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Your Allentown Personal Injury Attorney
Several major routes serve the Allentown area: I-78, US 22 and Route 309, with Hamilton Street running through downtown. When a crash, a fall or a workplace accident happens here, the legal questions are the ones Pennsylvania courts ask everywhere, and the answers turn on details: who was at fault, whose insurance applies, and whether more than one party shares the blame.
This page walks through those details with the statute behind each. NeedAnAttorney.net can connect you with an attorney who handles claims in the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, the Thirty-first Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. § 901), where the county seat is Allentown.
When more than one party is to blame
Many injury cases involve several defendants, such as a driver and the company that employs the driver, or a property owner and a contractor. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.1), each defendant is generally liable only for its own proportion of the total damages, and the court enters a separate judgment against each. The statute makes a defendant jointly and severally liable in listed situations: intentional misrepresentation, an intentional tort, a defendant held at least 60% liable, certain hazardous substance releases and Liquor Code section 497 violations (§ 7102(a.1)(3)). Your own share matters too, because recovery is reduced by your percentage and barred if your negligence is greater than the defendants’ (§ 7102(a)).
Insurance choices that follow you into a claim
Whether you can seek pain and suffering after a crash depends on the tort option on the applicable auto policy (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705). A few rules in the statute surprise people. A named insured who does not return the election form is conclusively presumed to have chosen full tort (§ 1705(a)(3)). The owner of a registered private passenger vehicle without financial responsibility is deemed to have chosen limited tort (§ 1705(a)(5)). And a person who owns no registered private passenger vehicle and is not insured under any such policy is not precluded from seeking noneconomic loss (§ 1705(b)(3)).
Deadlines that are easy to miss
Most injury and wrongful death actions must be commenced within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). If a city, county or other government unit may be responsible, a written statement is due within six months (§ 5522(a)(1)). Some relief exists: for a unit other than the Commonwealth, up to 90 days of incapacity caused by the injury is not counted, and a missed notice is not a bar if the unit had actual or constructive notice of the incident (§ 5522(a)(3)). Treat those as safety nets, not plans.
Choosing an Allentown Personal Injury Attorney
The first meeting is a chance to test how an attorney thinks. In an Allentown case, it helps to listen for the following.
Start with the facts. A good attorney asks where the injury happened, who owned or controlled the place or vehicle, and what records exist. Those answers decide who could be a defendant, which matters under the proportional-liability rule in 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.1).
Ask about insurance. The attorney should ask for every policy that might apply and explain how the tort option works (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705), including the effect of a policy the injured person never signed an election form for.
Ask about timing. The two-year deadline in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 is the baseline. If a public body could be responsible, a six-month notice applies (§ 5522), so the attorney should raise it in the first call, not the third.
Ask about cost. Fee arrangements vary. Many injury attorneys accept a percentage of any recovery. Get the terms in writing, and ask how case expenses are repaid.
When you are ready, use the form on this page. It connects you with an attorney who takes cases in Lehigh County, and it does not obligate you to hire anyone.
Common Injury Claims in the Lehigh Valley
Collisions on the region’s highways and streets
Crashes involving passenger cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians all start with the same question, which is whose negligence caused the collision. Recovery depends on the fault percentages assigned under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102 and, for auto claims, on the tort option described above. Preserve the crash report, photographs and every insurer’s contact information.
Falls and unsafe property conditions
Broken steps, wet floors, poor lighting and uneven walkways can support a claim against the owner or occupier who created the hazard or failed to address it. A fall on public property brings the six-month notice rule in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522, so identify who owns the property early.
Workplace injuries
The Workers’ Compensation Act makes the employer’s liability exclusive (77 P.S. § 481(a)), so a claim against the employer is generally a compensation claim. An action at law against a third party whose negligence contributed is preserved by § 481(b).
Wrongful death and survival claims
The personal representative brings a wrongful death action for the spouse, children or parents of the deceased (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301(b); Pa.R.C.P. 2202(a)). Section 8301(c) allows recovery, in addition to other damages, of reasonable hospital, nursing, medical, funeral and administration expenses. A survival action carries forward the claim the decedent had (42 Pa.C.S. § 8302). The two-year limit in § 5524 generally applies to both.
Starting The Personal Injury Attorney Pennsylvania Allentown Intake Process
If you were injured in Allentown, the fastest first step is the form at the top of this page. It sends the basics of your situation to NeedAnAttorney.net, which then connects you with an attorney who handles cases in Lehigh County. Using it costs nothing, and you decide afterward whether to hire the attorney you talk to.
Have these ready: the date and place of the injury, the names of any insurers, the police report number if there is one, and the medical providers who have treated you. If you can, keep the clothing and footwear you wore and take photographs of what caused the injury.
Frequently Asked Questions: Allentown PA Personal Injury Attorney
What is the deadline to sue after an Allentown injury?
Two years for most injury and wrongful death actions (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). Claims against a government unit need a written statement within six months (§ 5522(a)(1)).
Is there any relief if I missed the six-month notice?
Sometimes. A court must excuse the failure on a showing of reasonable excuse (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(2)). For a government unit other than the Commonwealth, up to 90 days of incapacity from the injury are not counted, and the notice is not a bar if the unit had actual or constructive notice (§ 5522(a)(3)). Courts decide these questions case by case.
What happens if the other party was mostly at fault but I was partly at fault?
You can recover as long as your negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendants, and your damages are reduced in proportion to your share (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)).
If a company and its driver are both responsible, who pays?
Each defendant is generally liable for its own proportion, with a separate judgment against each (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.1)(2)). A defendant is jointly and severally liable if held at least 60% liable, or in the other situations in § 7102(a.1)(3).
I never signed anything about full tort or limited tort. Which do I have?
If a named insured does not respond to the insurer’s notices, the named insured is conclusively presumed to have chosen full tort (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(a)(3)). Check your policy documents or ask your insurer which option is on file.
What if I was driving without insurance?
The owner of a currently registered private passenger vehicle who lacks financial responsibility is deemed to have chosen limited tort (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(a)(5)).
What if I do not own a car and am not on anyone’s policy?
A person who owns no currently registered private passenger vehicle and is not insured under any such policy is not precluded from seeking noneconomic loss in a motor vehicle accident (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(b)(3)).
Can I sue my employer for a work injury?
Generally not, because the employer’s liability is exclusive under the Workers’ Compensation Act (77 P.S. § 481(a)). A third party may be sued separately (§ 481(b)).
Which court hears an Allentown injury case?
Suits filed in Lehigh County go to the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, the Thirty-first Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. § 901).
What should I keep after an accident?
Keep photographs, the police report number, medical records and bills, insurance letters and the names of witnesses. Ask an attorney before giving a recorded statement to an insurer.
Serving Injured Clients Across the Allentown Area
NeedAnAttorney.net connects personal injury clients throughout Lehigh County and the Lehigh Valley. If you were injured in a nearby community, we can help match you with the right attorney there too.
