Personal injury is a very broad area of law covering incidents and circumstances leading to physical, emotional, and financial injuries. The general concepts of personal injury are the same throughout the country, but the finer details vary from state to state and those details are crucial to your case.
In you have been injured in Pennsylvania, you need the help of an experience Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer.
Statute of limitations
When you have been injured or lost a loved one, the last thing you want to think about is going to court. You may be overwhelmed with physical recovery, unpaid bills, and even grief. However unfair it may seem, you must act quickly or you will lose your legal right to the compensation that you need and deserve to help you and your family get back on your feet.
The statute of limitations is the time limit for taking action on your case. Pennsylvania has a statute of limitations of two years in most types of personal injury cases. This is not always as straightforward as it may seem. In some types of cases, such as medical malpractice, the time begins running out when the injury is discovered or “should have been discovered” rather than the when the injured was caused.
Compensation
If you have been injured in Pennsylvania you may be entitled to compensation for your losses including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Permanent disability
- Permanent disfigurement
- Property damage
- Emotional distress
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Expenses directly caused by your injury
When multiple defendants are found at fault for your injuries, joint and several liability applies. Although each party is only responsible for a portion of compensation equal to heir shame of the blame, you can collect the entire amount from any of the parties and let them deal with getting repaid by the other responsible party or parties.
If you were partly to blame
Pennsylvania follows the doctrine of modified comparative negligence. This means that if your own negligence contributed to your injury, you may still have a case. You must be less than 50% responsible for your injuries in order to be entitled to compensation, and your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of blame.
If you have been injured or lost a loved one in Pennsylvania, please contact one of our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers for a free claim evaluation.
