Automobile Accident

Injured in a Car Accident?

A serious automobile accident can happen in seconds and leave an injured person dealing with medical treatment, missed work, vehicle damage, insurance adjusters, and uncertainty about what comes next.

When another driver causes an accident, Pennsylvania law may allow the injured person to recover compensation for the losses caused by the collision.

McGowan Legal LLC represents individuals injured in car accidents throughout Western Pennsylvania and across the Commonwealth. We help clients navigate the insurance claims process, investigate liability, evaluate available insurance coverage, and pursue compensation from the responsible parties.

What Should You Do After a Car Accident?

The period immediately following an accident can be important to a later personal injury claim.

If you have been injured, obtaining appropriate medical treatment should be the first priority. Injuries are not always fully apparent at the scene of an accident, and delaying treatment can create both medical and legal problems.

When possible, accident victims should also preserve information concerning the collision. This may include photographs of the vehicles and accident scene, contact information for witnesses, insurance information, police reports, medical records, and communications with insurance companies.

You should also be cautious when providing recorded statements or signing documents presented by an insurance company before understanding how they may affect your claim.

Compensation After a Pennsylvania Car Accident

The compensation available following an automobile accident depends on the circumstances of the collision and the nature of the resulting injuries.

A personal injury claim may seek compensation for losses including:

Medical expenses;
Lost wages and diminished earning capacity;
Pain and suffering;
Physical limitations and disability;
Scarring or disfigurement;
Future medical treatment;
Loss of life's pleasures; and
Other financial and non-economic losses resulting from the accident.

The value of a claim depends on much more than the initial medical bills. The severity and duration of the injuries, effect on employment and daily activities, available insurance coverage, strength of the liability evidence, and need for future treatment can all be important.

Pennsylvania's No-Fault Insurance System

Pennsylvania uses a form of no-fault automobile insurance.

After an accident, an injured person's own automobile insurance generally provides first-party medical benefits regardless of who caused the collision, subject to the terms and limits of the policy. This can be confusing for accident victims who reasonably expect the at-fault driver's insurance company to immediately pay their medical bills.

A separate claim may then be pursued against the responsible driver for damages recoverable under Pennsylvania law.

Understanding all available insurance coverage is an important part of evaluating an automobile accident claim.

Limited Tort and Full Tort

Pennsylvania drivers generally select either limited tort or full tort coverage when purchasing automobile insurance.

A person with full tort coverage generally retains an unrestricted right to seek compensation for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering when another driver causes an accident.

Limited tort can restrict the right to recover non-economic damages. However, having limited tort does not necessarily mean that an injured person cannot recover for pain and suffering. Pennsylvania law recognizes several exceptions, including circumstances involving a "serious injury," and other statutory exceptions may apply depending on the accident.

Whether limited tort applies can be a significant legal issue and should be evaluated based on the particular facts of the claim rather than assumed from the designation on an insurance policy.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims

Sometimes the driver responsible for an accident has no insurance or does not have enough liability coverage to compensate the injured person fully.

Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage may provide an additional source of recovery through the injured person's own automobile insurance policy.

UIM coverage can be particularly important when a serious injury is caused by a driver carrying only minimum or relatively low liability limits.

Determining available UM/UIM coverage may require reviewing not only the declarations page but also the insurance policy, coverage selections, waivers, household automobile policies, and other relevant documents.

McGowan Legal can investigate the available insurance coverage and pursue UM or UIM benefits when appropriate.

What If the Insurance Company Blames You?

An injured person does not necessarily lose the right to compensation merely because the other driver or insurance company claims that the injured person was partially responsible for the accident.

Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence system. A person's recovery may be reduced based upon the percentage of fault attributed to that person, and recovery may be barred when the injured person's share of responsibility exceeds the applicable statutory threshold.

Disputed-liability cases may require careful investigation of photographs, vehicle damage, witness testimony, surveillance or dash-camera footage, police records, electronic data, and other evidence concerning how the collision occurred.

Dealing With the Insurance Company

Insurance adjusters investigate claims on behalf of insurance companies. Their evaluation of a claim may differ significantly from the compensation an injured person believes is appropriate.

An insurer may dispute who caused the accident, question whether medical treatment was related to the collision, argue that treatment was excessive, characterize an injury as minor or preexisting, or make a settlement offer before the full extent of the injury is known.

McGowan Legal handles communications with insurers, gathers the evidence necessary to document the claim, evaluates settlement offers, negotiates for an appropriate resolution, and files suit when litigation becomes necessary.

How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury actions arising from automobile accidents.

There can be exceptions and additional deadlines depending upon the parties and circumstances involved. Claims involving governmental entities, for example, may present additional notice requirements and immunity issues.

Waiting can also make a case more difficult even when the statute of limitations has not expired. Video footage can be erased, witnesses can become difficult to locate, vehicles can be repaired or destroyed, and other evidence can disappear.

Speaking with an attorney early can help ensure that important evidence is identified and preserved.

Serious and Fatal Automobile Accidents

Some collisions result in permanent injuries, substantial disability, or death.

Serious-injury cases may require consideration of future medical expenses, diminished earning capacity, permanent physical limitations, vocational consequences, and the long-term effect of the injury on the client's life.

When an automobile accident results in death, Pennsylvania law may also permit appropriate parties to pursue wrongful death and survival claims.

These cases require a careful assessment not only of liability and damages but also of all potentially available sources of insurance coverage.

Car Accident Representation in Western Pennsylvania

McGowan Legal LLC represents automobile accident victims in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and throughout Western Pennsylvania, as well as clients elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

Cases may involve rear-end collisions, intersection accidents, highway crashes, distracted driving, unsafe lane changes, speeding, drunk or impaired driving, pedestrian accidents, commercial vehicles, uninsured drivers, and underinsured motorists.

Speak With a Pennsylvania Car Accident Attorney

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, you do not have to navigate the insurance process on your own.

McGowan Legal LLC can investigate the accident, determine the insurance coverage that may be available, document your injuries and losses, negotiate with the insurance companies, and pursue litigation when necessary.

Contact McGowan Legal LLC to discuss an automobile accident claim in Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania, or elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Automobile Accident

Injured in a Car Accident?

A serious automobile accident can happen in seconds and leave an injured person dealing with medical treatment, missed work, vehicle damage, insurance adjusters, and uncertainty about what comes next.

​

When another driver causes an accident, Pennsylvania law may allow the injured person to recover compensation for the losses caused by the collision.

​

McGowan Legal LLC represents individuals injured in car accidents throughout Western Pennsylvania and across the Commonwealth. We help clients navigate the insurance claims process, investigate liability, evaluate available insurance coverage, and pursue compensation from the responsible parties.

What Should You Do After a Car Accident?

The period immediately following an accident can be important to a later personal injury claim.

​

If you have been injured, obtaining appropriate medical treatment should be the first priority. Injuries are not always fully apparent at the scene of an accident, and delaying treatment can create both medical and legal problems.

​

When possible, accident victims should also preserve information concerning the collision. This may include photographs of the vehicles and accident scene, contact information for witnesses, insurance information, police reports, medical records, and communications with insurance companies.

​

You should also be cautious when providing recorded statements or signing documents presented by an insurance company before understanding how they may affect your claim.

Compensation After a Pennsylvania Car Accident

​

The compensation available following an automobile accident depends on the circumstances of the collision and the nature of the resulting injuries.

​

A personal injury claim may seek compensation for losses including:

Medical expenses;

Lost wages and diminished earning capacity;

Pain and suffering;

Physical limitations and disability;

Scarring or disfigurement;

Future medical treatment;

Loss of life's pleasures; and

Other financial and non-economic losses resulting from the accident.

​

The value of a claim depends on much more than the initial medical bills. The severity and duration of the injuries, effect on employment and daily activities, available insurance coverage, strength of the liability evidence, and need for future treatment can all be important.

Pennsylvania's No-Fault Insurance System

​

Pennsylvania uses a form of no-fault automobile insurance.

​

​

A separate claim may then be pursued against the responsible driver for damages recoverable under Pennsylvania law.

Understanding all available insurance coverage is an important part of evaluating an automobile accident claim.

Limited Tort and Full Tort

Pennsylvania drivers generally select either limited tort or full tort coverage when purchasing automobile insurance.

​

A person with full tort coverage generally retains an unrestricted right to seek compensation for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering when another driver causes an accident.

​

​

Whether limited tort applies can be a significant legal issue and should be evaluated based on the particular facts of the claim rather than assumed from the designation on an insurance policy.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims

Sometimes the driver responsible for an accident has no insurance or does not have enough liability coverage to compensate the injured person fully.

​

Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage may provide an additional source of recovery through the injured person's own automobile insurance policy.

​

UIM coverage can be particularly important when a serious injury is caused by a driver carrying only minimum or relatively low liability limits.

​

Determining available UM/UIM coverage may require reviewing not only the declarations page but also the insurance policy, coverage selections, waivers, household automobile policies, and other relevant documents.

​

McGowan Legal can investigate the available insurance coverage and pursue UM or UIM benefits when appropriate.

What If the Insurance Company Blames You?

An injured person does not necessarily lose the right to compensation merely because the other driver or insurance company claims that the injured person was partially responsible for the accident.

​

Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence system. A person's recovery may be reduced based upon the percentage of fault attributed to that person, and recovery may be barred when the injured person's share of responsibility exceeds the applicable statutory threshold.

​

Disputed-liability cases may require careful investigation of photographs, vehicle damage, witness testimony, surveillance or dash-camera footage, police records, electronic data, and other evidence concerning how the collision occurred.

Dealing With the Insurance Company

Insurance adjusters investigate claims on behalf of insurance companies. Their evaluation of a claim may differ significantly from the compensation an injured person believes is appropriate.

​

An insurer may dispute who caused the accident, question whether medical treatment was related to the collision, argue that treatment was excessive, characterize an injury as minor or preexisting, or make a settlement offer before the full extent of the injury is known.

​

McGowan Legal handles communications with insurers, gathers the evidence necessary to document the claim, evaluates settlement offers, negotiates for an appropriate resolution, and files suit when litigation becomes necessary.

How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury actions arising from automobile accidents.

There can be exceptions and additional deadlines depending upon the parties and circumstances involved. Claims involving governmental entities, for example, may present additional notice requirements and immunity issues.

​

Waiting can also make a case more difficult even when the statute of limitations has not expired. Video footage can be erased, witnesses can become difficult to locate, vehicles can be repaired or destroyed, and other evidence can disappear.

​

Speaking with an attorney early can help ensure that important evidence is identified and preserved.

​

Serious and Fatal Automobile Accidents

​

Some collisions result in permanent injuries, substantial disability, or death.

​

Serious-injury cases may require consideration of future medical expenses, diminished earning capacity, permanent physical limitations, vocational consequences, and the long-term effect of the injury on the client's life.

​