Serious accidents can occur in the blink of an eye, leaving behind lifelong disabilities, impairments, and deficits. Sadly, many accidents are fatal, cutting short the lives of accident victims and leaving their families scrambling for answers. If you or someone you love has been injured or lost a loved one in an accident, reach out to our Norristown accident attorney at The Weitz Firm, LLC for help. We handle all types of accident claims, including those involving serious car or truck accidents.
Pennsylvania is a hotbed for automobile accidents, a fact that is underscored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) 2020 Crash Facts & Statistics, an annual publication looking at auto crashes throughout the Commonwealth. While traveling more than 102 billion miles traveled on Pennsylvania’s roads, highways, and byways, people were involved in around 286 crashes each and every day during 2020. This is around 12 crashes each hour, 168 injuries per day, seven injuries daily, and three daily fatalities.
Serious car accidents are never planned, but some circumstances increase the likelihood of an accident occurring. Some leading auto accident causes include:
You don’t necessarily need to go to court to receive compensation after being harmed in an auto accident. It’s often preferable to settle a case out of court with an insurance company. However, due to Pennsylvania’s somewhat complex no-fault laws, it can sometimes be challenging to determine precisely whose insurance is responsible for providing compensation.
In states that use the “at-fault” or “tort” system, when a negligent party causes a motor vehicle accident, victims of said accident can seek compensation for their medical bills, lost wages, and related losses by filing a claim with the negligent party’s insurance.
That’s not necessarily the case in a no-fault state like Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, motorists have two general options when choosing which type of car insurance to purchase: limited tort and full tort.
Limited tort coverage is less expensive than full tort coverage. That said, as the name implies, this type of coverage imposes certain limitations on the amount of compensation a car accident victim may pursue.
With limited tort coverage, you can only receive compensation for your out-of-pocket expenses resulting from an accident. You can’t sue another driver for pain and suffering or other such non-economic damages.
Seeking compensation for pain and suffering is an option if you have full tort coverage. While this type of coverage is more costly, it may allow a driver to recover the full amount of compensation they deserve after a collision.
Basically, in a no-fault state like Pennsylvania, your own insurance is primarily responsible for compensating you, even if your accident resulted from someone else’s negligence. That said, depending on what type of coverage you have and how severe your injuries and losses are, you may have the right to seek additional compensation beyond what your own insurer will provide.
Don’t worry if you struggle to fully understand your options when filing a claim after a motor vehicle collision in Pennsylvania. An expert at our Norristown accident law firm can review your losses and account for the type of insurance you’ve purchased to determine how you should proceed.
If you’re considering hiring a particular lawyer to represent you after an accident, the process typically begins with an initial consultation. During this meeting, you will discuss your accident in detail so a legal expert can evaluate your case.
This meeting is more likely to be productive if you take the following steps in advance:
Make a list of losses you’ve sustained as a result of your accident thus far, such as medical bills, lost wages, etc. Bring documentation of these losses (such as copies of your medical bills) if possible.
The goal of an accident claim is to help the injured party become whole again financially. This is accomplished with awards for both economic and noneconomic losses. Compensatory damages in accident cases may include:
In the case of claims involving loss of life (wrongful death claims) families may seek out the same compensation that their deceased loved one might have been eligible for, had the person lived. In addition, families may seek compensation for loss of companionship, consortium, and love, among other damages.
Discuss your case in more detail with our Norristown accident attorney. Reach out to The Weitz Firm, LLC for a free consultation of your case by clicking here or calling 267-587-6240.
