Tough Cases. Tougher Lawyers.

The first thing anyone should do if involved in a car crash is to seek medical treatment. Your health and well-being are paramount.

If you or a family member or other person on your behalf is able, you should follow these general guidelines. It will protect you, make your case stronger and enable your Philadelphia car accident lawyers to better evaluate your case:

• Obtain copies of the police report and ambulance report
• Collect the names of all parties involved
• Collect the names of witnesses
• Call your car insurance company
• Obtain a copy of your medical records
• Journal all facts and details you remember about the accident
• Journal your medical treatment and condition
• Keep all doctor appointments and follow doctor’s orders for recovery and treatment
• Do not speak to the other party’s insurance adjusters
• Do not give a recorded statement to an adjuster or car insurance company
• Do not admit fault to any parties, witnesses, insurance adjusters, or others
• Stay off social media (no comments, photos, or updates on your status)
• Do not repair your vehicle until advised to do so by your attorney

In any case where the other driver was negligent, you are entitled to recover damages. There are numerous types of car accidents that can occur on the roadways of Philadelphia, however, the common ones are:

• Head-on collision
• Side impact or T-bone crash
• Rear-end collision
• Rollover accident
• Intersection crash

In any of the above crashes, a person may sustain serious injury or even death. There may be economic damages such as medical expenses and lost wages or non-economic damages like emotional distress or pain and suffering.

Your Philadelphia car accident attorneys will evaluate your case, where and how it occurred, and advise you on how to build the strongest case and recover money for your serious injuries.

As an auto accident victim, you maybe have suffered severe or even catastrophic injuries leading to economic claims (lost wages, medical bills) or non-economic damages (emotional distress. Injuries for which you can recover damages include:

• Broken bones – Fractures are common in the legs and arms
• Brain injuries (TBI)
• Spinal cord injuries
• Neck and back injuries – Rear-end collisions may result in a herniated or ruptured disc
• Whiplash
• Lacerations
• Burns
• Broken bones
• Scarring
• Sprain, strains and soft tissue damage
• Mental or emotional anguish – The severe physical pain from a motor vehicle accident can cause long-lasting emotional harm.
• Loss of vision or hearing
• Amputation
• Paralysis
• Wrongful death

A Philadelphia car accident attorney will be best able to evaluate your case and determine, based on the facts and circumstances, what kind of personal injury claim you may have under Pennsylvania law for your physical pain, medical bills, medical treatment, and non-economic damages.

In a car accident case, you may be able to recover economic, noneconomic, and punitive damages. In Pennsylvania, there are two main types of damages: compensatory damages and punitive damages:

Compensatory damages are designed to make you whole after an accident. You may suffer both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages include:

• Medical bills and expenses
• Lost wages
• Property damage

Non-economic damages by their nature are more difficult to calculate. This is where pain and suffering and emotional distress are covered. These damages include:

• Loss of ability to work
• Loss of future earnings
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium (deprivation of family relationship including affection or personal physical reactions)
• Emotional pain and distress

Punitive damages are designed to punish a person for intentional conduct. This means their conduct that led to your injuries was more than negligent. While punitive damages may not be appropriate in an auto accident case, that does not mean your Philadelphia car accident lawyer won’t consider them depending on the facts of your case.

If the person who causes your accident and injuries was operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drove recklessly, engaged in grossly negligent behavior, or had a willful disregard for the safety of other parties, punitive damages may be awarded. This will be determined by your car accident lawyer and by the court.

Car accidents like any personal injury case are about “negligence.” Did the party who harmed you have a duty of care and did they breach that duty? That is the simple question for your Philadelphia car accident attorneys to answer when evaluating your case.

There may be more negligent parties in your case besides the person behind the wheel at the time of the automobile accident. Motor vehicle accidents can be the result of the negligent conduct of others including:

• An automobile manufacturer or parts manufacturer. Was there a defect that contributed to the accident?
• A business. Was the other party operating the vehicle owned or controlled by a business that may have acted in a way that led to the crash?
• Government entity. Did roadway conditions contribute to the crash and what responsibility did a government agency have for that roadway?
• Bar/Restaurant owner. In a case where intoxication contributed to the crash, Pennsylvania law enables an injured party to hold a bar/restaurant owner liable if they served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person and that intoxication led to the accident.

There is no simple answer to this question. Each case has to be evaluated by an experienced car accident attorney in order to determine the potential amount of damages an injured person can recover in a Philadelphia car accident claim.

Initially, your lawyer will weigh how severe your injuries were; your age and health at the time of the accident; whether you have a job or not and if you were the sole provider for the family and how many members you supported; whether you had any fault in the accident; and the amount and type of insurance you have.

There are many other factors to be considered in any car accident lawsuit or personal injury claim. There will be both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages will compensate you for financial costs incurred as a result of the accident. The idea is to “make you whole” or in other words, put you back in the financial place you were in before the crash. Such damages would include:

• Present and future medical expenses which includes ambulance fees, hospitalization, surgery, medication, medical equipment, surgeries, and doctor visits
• Physical therapy and other necessary and related rehabilitation treatment and costs
• The cost of replacing or repairing damaged property
• Lost Income and wages
• Loss of future earnings
• Temporary or permanent disability

These types of damages are relatively straightforward. So long as they are related to the accident, they are proven by the medical bills and expenses incurred.

Non-economic damages include:

• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement
• Scarring
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment of life

These damages require a different level of proof than the economic damages as there are no bills to prove the amount. This does not mean the damages are any less real. They require the experience and knowledge of a car accident lawyer. An attorney will have knowledge of how the insurance company may weigh a claim for these non-economic damages and be able to evaluate what kind of demand they may make and/or argue for in a settlement conference or at a trial.

Not all traffic accidents involve parties who are 100% responsible for the accident or the injuries sustained. There are many instances when multiple parties can share responsibility for a car accident. 

Unless you are more than 50% responsible for the auto accident you can still collect compensation. If an individual is found to be 50% or more liable for the accident, they will be unable to recover fair compensation for the damages suffered. 

Pennsylvania is a “comparative fault” state. Philadelphia’s modified contributory negligence law enables a court to apportion fault. The court will apply a percentage of fault to each party in the accident. Your recovery will be reduced by the percentage of fault applied to you.

The insurance adjuster and the insurance company will do all they can to shift as much blame to you as possible in order to reduce or totally eliminate paying you your compensation.

Your Philadelphia car accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Craig A. Altman have handled many car accident cases. They can explain how Pennsylvania law works and how your level of responsibility will impact how much money you can collect for a Philadelphia car accident.

Pennsylvania is a “no-fault insurance” state when it comes to car accidents. When you’re in a car crash, your insurance will be the primary source of compensation if you are injured. No fault means you turn to your insurance carrier to recover compensation no matter who is at fault.

Your insurance company will only pay up to your policy limits. If you’ve purchased the minimum required by the state, this means you only have $15,000 in coverage for bodily injury and $5,000 in coverage for property damage. The average cost of a car accident, without any debilitating or catastrophic injuries, is much greater. 

Notwithstanding the “no-fault insurance” law, there are instances where the type of insurance you have will impact how much and against whom you may recover compensation. This is the distinction drawn between “full tort” and “limited tort” insurance policies.

When you purchased auto insurance you had a choice of purchasing “Full Tort” or “Limited Tort.” Your choice may impact the type of accident claim your attorney can file.

If you selected the full tort option you maintain all of your rights to file a personal injury lawsuit and recover for pain and suffering even for minor injuries. All damages, including pain and suffering, may be recovered.

If you choose the less expensive option of limited tort, you have an additional burden in order to recover from pain and suffering. You can only file a lawsuit if you have suffered severe impairment of function, a permanent disability, disfigurement, or death. Additionally, you will not be entitled to damages for certain non-economic damages, including those for emotional distress or chronic pain.

Your Philadelphia car accident lawyer will examine your case and your insurance to evaluate your rights. It’s possible an exception to Pennsylvania law will enable you to have the full tort option even if you did not purchase it. If the other driver was under the influence or their vehicle was registered outside Pennsylvania the full tort option could be available and you would have the right to file a lawsuit for maximum compensation.

If you have been in a car crash, you may discover the harsh reality that many drivers do not have any insurance or have underinsured motorist coverage. This can make recovering damages more difficult.

If you have been involved in a crash with an uninsured motorist or the other driver is unidentified, such as in a hit and run, then you will have to file a claim with your insurance company to pay for the damages.

Your car accident lawyer will need to prove for you that the other driver was at fault and that they did not have insurance.

After a car accident, as with any personal injury lawsuit, there is a time limit to file personal injury cases. This time limit is legally known as the Statute of Limitations, and in Pennsylvania, the time is two years from the date of the accident.

Failure to file an injury claim after the statute of limitations has passed can result in the dismissal of the case. A Philadelphia car accident attorney will ensure that your case is filed in time so that you can recover the compensation you deserve.

If you have been injured in a car crash caused by someone else’s negligence, you deserve maximum compensation for your accident injuries, and someone needs to be held accountable for their negligence. An experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney will thoroughly examine the available evidence in your car accident case to determine the exact cause of your accident. We will determine the identities of all potentially liable parties and work tirelessly to get you compensated for your injuries and financial loss. Our car accident lawyers will assist in all ways necessary to make your case including:

• Investigate the facts of your case
• Preserve evidence – Physical evidence often disappears or gets destroyed during the time that follows a car accident
• Obtain the other driver’s driving record
• Review photos of the cars involved in the accident, the accident scene, and tire marks
• Locate and question witnesses and interview any and all parties who can potentially back up your insurance claim
• Obtain a weather report for the date and time of the car accident
• Employ experts including medical and accident reconstruction
• Speak with the responding officer(s) and examine the officer’s police reports and any drawings and measurements
• Inspect the vehicles involved in the car accident for potential defects
• Review your medical records to determine the extent of your personal injuries
• Negotiate with the insurance company
• Appear at settlement conferences and court dates
• Litigate your case in court at trial

Car accidents often result in painful accident injuries, emotional suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, lost future earnings, and property damage—our Philadelphia car accident lawyers will fight to get you the compensation you need to move on. In the worst case scenario, the death of a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, an experienced wrongful death lawyer will fight to get you death or survivor benefits.

PA is a no-fault state. This means that you will have to file a claim with your insurance company in order to receive fair compensation for your medical bills and lost wages. The experienced car accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Craig A. Altman can make sure that you do not miss any filing deadlines with either the court system or the insurance policy with your insurance company.