One of the most common reasons behind civil litigation is car accidents. They can happen at almost any time on the road, and drivers may be badly injured and incur enormous costs. An attorney can help you take stock of your damages and file legal claims against those responsible.
Car accidents may range from relatively minor incidents to major collisions, but your accident does not have to be severe to warrant legal action. Even minor accidents can come with a big price tag, and a single trip to the emergency room can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. You should not have to foot the bill on your own. When negligent drivers and insurance companies refuse to take accountability, we can take your case to court.
Ask our car accident attorneys for a free, private case evaluation by calling The Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940.
Filing an Insurance Claim After a Car Accident
Car accidents usually result in insurance claims. You may file a claim with your own no-fault coverage or the other driver’s liability coverage. However, if insurance does not pan out as you hoped, we can sue the at-fault driver.
No-Fault Insurance
Pennsylvania is one of several states that requires drivers to carry no-fault car insurance. In the event of an accident, a driver may file a claim with their own coverage, and there is no need to prove fault. Even if you are responsible for the accident, your no-fault insurance should cover you.
Some drivers would rather file a lawsuit and take their claims to court. This may be possible, but Pennsylvania law requires drivers to choose between full and limited tort options when they buy car insurance. The option you select may determine whether you can sue the other driver.
Limited Tort Options
If you choose a limited tort option, you may sue the other driver only if your injuries meet the definition of a “serious injury” as described in your insurance policy. A serious injury is defined by Pennsylvania law as any injury resulting in death, serious impairment of bodily functions, or serious and permanent disfigurement. If your injuries meet these criteria, you may sue the at-fault driver for economic and non-economic damages. If not, you are limited to insurance.
Full Tort Options
A full tort option does not restrict your ability to sue the other driver based on the severity of your injuries. Even if you do not have serious injuries as defined by law, you may still choose to sue the other driver. This is typically the more expensive insurance option, so most drivers usually choose a limited tort option. If you are unsure which option you have in your insurance policy, speak to your attorney now.
How to Begin a Car Accident Lawsuit in Drexel Hill
Starting a lawsuit is not as easy as one might think. There are numerous legal hoops to jump through and procedures to navigate. Do not attempt to file your case alone. Get a lawyer to help you right away.
Contact an Attorney
Your first step is to call a lawyer for help. People sometimes worry about the cost of litigation or whether involving lawyers is even necessary. Rest assured, you are more likely to get the compensation you need and deserve with a lawyer by your side. If you proceed without legal representation, the path forward will be much more challenging, and there is a good chance that you will unknowingly miss out on compensation.
Gather Information and Evidence
Once you have a lawyer, talk to them in depth about what happened before, during, and after the crash. Details you might think are unimportant might make a world of difference in your lawsuit.
Next, your attorney should start investigating. If there are witnesses out there who saw the accident or have other personal knowledge relevant to the case, our car accident lawyers can find them and interview them about what they know. We can also help gather things like medical records about injuries and security camera footage from cameras around the accident.
File a Formal Legal Complaint in Court
Next, we must draft and file a formal legal complaint. The complaint is the document that official kicks off a lawsuit. It must include very specific and lengthy details about when, where, and how the accident occurred, who was involved, your damages and injuries, and who we believe is responsible.
Although we do not have to include all our evidence in the complaint, we must include enough to prove that your claims have merit and are not mere baseless accusations. Without showing you have a valid cause of legal action, your lawsuit may end before it begins.
What Damages Are Available in Car Accident Cases?
Damages are unique to each plaintiff, but below are damages that are common across many cases that you should discuss with your lawyer.
Medical Expenses
A major element in many car accident cases is medical costs. You may need urgent and extensive medical care. Even minor injuries often require costly treatment. Review all the medical bills you have received since the accident with your lawyer and make sure all your costs are accounted for.
Property Damage
Your vehicle and the various personal belongings inside might be damaged or even destroyed beyond repair. Repairing and replacing property can be very expensive. Even small property may quickly add up to major costs. The value of your damaged vehicle and the items inside must be accounted for in your claim for damages.
Lost Income
As you recover from the accident, you may need to step away from your job. The more serious your injuries are, the more time away from work you might need to recover. Unfortunately, this usually means you will lose income. You should claim the income you have lost and will likely continue to lose as the case progresses in your claims.
Lost Earning Capacity
If your injuries are so serious that you might never be able to return to work, or you can only work in a significantly reduced capacity, we can claim damages related to your lost earning potential.
Depending on your career path, you may have had a high earning potential with a lifetime of salary increases ahead of you. Now, all that might be gone forever. We should calculate the income you reasonably expected to earn during your lifetime and claim whatever has been lost in your lawsuit.
Pain and Suffering
Not all damages may be measured solely in terms of dollars and cents. Non-economic damages reflect the deeply personal and painful experiences you endure because of a car accident. These experiences can include physical pain. Emotional distress, psychological trauma, and more. The more these experiences affect you and your ability to live a normal life, the more they may be worth in a lawsuit.
Evidence to Prove Your Claims in a Drexel Hill Car Accident Case?
We must prove your claims by a preponderance of the evidence to succeed. Put another way, we need enough evidence to prove that it is more likely than not that the defendant is responsible for the accident and your injuries.
Photos of the Accident Scene
Drivers frequently take photos after car accidents, usually to have proof to send to an insurance company. What you might not realize is that these photos may also be used as evidence in court.
The police will likely clear away the accident quickly, and evidence of the accident may be lost. However, your photos may preserve valuable details we need to prove certain elements of the accident and support your claims. In short, take as many photos as you can while waiting for help.
Video Footage
Video footage of the accident may be among the most powerful evidence we can find. You might have had a dashcam in your car, or witnesses might have had one in their cars. We can also check the area around the accident for traffic cameras or private security cameras. We must act quickly, as video footage may be inadvertently erased.
Witness Testimony
Car accidents often occur on busy roads and highways where other drivers, their passengers, and even pedestrians can see everything. Try to talk to other people around the accident scene while waiting for help. If you can get names and contact information, this will make it much easier to find these people later and talk to them about possibly providing witness testimony.
Medical Records
We must have proof of your injuries. Your word that you were hurt can be helpful, but we need more substantial evidence. Your medical records from when you received treatment after the accident can help us prove just how badly you were hurt and how much treatment cost.
Accident Reconstruction Experts
If the accident was particularly complicated or severe, it may be difficult for us to investigate on our own. In that case, we can call in accident reconstruction experts to examine the evidence and police reports and scientifically reconstruct how the accident likely occurred. They can even testify about their findings and, unlike ordinary witnesses, offer their expert opinion regarding fault.
Police Reports
Police reports can be helpful as we search for more evidence, but the reports themselves are typically inadmissible in court because they are hearsay evidence. Even so, the police report may shed light on evidence the police found during their investigation that we might not yet have. We can use the report to locate this evidence and try to obtain it for your civil lawsuit.
What if More Than One Driver is At-Fault for a Car Accident?
Determining whom to sue is not always simple, especially if you are involved in a multi-vehicle accident or cannot remember the accident clearly.
Suing Multiple Defendants
While many car accidents involve only one other driver, multi-vehicle accidents are more complicated. One, several, or all other drivers might have contributed to the accident, and we may need to thoroughly investigate before deciding how to proceed. Remember, there is no limit on how many defendants you can sue in a single case, and we can include as many other drivers as we believe necessary.
What if One Driver Cannot Pay?
Generally, defendants in civil lawsuits for car accidents in Pennsylvania are not held jointly and severally liable. However, joint and several liability kicks in when a defendant is determined to be at least 60% responsible for the accident.
In such a situation, if other defendants cannot pay, the defendant who is at least 60% responsible for the accident may be legally obligated to pay for all the damages.
Modified Comparative Negligence Law
What if the plaintiff is partially responsible? In Pennsylvania, courts apply a law of modified comparative negligence. Essentially, if a plaintiff is partially responsible, they can still sue, but their damages are reduced in proportion to their share of fault. However, if a plaintiff is more than 50% responsible, they are barred from recovery.
How Long After a Car Accident Can an Injured Driver File a Lawsuit?
In Pennsylvania, a plaintiff has only 2 years from the date of a car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If the case is not filed on time, the plaintiff may be time-barred from ever bringing the case to court, barring very special circumstances.
Do You Need a Lawyer to File an Insurance Claim After a Car Accident?
If you choose to pursue an insurance claim, the process may be difficult, especially if you were involved in a complex accident with significant damages. It is best to have a lawyer help you. If your claim is denied or a settlement offer is insufficient, your lawyer can help you quickly pivot to a lawsuit.
What Should You Do if the Other Driver Flees the Scene of the Accident?
Call 911 immediately and report the accident as a hit and run. If possible, describe the other vehicle so the police can try to locate the driver as quickly as possible. The other driver, once apprehended, will face criminal charges, and your civil lawsuit may have to wait until criminal proceedings are complete.
What if You Cannot Remember the Car Accident?
This is a common problem when drivers are seriously injured and rushed to the hospital. Many drivers report having fuzzy memories of the accident and cannot remember much before waking up in the hospital. Call a lawyer for help as soon as possible. They can help you investigate the accident, find evidence, and determine what happened even if you cannot remember.
Can You Sue for a Car Accident in Drexel Hill if You Are Uninsured?
Yes. While some states restrict a driver’s ability to sue for damages if they are uninsured, Pennsylvania has no such laws. Even if you were driving without auto insurance, you can sue the other driver for economic and non-economic damages if they were at fault for the collision.
Contact Our Car Accident Attorneys in Drexel Hill to Discuss Your Claims
Ask our car accident attorneys for a free, private case evaluation by calling The Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940.
