Vehicle crashes can be devastating and result in severe injuries, so it’s natural for accident victims to be in shock and unsure of what to do. However, if your injuries are bad enough for you to file a lawsuit to get compensation, time is of the essence. You should move quickly by consulting an attorney who specializes in personal injury from vehicle crashes.

According to AAA, the average cost of an injury crash in the United States in 2009 was more than $125,000, while the average cost of a fatal accident was closer to $6 million.  Add to this the devastating effect on people’s lives from serious injuries that can maim, disfigure, and cause pain and suffering that may last a lifetime, and it is no wonder that victims of car crashes seek compensation by filing a lawsuit.

How Long Do I Have to Sue?

Pennsylvania has a statute of limitations – a time limit for filing a claim in court. You must file before  two years have passed since the crash (42 Pa. Con. Stat. Ann. section 5524).  If the injury claim is against a city, county, or state government agency, you have six months to file a notice of intent to sue. If you don’t file in a timely manner, the Pennsylvania court will likely refuse to hear your case and you will lose your right to sue. 

To protect your rights, it’s essential to consult an experienced personal injury attorney. Your case must be handled correctly, competently, and in a timely manner, or you may never collect the compensation you are entitled to. 

Why a Statute of Limitations?

In any crash situation, evidence disappears quickly, as vehicles are moved, witnesses forget facts or can’t be found, and documents are lost.  The time limitation is intended to ensure that everyone's memory of the crash is still fresh and evidence is still available.

For a lawsuit to be successful, you and your attorney will have to prove that the other driver was negligent and at fault in causing your injury. This means:

• The party had a responsibility not to injure you but failed to live up to that responsibility.
• There is a connection between the other party's responsibility and your injury.
• You suffered damages, or a financial loss, as a result of your accident.

If you share some degree of liability, it will probably affect the amount of compensation you can receive, because Pennsylvania has a “modified comparative negligence rule.” Compensation is reduced by an amount equal to your percentage of fault; if you are more than 50 percent at fault, you can’t collect anything from other at-fault parties.

Your attorney will know how to examine the evidence, the police report for the accident, the type of insurance you and the at-fault driver have, and the facts, and will interview any eyewitnesses and make sure you file your case before the statute of limitations runs out.

What are Pennsylvania Car Insurance Laws?

Drivers in Pennsylvania have the option of choosing between "full tort" and no-fault "limited tort" coverage. For limited tort, your own insurance company should pay for all reasonable and appropriate forms of medical care, up to the limits of your policy.  However, you are prohibited from suing unless the accident resulted in "serious injury” that results in death, serious impairment of body or permanent and serious disfigurement.

If you are using your own insurance company under the no-fault system, you can only recover economic damages for expenses like car repairs or replacement, medical and rehabilitation costs, and lost wages due to missed work. If your injury allows you to go beyond the no-fault limitation or if you have the more traditional “full tort” coverage, you have the option to sue the driver whose negligence caused the accident. If you win a lawsuit, you can recover both economic damages and noneconomic damages, which cover less tangible losses, such as physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of life’s enjoyment and mental anguish.

Most personal injury attorneys offer a free consultation; if you or a loved one has been involved in a vehicle crash that was caused by someone else’s negligence, carelessness, or wrongdoing, take advantage of it quickly to make sure the statute of limitations does not run out.