Pennsylvania
Injury claims in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania gives you a choice between limited and full tort coverage, has the shortest work injury reporting deadline of the three states at 21 days, and still carries the lowest minimum auto liability limits in the region.
Key deadlines
Exceptions exist for minors, for injuries that could not reasonably have been discovered right away, for claims against government bodies, and for medical claims. Only a licensed attorney who knows your facts can tell you what applies to you.
Car crashes in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania gives every driver a choice under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705.
- Limited tort. You keep the right to recover economic losses such as medical bills and lost wages, but you cannot recover for pain and suffering unless you suffered a serious injury, defined as death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.
- Full tort. Full right to recover, higher premium.
Even under limited tort, your full rights are generally restored where the at-fault driver was convicted of or accepted ARD for DUI in that crash, was driving a vehicle registered in another state, intended to cause injury, or was uninsured. The same applies to claims against vehicle manufacturers, and to injuries suffered while occupying a vehicle other than a private passenger car (§ 1705(d)).
If you never signed an election, Pennsylvania deems you full tort (§ 1705(a)(3)), which is the opposite of how New Jersey handles the same silence.
Minimum liability limits remain $15,000 / $30,000 / $5,000 (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702), unchanged despite repeated bills to raise them, and the minimum medical benefit is $5,000 (§ 1711). These are low, and serious crashes routinely exhaust them, which makes underinsured motorist coverage particularly important in Pennsylvania.
Work injuries in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has the shortest reporting window of the three states.
Under 77 P.S. § 631, notice within 21 days means compensation runs from the date you were hurt. Notice after that generally means compensation runs only from the date you gave notice, so the delay costs you money directly. After 120 days, no compensation is allowed at all.
A claim petition must generally be filed within three years of the injury, or three years from the most recent payment (77 P.S. § 602).
Once notified, the employer has 21 days to begin paying, issue a Notice of Compensation Payable, a Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable, or a denial (77 P.S. § 717.1). If an employer paying temporary compensation does not stop it within the 90-day window, it is generally treated as having accepted the claim.
Fault sharing
You may recover if your negligence was not greater than the defendant's (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102). The Fair Share Act generally makes each defendant liable only for its own share, with exceptions including defendants found 60% or more liable.
Medical claims
Medical professional liability claims require a certificate of merit filed with the complaint or within 60 days after it (Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3).
The MCARE Act's seven-year outer limit on medical claims still appears in the published statute, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held it unconstitutional in 2019. Do not assume an older claim is barred on that basis without asking an attorney.
Mass torts and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania hosts the GLP-1 litigation in the Eastern District. The Bucks and Montgomery County PFAS cluster around the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove and the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster is one of the most documented contamination zones in the country, affecting the Horsham, Warminster and Warrington water systems. Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas also carries large paraquat inventories alongside the federal litigation.
This page is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.