Car Accident Attorneys in Pennsylvania

Let Our Attorneys in Pennsylvania Stand up for Your Rights
If you or a family member is injured in a car accident, you may have the right to bring a claim for less-than-deadly results or other non-permanent injuries. Car crashes often result in both physical injuries and the loss of income or a decreased income of future earning potential. Even short periods of work loss following a serious injury can be financially devastating. Our Pennsylvania car accident lawyers have won numerous cases and can help you earn fair compensation.

Whether you are the driver, passenger, or a pedestrian, our firm is committed to helping you ensure your medical bills are paid, there is recovery for fair compensation for your injuries, and consideration is given for any future loss of income/earning capacity or the need for future medical care. It is important to consult with an attorney soon after the collision to obtain sound advice regarding your legal rights. Valuable evidence and critical witness statements could be lost if you wait to seek legal counsel.

Call 215-567-7955 to find out how our firm can fight for you.

traffic accident

How Our Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyers Can Help

At Gay Chacker & Ginsburg, our team of experienced car accident attorneys in Pennsylvania understand how insurance companies defend claims, creating a level playing field for your case to reach a positive settlement or verdict.

If you have been injured in an accident, make sure to:

  • Contact police and file a report of the accident, document the scene with pictures and/or video if possible
  • See a physician immediately, documenting any and all injuries
  • Contact Gay Chacker & Ginsburg to discuss your claim and compensation rights

The litigation of your motor vehicle case may be further complicated when the vehicle that struck you either does not have enough insurance or has no insurance at all. At Gay Chacker & Ginsburg, our car accident lawyers have the experience to quickly and thoroughly evaluate the situation in order to help you achieve a favorable outcome.

Some of our recent motor vehicle accidents victories include:

  • $3,105,000.00 Settlement –High-speed police chase, which resulted in a bad crash. A pregnant passenger in the car that made a left in front of the cars involved in the chase went into premature labor and the child was born with cerebral palsy.
  • $998,228.00 Settlement –Rear-end motor vehicle accident resulting in serious injuries.
  • $750,000.00 Settlement –Single female drowned when the driver lost control and went into a canal. The accident settled for the policy limit.
  • $400,000 Settlement –Pedestrian who was struck by police car while crossing the street suffered a broken leg.
  • $320,000.00 Settlement –EMT injured in a collision while in the back of an ambulance resulting in a fracture to the thoracic spine.
  • $2,625,000.00 Settlement –Pedestrian’s foot run over by a bus while crossing the street at a location marked no pedestrian crossing, resulting in below the knee amputation.
  • $300,000.00 Verdict –Cervical spine injury resulting from a rear-end motor vehicle collision
  • $261,000.00 Settlement –Bicyclist struck by a car.
  • $701,250.00 Settlement –Bicyclist killed after colliding with a parked tractor-trailer on a highway.
  • $300,000.00 Settlement –Pedestrian struck by an automobile.
  • $225,000.00 Settlement –Driver injured when cut off by another vehicle causing a collision.
  • $75,000 Verdict –Soft tissue injuries as a result of a police car running a red light.

The main reason for the increase in traffic accidents is that there are more cars on the road and more people today drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol. If anyone you know has been in an accident and suffered injuries, they have a right to fair compensation from the responsible party. Head injuries and broken bones pose a serious threat to your future and can result in damages worth millions of dollars that can be negotiated by auto injury attorneys. Our experienced car accident lawyers in Pennsylvania can help you get the fair compensation you deserve.

Accidents or Crashes?

As mentioned in the New York Times, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not call motor vehicle accidents “accidents,” it calls them crashes. This is because an accident somehow suggests no cause as if it were divine will. A quick examination of NHTSA’s website shows “crashes” with every mouse click; “accidents” get short shrift.

When drivers in Pennsylvania suffer motor vehicle accidents or crashes, they usually provide no warning. Certainly, unlike in the movies, you hear no soundtrack of impending calamity. The crash itself is abrupt, sudden, terrifying, and sometimes life altering. When you suffer a motor vehicle accident, after getting medical care, get an attorney. Too much is at stake to do otherwise.

Reasons You Need an Attorney After a Car Accident

Motor vehicle accidents are sudden, frightening, and sometimes life altering. For anyone in a motor vehicle accident, an attorney can do much more than preserve and protect rights.

1. Assigning Blame

An attorney can help when local law authorities assign blame for the accident. If you are blamed, you need to contact Ginsburg Law & Associates. If the other driver is blamed, an attorney can help pursue justice and compensation for your injuries, loss of property, and more.

If law enforcement finds you at fault, your attorney can help shield you from life-altering consequences such as huge financial penalties, license revocation, or even incarceration.

If law enforcement finds the other driver responsible for the crash that affects you, an attorney can supplement the authorities’ investigations with private investigative services to determine exactly the extent of recklessness, or to unearth any history of driving problems. An attorney can even represent you in dealing with the other driver’s insurance company, looking out for your needs and financial challenges.

2. Protecting Finances

An attorney represents you not just for the pain and suffering experienced in the crash, but for all the possible financial risk a motor vehicle crash exposes you to, such as lost wages, continued car payments for a totaled wreck, medical expenses that may stretch far into the future, and increases in automobile insurance.

Immediately after a motor vehicle crash, your body is still coursing with adrenaline. You may feel fine, but the surge of the hormone can mask deep physical trauma. Sometimes pain, stiffness or incapacitation may not show up for months or even years. A lawyer can preserve your rights to compensation for unknown, future effects of motor vehicle accidents.

3. Protecting Families

Some car crashes bring the grimmest possible results. The NHTSA points to 36,120 lives lost in 2019 alone from vehicle crashes. Should motor vehicle accidents bring death to a member of your family, an attorney is invaluable in protecting your family from all that this finality can bring.

4. Resuming Normal Life

Without an attorney advocating for your rights, the consequences of a motor vehicle crash can unfold over years. Your attorney can bring pressure to insurance companies and the other driver to reach definitive conclusions and final settlements, whether in court or outside of the courtroom.

You need to get on with your life, protected financially and medically from the effects of the crash. Your family needs you back to a normal place among your loved ones. Your employer needs you back at work. A good attorney can take on most of the burden of fighting for, and preserve, your rights.

Pennsylvania Car Accident Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How Much is My Car Accident Case Worth?

Every car accident is different, therefore every car accident injury claim is different and will vary in value depending on the unique circumstances at play. In general, however, car accident cases that involve severe injuries such as spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or amputation tend to yield higher financial awards than those involving comparatively minor injuries such as soft tissue injuries or whiplash. Other factors that may influence the value of your claim include the amount of insurance coverage available, the strength of evidence proving the other driver’s fault, as well as the quality of your legal representation.

What Types of Damages Can I Recover?

Damages in Philadelphia car accident cases are generally divided into the following categories:

  • Economic damages: Economic damages aim to provide compensation all out-of-pocket costs that the party responsible for your crash inflicts on the victim and his/her family. This includes compensation for medical bills, property damage, lost wages and other income, and lost earning potential.
  • Non-economic damages: Non-economic damages provide additional compensation for harm that is less easily quantifiable. The most common type of non-economic damages is for “pain and suffering,” which places a dollar amount on how much the victim and his/her family has suffered as a result of the collision. In tragic situations where a person is killed in a collision, additional non-economic damages may be awarded to the victim’s family for things like loss of companionship, loss of consortium, and loss of life enjoyment.
  • Punitive damages: While compensatory damages aim to make an accident victim whole, punitive damages, as their name suggests, are intended to punish the at-fault driver for their actions. In Pennsylvania, punitive damages are only awarded in situations where the at-fault driver’s actions where extreme, intentional, or particularly egregious. Punitive damages are rare and reserved for only the worst behavior under Pennsylvania law.

How is Fault Determined in a Pennsylvania Car Accident Case?

Most car accident cases in Pennsylvania are based on the concept of “negligence.” In simple terms, this means that in order for a person or entity to be held financially responsible for a collision, it must be proven that they acted in a wrongful manner. To prove negligence under Pennsylvania law, you typically must be able to show that the at-fault party had a duty of care to act responsibly, this duty was breached, and that this breach of duty caused you to suffer real harm. Proving these elements typically involves gathering and analyzing independent evidence such as accident photos, eyewitness statements, cellphone records, video surveillance footage, driving records, and expert testimony.

Examples of negligent behavior used to determine fault include:

How Long Will it Take to Settle My Case?

Just as every car accident case is valued differently, the timeline of your car accident case will vary depending on the specifics of your situation. Car accident claims can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to settle. Some factors that may influence the length of time required to resolve your claim include the scale and severity of your injuries, the cooperation of the involved insurance companies, and if your case ends up going to trial.

How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Pennsylvania?

Under 42 Pennsylvania Code section 5524, civil claims related to car accidents generally must be filed within two years of the date of the collision. This deadline applies to personal injury claims, property damage, and wrongful death claims related to car accidents. If you do not file a claim within the allotted time frame, you will lose your right to sue and will essentially be barred from recovering compensation for your injuries. It is important to note that insurance claims related to car accidents have a much tighter deadline. Most auto insurance policies require you to notify your insurance company that you were involved in a collision within a few days in order to be eligible for coverage.

Will I Have to Go to Court?

Not necessarily. Most car accident cases end up being resolved through out-of-court negotiations between the involved insurance companies and your attorney. With that being said, litigation may be necessary to secure a favorable outcome if the insurance company is refusing to offer you a settlement that fully compensates you for your injuries, your case is highly contested, or if there is particularly complex case law that apply to your claim. Your attorney will help you understand your situation and advise you on whether or not litigation is appropriate.

I am Partially to Blame for My Crash. Can I Still Be Compensated?

Yes. Under Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence laws, a plaintiff’s contributory negligence does not bar him or her from seeking compensation for damages as long as he or she was less negligent than the defendant. In other words, if you were injured in a car accident, you can hold a certain percentage of fault and still recover damages.

I was Issued a Ticket at the Scene of the Crash. Does this Mean I am at Fault?

Not necessarily. While it can certainly play a role, a traffic ticket is not the only form of evidence in assessing fault. It is quite possible that an investigation into your crash may reveal new evidence proving the other driver’s liability. Additionally, signing a ticket is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that you have received a notice to appear in court.

Do I Really Need to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?

If your accident resulted in little more than cosmetic damage or a few scrapes and bruises, you probably can handle your insurance claim on your own without an attorney. However, it is in your best interests to retain legal representation (or at the very least consult with a lawyer) if any of the following apply to your situation:

  • You or a passenger was seriously injured
  • Someone was killed in the collision
  • Your injuries required you to miss work
  • The insurance company is disputing your claim
  • The driver that hit you did not have insurance
  • You were a victim of a hit and run
  • You were hit by a drunk driver
  • You do not feel comfortable handling your claim on your own

Several studies have shown that hiring a car accident attorney increases your chances of securing a higher financial award than what you would be able to receive settling your claim on your own. Likewise, since many car accident attorneys accept cases on a contingency fee basis and offer free consultations, you have nothing to lose. If you or a member of your family has suffered from a motor vehicle accident, you need the services of a good lawyer.

Contact us at Gay Chacker & Ginsburg

Call today to schedule an appointment to meet with one of our lawyers experienced in representing clients involved in motor vehicle accidents.

Our attorneys are here to give you advice and guide you through every aspect of your case. If a supervisor comes to the accident scene, don’t give a statement or sign any documents. If an adjuster or investigator calls you after the crash, get their name, phone number, and claim number, but don’t give a statement or sign anything.

Pain is not always felt at the scene of an accident, but can be felt that night or the next day. If you did not go to the ER after the accident, consider going when you feel pain or tell your primary doctor at your initial evaluation. A crash can cause not only physical injuries, but loss of income as well, which can hurt you and your family.

Call (215) 392-6616 to schedule your free case review with one of our Pennsylvania car accident attorneys.

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