Pennsylvania recently amended its long-standing law regarding joint and several liablity. Joint and several liability applies when more than one party is responsible for an injury. Under the old law, any party at least one percent at fault was jointly and individually liable for all of the damages. This protected the injured victim when the most responsible party had insufficient insurance or assets. This has now changed with the recent amendments. The joint and several liability amendments limit the liability of a defendant who is less than 60% at fault to his proportionate share of liability. Under the amendments’ language, however, … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania Car Insurers May Prorate Deductibles
July 1, 2010 by
If you are in a motor vehicle crash and you have collision coverage with your automobile insurance company, your insurance company may pay for the damages to your vehicle regardless of who was at fault. This is often done as a matter of convenience and to expedite payment. If another driver or entity is at fault, your insurance company will then make a claim for reimbursement against the other driver and his or its automobile liability insurance company. This is called subrogation. In Pennsylvania, your insurance company will include in its subrogation claim your deductible, if any. If your insurance company … [Read more...]
Jury Finds for Plaintiff in Highly Contested Allegheny County, PA Motor Vehicle Accident
April 2, 2010 by
I was recently successful in securing a favorable verdict for an Allegheny County, PA motor vehicle accident victim. Alhaj v. C&K Industrial Services, Inc. and Keeder, No. GD08-001439 (Allegheny County, PA February 5, 2010). This motor vehicle wreck occurred in Munhall Borough, Pennsylvania. As the plaintiff pulled his car into an intersection, he was struck on the passenger side by a truck coming up the intersecting street on his left. The plaintiff had a stop sign, but the truck driver did not. This presented a challenge in proving that the truck driver was responsible. An accident … [Read more...]
Lawrence County, PA Court Rules in Favor of Limited Tort Auto Accident Victim
March 31, 2010 by
Harlan’s car was struck in the rear by a Pennsylvania State Police car. Harlan sued the Pennsylvania State Police for injuries. The state police asked the court to dismiss Harlan’s lawsuit because Harlan’s claim was governed by Pennsylvania’s limited tort law. Under Pennsylvania law, an auto accident victim with limited tort can only recover for out-of-pocket expenses unless he has a serious injury. A serious injury is a serious loss of a bodily function. Here, Harlan had three surgeries and forty physical therapy sessions. He missed work and could not fully participate in certain … [Read more...]
