re only going to get $15,000. We encourage people to have underinsured benefits as well as uninsured benefits, which would protect you in the event that you’re hurt more than your wrongdoer’s insurance policy will cover, or if the wrong doer doesn’t have insurance.

For more information on Personal Injury Process In Pennsylvania, a phone consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling or texting (215) 750-9202 today.