Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorneys

Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims, meaning you generally have two years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas. If the injured person is a minor (under 18), the two-year clock doesn't start until their 18th birthday. The discovery rule may also apply if you didn't know you were injured right away. If you're filing against a government entity in PA, you must submit a written notice of intent to sue within just six months of the injury — a much shorter and often overlooked deadline.

When you purchase auto insurance in PA, you must choose between full tort and limited tort coverage. Full tort preserves your unrestricted right to sue an at-fault driver for all damages, including pain and suffering, regardless of injury severity. Limited tort costs about 15% less in premiums but restricts your ability to recover non-economic damages unless your injuries meet the legal definition of a "serious injury" — meaning death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. Even with limited tort, several exceptions may allow you to pursue full damages, including if the at-fault driver was convicted of DUI, was driving an unregistered vehicle, or was from out of state.

Yes — but only up to a point. Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence system with a 51% bar rule. You can recover damages as long as you are not 51% or more at fault for the accident. If a jury assigns you 30% of the fault, your total compensation is reduced by 30%. But if you're found 51% or more responsible, you are completely barred from recovering anything. Insurance companies aggressively try to shift blame onto you to push your fault percentage above that 51% line.

For most personal injury cases in Pennsylvania, there are no caps on compensatory damages — the PA Constitution has been interpreted as prohibiting such limits. However, claims against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are capped at $250,000 per plaintiff and $1,000,000 per incident under the Sovereign Immunity Act. Claims against local government entities are capped at $500,000. In medical malpractice cases, punitive damages cannot exceed 200% of the compensatory damages awarded.

Pennsylvania operates a "choice no-fault" auto insurance system. After any car accident, your own insurance policy's Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays for your initial medical bills — the state requires a minimum of $5,000 in medical benefits — regardless of who caused the crash. Beyond that, your rights depend on which tort option you selected. Drivers with full tort can pursue a claim against the at-fault driver for all damages including pain and suffering. Drivers with limited tort can recover economic losses but generally cannot sue for pain and suffering unless they meet the "serious injury" threshold or qualify for an exception.