Car Accident Lawyer in Pennsylvania

Not necessarily. Limited tort limits your ability to recover pain and suffering damages unless your injury is 'serious' — but there are exceptions. If the other driver was uninsured, driving a commercial vehicle, driving under the influence, or from out of state, you may have full tort rights regardless of your coverage. And courts have found exceptions in cases involving injuries to the head, neck, or spine, even when soft tissue. The only way to know for sure is to have an attorney review your specific situation — which costs you nothing.

That first number is almost never the right number. Insurers call fast, especially when liability is clear, because they know claimants who haven't spoken to an attorney are more likely to accept less. Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you can't go back — even if you discover new injuries or need additional surgery. There is no downside to getting a free case review before you agree to anything.

Two years from the date of the accident, under 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5524. Miss that deadline by even one day and the court will dismiss your case with no exceptions. But don't wait two years — surveillance footage gets overwritten in 30 to 90 days, witnesses move on, and injuries get harder to document as time passes. The evidence is strongest right now.

Pennsylvania follows modified comparative fault. As long as you were 50% or less responsible for the accident, you can still recover damages — but your award gets reduced by your percentage of fault. If a jury says you were 30% at fault on a $100,000 case, you get $70,000. If they say 51%, you get nothing. This is exactly why insurance companies try to argue you were at fault — every percentage point they can assign to you saves them money.