Auto Accident Attorney, Pittsburgh, PA

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Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. represents individuals seriously injured in car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents throughout Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania. Auto accident claims in Pennsylvania involve a specific insurance framework that determines what you can recover, from whom, and under which policy. Understanding that framework before settlement discussions begin is the difference between full recovery and leaving coverage unused.

We handle auto accident matters on a contingent fee basis. Legal fees are paid only if compensation is recovered. Costs and expenses are discussed and agreed at the outset.

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Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law

Pennsylvania auto insurance is governed by the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, the MVFRL. The MVFRL establishes minimum coverage requirements, defines the first-party benefits available to insureds, and governs the tort elections that determine the right to sue for non-economic damages. Understanding the MVFRL framework is essential before evaluating any Pennsylvania auto accident claim.

Pennsylvania requires every registered motor vehicle to carry liability insurance with minimum limits of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident for bodily injury. These minimum limits are frequently inadequate in serious injury cases. Identifying all available coverage, including the at-fault driver’s policy, any umbrella coverage, and your own UM/UIM coverage, is the first step in evaluating a serious injury claim.

Full Tort and Limited Tort Elections

When a Pennsylvania auto insurance policy is purchased, the insured selects either full tort or limited tort coverage. This election is made at the time of purchase and typically renewed without review. It governs the insured’s right to recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering from an auto accident.

Under full tort, the insured retains the unrestricted right to sue for pain and suffering and all other non-economic damages regardless of the severity of the injury. Under limited tort, the right to recover non-economic damages is restricted unless the injured party meets the serious injury threshold. Pennsylvania law defines serious injury as death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. An injury that does not meet this threshold under limited tort may still support recovery of economic damages, including medical expenses and lost income, but not pain and suffering.

The limited tort election produces a lower premium. Many insureds selected it years ago without understanding its effect on injury recovery. Several exceptions can restore full tort rights even with a limited tort election, including accidents involving out-of-state drivers, drivers of commercial vehicles, drivers under the influence, and intentional conduct. Whether an exception applies is a fact-specific determination that should be made at the outset of any limited tort claim.

First-Party Benefits Under the MVFRL

Pennsylvania auto policies provide first-party benefits to the insured regardless of fault. These include medical expense benefits, income loss benefits, and in some policies accidental death benefits and funeral expense coverage. First-party medical benefits are available immediately after an accident and are not dependent on establishing the other driver’s fault. They are paid by your own insurer.

The minimum required medical benefit is $5,000, though policies frequently carry higher limits. Income loss benefits compensate for lost wages when the injury prevents the insured from working. These benefits are subject to coordination of benefits provisions that can affect how they interact with health insurance and workers’ compensation. First-party benefits should be pursued and exhausted before or alongside any third-party liability claim against the at-fault driver.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage, UM, provides recovery when the at-fault driver carried no insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage, UIM, provides recovery when the at-fault driver’s liability limits are insufficient to compensate for the full extent of the injury. Both coverages are purchased through your own insurer and are among the most valuable and most underutilized sources of recovery in serious injury cases.

Pennsylvania law permits insureds to stack UM/UIM coverage across multiple vehicles on the same policy or across multiple policies in the same household. Stacking multiplies the available coverage limits by the number of vehicles covered. Many insureds waived stacking at the time the policy was issued in exchange for a lower premium. That waiver is binding. Whether stacking was elected or waived, and how many vehicles are covered, directly affects the total UM/UIM coverage available in a serious injury case.

UM/UIM claims are made against your own insurer. Insurers routinely resist UIM claims even when coverage exists and the injury is documented. Proper presentation of the claim, including the liability analysis against the at-fault driver, the medical documentation, and the damages calculation, is required before any UIM payment is made. We have pursued UM/UIM claims to full recovery when the at-fault driver’s limits were inadequate and when the insurer resisted paying on its own policy.

Truck Accidents and Commercial Carrier Claims

Accidents involving commercial trucks, tractor-trailers, and delivery vehicles involve a different liability framework than standard auto accidents. Federal motor carrier regulations govern hours of service, load securement, vehicle maintenance, and driver qualification. Violations of those regulations are relevant to negligence. Commercial carriers are required to carry significantly higher liability limits than private passenger vehicles, and the available coverage reflects the severity of injuries that commercial vehicle accidents typically cause.

Truck accident claims require early preservation of electronic logging device data, driver qualification files, maintenance records, and post-accident inspection reports. That data is subject to retention schedules and can be lost if not preserved by written demand promptly after the accident. Delay in pursuing a truck accident claim is not a neutral choice.

Damages in Serious Auto Accident Cases

Recoverable damages include medical expenses past and future, lost income and earning capacity, future care needs, and non-economic damages including pain and suffering, permanent injury, scarring, and loss of function. The full scope of damages in a serious injury case is rarely apparent in the first weeks after an accident. Future medical needs, long-term impairment, and the permanence of injury all require documentation before settlement is reached.

Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule permits recovery as long as the injured party is less than 51 percent at fault, with damages reduced proportionally. Defense strategies in auto accident cases frequently include contributory fault arguments. Building the liability record and the damages documentation from the outset is how those arguments are addressed.

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Frequently Asked Questions