The civil courts in Pennsylvania oversee a large number of personal injury lawsuits every year. Collisions can cause extensive property damage, major injuries and even premature deaths. State statutes authorize individuals affected by the negligence or misconduct of others to file a civil lawsuit.
A personal injury lawsuit allows those with financial losses triggered by another party to seek compensation for those costs. Some people file lawsuits because they have extraordinarily high expenses triggered by a car crash, as might be the case when someone dies. Others have less severe losses but end up struggling because of low insurance coverage.
What Pennsylvania requires is often not enough
The unfortunate truth for those involved in Pennsylvania car crashes is that some people don’t carry insurance and even those that do often don’t have enough. Pennsylvania has some of the lowest liability coverage requirements in the entire country.
Drivers can legally get behind the wheel with only $5,000 in property damage coverage. A basic policy might also have $15,000 of property damages or $30,000 of protection when a crash hurts two or more people. Someone may not be able to pay for vehicle repairs with $5,000 worth of coverage, let alone afford vehicle replacement. The emergency treatment that someone requires after a crash could easily cost far more than $15,000. When insurance isn’t enough, people have few options other than to take the matter to family court.
A personal injury lawsuit is not subject to the same strict policy limits that apply to insurance claims and prevent people from recouping their losses. Taking an at-fault driver to court may help people limit the financial harm a crash causes.