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Brookhaven, PA Car Accident Lawyer

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    Car crashes are a leading cause of injury for most demographic groups.  If you were hurt in an accident, Pennsylvania’s confusing insurance laws can make it harder for you to get the compensation you need.

    Our lawyers can take your case and fight insurance companies and at-fault drivers to get you damages for your medical expenses, lost wages, and often for pain and suffering, as well.  Knowing what your case should be worth can be difficult if you have no experience with these kinds of cases, but our attorneys can put our experience to work on your case.

    Reach out to our car accident lawyers at The Reiff Law Firm by calling (215) 709-6940.

    How Limited Tort vs. Full Tort Insurance Affects Your Case in Brookhaven, PA

    States usually have one of two sets of rules for auto insurance, using either a “no-fault” system or a “fault” system (a.k.a., a “tort” system).  In a typical no-fault system, drivers cannot sue when they get hurt in a crash unless their injuries are particularly serious.  Instead, they rely on getting damages from their own insurance, and they only make claims against the other driver’s liability insurance if they reach the “serious injury threshold,” at which point they can also sue for pain and suffering.  A “fault” system instead allows people to sue for all injuries and damages – or to file against the at-fault driver’s insurance instead of suing.

    Pennsylvania gives drivers a choice between “limited tort” and “full tort” insurance.  As you might expect, full tort insurance works like a fully tort-based system where you are allowed to sue for any injuries, and you can always file against the at-fault driver’s insurance.  However, this insurance usually costs more.  A limited tort policy is a no-fault insurance policy, so you file with your own insurance company for damages unless you meet the serious injury threshold.

    In practice, this means that people covered by a limited tort insurance policy might not be able to sue in every case – but when they can sue, it is because their case is quite serious.  Even if you have a full tort policy, you might still have coverage through your own insurance that you can use as a stop-gap measure while you pursue your lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

    In any case, your own insurance does not cover pain and suffering, and you need to sue if you want to claim these damages.

    Filing a Lawsuit for a Car Crash in Brookhaven, PA

    Our car accident lawyers can file lawsuits for your injuries if you meet any of the qualifications above.  When filing a lawsuit, there are a few things that need to be proven, and you need to make sure you are suing the correct parties for your injuries.

    What to Prove

    The typical car accident lawsuit is based on a tort claim called “negligence.”  Negligence claims have four major elements that boil down to the victim needing to show that the defendant 1) owed the victim a duty under the law and 2) breached that duty, 3) that the breach caused their injuries, and 4) that they have damages and injuries.

    The duty and breach issues are the core of any negligence case and essentially mean you must show that the driver did something wrong to cause the crash.  This is often a traffic violation, such as running a red light or driving under the influence.  Instead, it can also be a failure to act reasonably, such as failing to slow down during inclement weather or trying to read a map without pulling over.

    Proving causation can be difficult in multi-car crashes or in odd or unique situations, but our lawyers can help with this element.

    Lastly, you generally sue for injuries only when you have recorded injuries; you cannot sue just because you were afraid there would be a crash.  However, you can sue for a combination of physical and mental/emotional damages, claiming “pain and suffering” and other non-economic damages alongside medical expenses and lost earnings/wages.

    Calculating Damages in a Car Accident Injury Case in Brookhaven, PA

    As mentioned, car accidents often involve three major areas of damages: medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.  There are other damages you can claim on top of this, such as the cost of household services you cannot perform while injured, childcare costs, and loss of consortium for lost intimacy with a spouse.  However, we will focus on how damages are calculated in the three main areas:

    Medical Bills

    The cost of medical care is incredibly expensive, even for moderate injuries.  As such, it is important to keep all bills and invoices related to your care to include them in your lawsuit.  Another important consideration is that many injuries will not be fully healed by the time your case gets to trial, and you could have ongoing care needs into the future that you need covered, especially if your injury is expected to get worse or require additional care as you age.  These damages should also be accounted for and may require help from financial and medical experts to calculate them accurately.

    Lost Earnings

    Similarly, lost earnings might involve past wages you already lost before your case got to court, but many car accident victims face ongoing disabilities and long-term recovery needs that will mean missing work for years into the future.  You could also be left with reduced income rather than a total disability.  Our lawyers can tap financial experts to calculate these ongoing lost earnings as well.

    Pain and Suffering

    Calculating pain and suffering is often less scientific and mathematical, given that these are “non-economic” damages based on your experience rather than bills and financial statements.  We often start by gauging how severe your injury and its effects were, raising the pain and suffering damages we claim based on how much scarring you have, how disabling your injury is, what activities the injury took away from you, and how it affects your overall well-being and happiness.

    Call Our Car Accident Attorneys in Brookhaven, PA Today

    For help with your case, call our car accident attorneys at The Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940 today.

    Our Offices

    1500 John F. Kennedy Blvd #501
    Philadelphia, PA 19102
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