Injury · Pennsylvania
the short answer
You have two years from the day of the crash to file, and no amount of talking to an insurer extends it. Being partly to blame reduces what you collect, and being more than half to blame ends the claim. Your own insurer pays the medical bills first, and whether you can sue for pain and suffering turns on which option your policy took.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
governing statute
42 Pa.C.S. § 5524
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who pays first
Pennsylvania lets you choose, and the choice was already made in the policy you bought. Under the limited option your own insurer pays the medical bills and you may sue the other driver for pain and suffering only if the injury is a serious one — death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement; under the full option no threshold applies at all. (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705)
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 3 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Pennsylvania. Compare every state →
your share of the fault
You recover unless your share of the fault is greater than everyone else's put together. Fifty percent still recovers, fifty-one recovers nothing, and below the bar the award is cut by your percentage. (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102)
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 24 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Pennsylvania. Compare every state →
limit
2 years
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Across the country. 25 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Pennsylvania. The shortest is 1 year, as in Tennessee; the longest is 6 years, as in Maine. Compare every state →
which court
Magisterial district court
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
small claims limit
$12,000
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also
The choice was made when the policy was bought, and the discount for limited tort is the reason most people have it without remembering they chose. Limited tort falls away anyway where the other driver was convicted of driving under the influence, was uninsured, or was driving a vehicle registered in another state.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
your situation
Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Pennsylvania. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Written by an AI model, which can be wrong. Not a lawyer, and not a prediction about your case. Terms · Privacy
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