Pedestrian Accident & Limited Tort Car Insurance Coverage

A client came to see me who had been injured when she was struck by a car while crossing a street in West Chester, PA. She sustained knee, wrist and low back injuries. She received medical treatment and physical therapy for approximately six months before recovering. She continues to suffer periodic setbacks requiring her to take pain medications and muscle relaxants. She had been told by another attorney before coming to see me that since she possessed “limited tort” automobile insurance coverage, she would not be able to recover for her pain and suffering. This is incorrect.

Limited Tort Car Insurance Coverage

As I have indicated in previous blogs, if someone chooses to buy limited tort, they may pay less for their insurance but under most circumstances, they will be giving up substantial rights to file a claim for full recovery for their non-economic losses such as substantial actual physical pain, suffering, embarrassment, humiliation and the general disruption of one’s life. There are several exceptions as I have mentioned before, but the one which most often applies is if he or she sustains “serious injury.”

Pedestrians Are Not Drivers Or Passengers

In this case, although my client had limited tort, she still had a right to recover fully since she was a pedestrian. This is because the Pennsylvania law does not place pedestrians in the same class of people as drivers or passengers. The was not operating her motor vehicle at the time of the accident, therefore, the law did not apply to her and we were able to make a recovery for her.

Peter J. Hart

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