When you purchased your most recent auto insurance policy in Pennsylvania, did you opt for limited tort or full tort? If you are like a large number of cost-conscious drivers, you might have picked the lower cost option—limited tort—without realizing that limited tort could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the years following a vehicle accident.
The savings for limited tort are 15%, which is not a huge amount, but what is sizeable is how large of a bill you might face when living with the consequences of having picked limited tort insurance.
Think of limited tort insurance as limited responsibility for the other party if you are injured in a vehicle accident and not at fault. Under a limited tort policy, you forfeit the right to seek compensation for pain and suffering if you are injured in a vehicle accident. That might not sound serious, until you consider how many years after an accident real pain and suffering can occur.
Being compensated for pain and suffering does not mean trying to extort some huge amount of money from another party to pay for some sort of obscure mental anguish. Rather, it recognizes the reality that pain and suffering after a vehicle accident can keep you away from work or even cost you your job. It can cause you to miss out on many enjoyable life experiences as well, or lead to expensive medical treatments as you seek to dull the physical and mental pain subsequent to an accident. The valid cost of pain and suffering is readily acknowledged in the court room. It is not a mystical term that rarely comes into play.
In other words, forfeiting the right to compensation for pain and suffering can be very costly, certainly not worth a few dollars off your monthly bill for auto insurance. That’s why most lawyers heartily recommend full tort insurance.
Limited tort also negates full protection for family members covered by your insurance policy, and that lack of coverage extends to when your family members are passengers in someone else’s car or even when they are pedestrians and struck by a vehicle. Some rare exceptions to limited tort in Pennsylvania include being struck by a drunk driver, among other unusual circumstances.
Full tort coverage, on the other hand, can be understood as full responsibility for the culpable party. When you buy this type of policy, you are permitted under law to seek compensation for pain and suffering after a car accident. It is well worth the additional amount in premiums in the event that you are actually involved in an accident.
This article is not meant to browbeat you if you chose limited tort insurance. You might have done so without understanding the long-range implications of your choice, or you might have assumed that you would never be in an auto accident. You might have been seeking to save a few precious dollars each month, as many people do.
Statistics show that most of us will be involved in a car crash at some point in our driving career, no matter how skilled of a driver we are. If you live in Philadelphia, for instance, you are likely to have at least one accident every six years, surveys indicate.
That means that whether or not you assume you will be in an accident, there is a high probability that you will be involved in an accident.
If you have chosen limited tort insurance and have been involved in a vehicle accident, contact us immediately. You will need a skilled, experienced car accident attorney to take on your case and attempt to argue for you to receive maximum compensation despite your limited tort policy.
Our team of lawyers has a wealth of experience in helping drivers who have only a limited tort policy, for whatever reason. We are happy to help and enjoy seeing the impact that a good car accident lawyer can have when interacting with insurance companies and other legal professionals.
Don’t let your poor choice of the past haunt you for months and years. Contact us and put us to work for you, to receive the fullest compensation possible so that you are not faced with years of sky-high medical bills.
Learn your lesson and opt for full tort coverage, but also get a strong personal injury lawyer on your side to assist you in seeking the compensation you need to avoid a serious financial crisis. Don’t let a limited tort policy ruin your life.