How Much is My Auto or Trucking Accident Case Worth in Pennsylvania?

Most people think they may have a personal injury claim want to get a good sense of the value of their claim early on.  If you’ve been in a trucking accident on Route 283 or a buggy ran amuck on Route 30 … the question of what your claim may be worth is top of mind.  So … what’s your case worth?

It’s a fair question.  Medical bills pile up fast.  Especially if the person who got injured is unable to continue working.  And the insurance company footing the bill for the person who caused the damages usually starts calling before you’ve had a chance to catch your breath.

The honest answer: it depends – A LOT !  There is an enormous number of factors that impact the value of any specific claim.  And no two cases, even with very similar facts, are identical.  Further, different juries reach different conclusions.  So much so that it is fair to say that if a case were tried before one jury on Monday and then presented to a different jury on Tuesday each jury is likely to assign a different value to the claim.

Both are right.  And both could be upheld on appeal.

So what can you, as a potential claimant, do to better understand the value of his or her claim?

1.  Damages Drive Value.
First, recognize that the value of a claim depends on the nature of the damages the claimant suffered.  Damages are broken down into economic damages and non-economic damages.  Economic damages is the stuff that can be determined fairly accurately and include medical bills, lost wages, reduced ability to make a living and the cost of repairing or replacing damaged property like cars or houses.  Non-economic damages are subjective and include pain and suffering, loss of life’s pleasures and emotional distress.

2.  The Severity of Your Injury

The more significant and lasting the injury, the higher the potential value of the claim.  Cases involving surgery, permanent impairment or chronic pain typically and long terms therapies or treatments command more than cases where recovery requires just a few appointments or therapies over a short period of time.

Claims which involve only soft tissue injuries like sprains, strains and bruising are valuable but le\ss so than those where the injuries are more significant.

3.  Economic Damages: Medical Bills (Past and Future)

Your economic damages include costs associated with: 

• Emergency Room Treatment

• Hospital Stays

• Surgery

• Treatment by Specialists and other Providers

• Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Services

• Prescription Medication

• Adaptive Equipment

• Future medical care

4.  Economic Damages: Lost Wages and Earning Capacity

If the injury caused you to miss work the income you lost as a result is part of your claim it is important to be able to document the lost accurately and to document a direct connection between your injury and your physicians’ advice regarding returning to work.  

If your injuries hurt your ability to earn a living in the future, the value of your claim can increase significantly. 

For example: 

• a few weeks off of work to recover from a severely sprained ankle will support a claim for wages while off work;

• a permanent restriction that limits your career or reduces your income  can dramatically increase the value of your claim.

5.  Non-Economic Damages: Pain and Suffering (it MATTERS !!!)
Pennsylvania law allows recovery for non-economic damages which include pain, suffering, inconvenience, and loss of life’s pleasures.  Factors which increase the non-economic damages portion of a claim include:

• the intensity of the treatments required

• whether surgery was required

• how long recovery took

• whether recovery was complete or only partial

• how the injuries changed the claimant’s daily life

6.  Limited Tort vs. Full Tort
This is uniquely relevant in Pennsylvania auto cases.  If you selected “limited tort” on your auto insurance policy you generally cannot recover for non-economic damages like pain and suffering unless you meet the “serious injury” threshold.  In order to meet this threshold, the claimant must demonstrate he or she has suffered death, serious impairment of bodily function or permanent serious disfigurement.

7.  Insurance Coverage Available
You may have a strong case.  But the value of even the strongest claims can be greatly impacted by whether and to what extent insurance is available.   A claim that may produce a $500,000 judgment is more valuable in a case where the person who caused the injury has sufficient insurance coverage to get that judgement paid than in a case where there is only $10,000 in insurance and the defendant is broke!

Key Questions:

• what are the at-fault driver’s liability limits

• is there underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage available

• are there multiple defendants (this is where creativity can be helpful)

8.  Comparative Negligence
With respect to negligence on the part of the person making the claim, Pennsylvania is a “comparative negligence” state.  This means, first, that if the person making the claim is found to be more than 50% to blame he or she cannot recover damages.  Second, if the claimant is found to be less than 50% to blame but not blameless, a claimants

recoveries can be reduced in proportion to their share of the blame.

9.  Other Factors
Other factors that generally reduce the value of a claim are gaps in treatments, failing to follow treatment recommendations, missing or postponing appointments for treatment, pre-existing conditions, negligence on the part of the person making the claim, minimal property damage.