Philadelphia Car Accident Attorneys

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Two things decide most Philadelphia car accident claims, and neither one is how badly you were hurt. The first is what your own auto policy says about limited tort. The second is what percentage of fault an adjuster decides to hang on you.

Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers handles car accident claims across the city and the surrounding counties. If you were injured in a collision, call +1 (215) 875-7030 and we will tell you where you actually stand.

Does Limited Tort Stop You From Recovering in Pennsylvania?

Not as often as people are told. Limited tort restricts recovery for pain and suffering, but it leaves medical bills, lost wages and out-of-pocket losses fully recoverable, and it does not apply at all in several common situations.

Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, a limited tort insured can still pursue the full range of damages when:

• The at-fault driver was convicted of, or accepted ARD for, driving under the influence
• The at-fault driver was operating a vehicle registered in another state
• The at-fault driver had no insurance
• The at-fault driver intended to cause injury
• The injury qualifies as a serious injury, which includes serious impairment of a body function and permanent serious disfigurement
• You were an occupant of a vehicle other than a private passenger car, such as a bus or a commercial vehicle

Pedestrians and cyclists struck by a vehicle are not restricted by an auto policy’s tort election at all.

There is one more thing worth knowing. If your insurer never obtained a signed election, the statute presumes you chose full tort. That has decided more Philadelphia cases than most drivers would guess.

Our post on limited tort versus full tort in Pennsylvania covers the election in more depth.

Why Choose Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers After a Philadelphia Crash?

Because the work in a car accident claim is mostly work you should not have to do while you are recovering.

You will be receiving treatment, missing income and fielding calls from an adjuster whose job is to close the file for as little as possible. Our role is to take that off you and handle it properly.

When you work with our Philadelphia car accident attorneys, you can expect us to:

• Explain your rights so you can make informed decisions about your own case
• Investigate to identify every at-fault party and every policy that might apply
• Collect the evidence needed to prove liability and the value of your damages
• Handle the negotiations and all correspondence with the insurance company
• Litigate the case if a settlement will not cover what you actually lost

Call +1 (215) 875-7030 for a case assessment.

Why Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer in Philadelphia?

Because adjusters are trained and you are not, and the gap shows up in the number.

Insurance adjusters protect the insurer. They will ask for a recorded statement, use language that is technically accurate and practically misleading, and request information they do not need. Those are not accidents. They are the process working as designed.

With an attorney involved, those tactics generally stop being tried. What replaces them is a file the carrier has to evaluate on the medical evidence and the policy limits rather than on how much pressure it can apply.

How Much Is a Philadelphia Car Accident Claim Worth?

There is no formula, and any lawyer quoting a number in a first phone call is guessing. What actually drives value is a short list:

• How severe the injuries are and whether they are permanent
• How the injuries affect your ability to work and to do what you did before
• The total of your medical bills and injury-related expenses
• Whether you share any fault, and how much
• Whether you missed work and whether you can earn what you did before
• The insurance policies available on both sides

That last one is frequently the real ceiling. A catastrophic injury caused by a driver carrying minimum limits is worth what can be reached, which is why identifying every applicable policy, including your own uninsured and underinsured coverage, matters more than most people expect.

How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

Two years from the date of the crash for most injury claims, under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. For a wrongful death claim, two years from the date of death.

Exceptions exist, and one of them catches people out badly: a claim involving SEPTA, the city or another public agency can require written notice within six months rather than two years.

Negotiating with an adjuster does not pause either clock. If the deadline passes, the court dismisses the case regardless of how strong it was.

What Damages Can I Recover After a Philadelphia Car Accident?

Two categories, and limited tort affects only the second one.

Economic damages are the measurable financial costs:

• Medical expenses for emergency care, hospitalization, surgery and home health care
• Future medical expenses for ongoing treatment and follow-up
• Physical therapy
• Out-of-pocket costs for medical supplies, travel and childcare
• Lost wages and employment benefits
• Loss of earning potential if you cannot earn what you did before
• Property damage

Non-economic damages are the human costs, and they are harder to quantify because they are not invoices:

• Pain and suffering
• Scarring or disfigurement
• Loss of quality of life
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium
• Post-traumatic stress, anxiety or phobia

Whether the second category is available to you depends on your tort election and the exceptions covered above.

In rare cases a Pennsylvania court may award punitive damages, where the defendant’s conduct was particularly reckless or willful. A DUI crash that leaves someone permanently disabled is the usual example.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer?

Nothing up front. Car accident cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning the fee is a percentage of what is recovered and comes out of the recovery rather than out of your pocket. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.

The percentage and the terms should be in writing before you sign anything, and you are entitled to ask any firm exactly what theirs is.

How Does Fault Get Divided in a Pennsylvania Crash?

Pennsylvania uses modified comparative negligence under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102. If your share of the fault is 50% or less you recover, reduced by your percentage. If it is 51% or more you recover nothing.

That threshold is the whole game in a disputed crash. An adjuster who moves you from 30% to 51% has not reduced your claim, they have ended it, and they can do it with nothing more than the other driver’s version of events.

Fault percentages assigned by an insurer are not findings. They are positions, and they move when someone puts evidence in front of them: the damage profiles, the vehicles’ resting positions, signal timing, the sightlines from each driver’s actual seat, and any footage that still exists. Statewide crash reporting is maintained by PennDOT, and local footage in Philadelphia is typically overwritten within one to three weeks.

Our page on car accident liability covers how fault is established in more detail.

Will My Car Accident Case Go To Trial?

Probably not. Most claims resolve in negotiation, and both sides usually prefer that because it is faster, cheaper and more certain.

That said, a case only settles well when the other side believes it will be tried if it does not. Being prepared to litigate is what makes the negotiation work.

What Should I Do After a Philadelphia Car Accident?

Most people are dazed after a crash, and the things you do in the first hour still shape the claim months later.

Do not leave the scene

You have obligations before you can go. Leaving can turn into a hit-and-run accusation and criminal charges.

If nobody is injured and the vehicles are drivable, you can move them out of the travel lane, to the shoulder or median. If that seems unsafe or your vehicle will not move, stay put.

Call the police

Pennsylvania requires you to notify law enforcement immediately of any crash causing injury, death, or damage severe enough to require towing.

Even for a minor collision, calling is usually the right call. A responding officer prepares a report that becomes a piece of evidence you cannot recreate later. If police do not investigate, you may need to self-file a Driver’s Accident Report within five days.

Exchange information

State law requires you to exchange your name, address, driver’s license, insurance information and vehicle registration. If anyone is hurt, you also have a duty to render aid, including calling an ambulance.

Do not admit fault

People apologize reflexively, or say something like “I didn’t see you.” Both get used later. You are usually shaken and you almost never have all the facts yet. Describe what happened factually and leave the conclusions to the investigation.

Photograph everything you can

If you are hurt, this is not the priority. If you are able, take photographs and video of both vehicles, the property damage, skid marks, traffic controls, road conditions and the position of everything before it moves. Get contact information from any witness who stops.

Get medical care the same day

Some injuries do not present symptoms for a day or two, and adrenaline masks others. A same-day record ties the injury to the crash, which is exactly what an insurer will later dispute if the record starts a week out.

Where in Philadelphia Was Your Crash?

Different parts of the city produce different collisions and, more usefully, different legal problems. We have separate pages for the neighborhoods where those differences matter:

• Center City car accident lawyer, for low-speed downtown collisions and the minor-impact argument insurers make
• University City car accident lawyer, for crashes involving out-of-state drivers and out-of-state policies
• South Philadelphia car accident lawyer, for disputed-fault collisions on narrow streets
• West Philadelphia car accident lawyer, for crashes involving SEPTA vehicles or trolley tracks
• Cedar Park car accident lawyer, for underinsured drivers and residential-street collisions
• Ardmore car accident lawyer, for Lower Merion and Montgomery County crashes

Who Could Be Liable for Your Injuries?

More parties than most people assume, and identifying all of them changes what is available to pay the claim.

• Another driver
• A trucker and the trucking company behind them
• A mechanic or maintenance company whose work failed
• A pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist
• The manufacturer of a defective auto component
• A government agency, where a road defect contributed
• The employer of a driver who was working at the time

That last one matters more than it sounds. A driver on the job may put a commercial policy in play, which typically carries far higher limits than a personal auto policy.

What Injuries Do Car Accidents Cause?

Anything from bruising to injuries requiring lifetime care. The ones we handle most often:

• Fractures and broken bones
• Soft tissue injuries, sprains and strains
• Back injuries
• Whiplash and other neck injuries
• Concussions and traumatic brain injuries
• Chest injuries
• Internal organ damage
• Seat belt injuries, including dislocated shoulders
• Airbag injuries
• Amputations
• Burns
• Spinal cord damage

Psychological injuries are real and compensable too. Vehophobia, a fear of driving that develops after a serious crash, is common and frequently goes unmentioned because people assume it does not count.

What Causes Most Philadelphia Car Accidents?

Driver error, which is another way of saying most of them were avoidable.

• Inattentive driving, including texting, rubbernecking and eating
• Running red lights and stop signs
• Speeding
• Failing to yield the right of way
• Unsafe lane changes and turns
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Drowsy driving
• Reckless driving, including tailgating and road rage
• Negligent vehicle maintenance

Drivers are not always the negligent party. A government agency may share responsibility where a hazardous road defect contributed, such as a large pothole or a poorly designed intersection. An auto defect, such as a failed tire or brakes, can put the manufacturer in the case.

Our page on car accident insurance claims covers how the claim process works once fault is established.

Four Things Adjusters Will Not Volunteer

The other driver’s insurance offered me money before I finished treating. Should I take it?

An early offer is made when the insurer knows less about your injury than you do, which is the point of making it early. Accepting closes the claim permanently, including for treatment you have not had yet. There is no benefit to accepting before the medical picture is clear, and no penalty for waiting within the deadline.

Do I have to use my own insurance if the crash was not my fault?

For medical bills, usually yes at the start. Pennsylvania auto policies include first-party medical benefits that pay regardless of fault, and using them does not concede anything about liability. Waiting for the at-fault insurer to accept responsibility is how people end up in collections while their claim is still open.

What if the driver who hit me left the scene?

Your own uninsured motorist coverage generally applies to a hit-and-run, provided the incident was reported promptly. The plate number is not required. Report it to police and to your own carrier quickly, since delay is the most common ground insurers use to contest these claims.

The at-fault driver only carries state minimum coverage. Is that all I can get?

Often not. Your own underinsured motorist coverage can pay the difference between their limits and what your claim is actually worth, and Pennsylvania permits stacking those limits across vehicles on your policy unless stacking was waived in writing. Checking your declarations page is worth doing before you accept that nothing more is available.

Call Our Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyers

The two questions this page opened with, your tort election and your share of fault, both have answers that are worth more than they look. Both are frequently decided by default, early, by someone who is not on your side.

Bring us the police report number, your declarations page and whatever you photographed. Call Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers at +1 (215) 875-7030.

Reviewed by the motor vehicle team at Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers, which handles car accident claims in Philadelphia County and the surrounding counties.