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After a crash, a fall, or a dog bite, the first weeks are a scramble. The steadying part is that Pennsylvania law is specific about how long you have to sue, how shared fault is handled, and when a government defendant changes the rules. Keep reading for the time limits, the fault bar, the auto insurance election, government notice rules, the court structure in Columbia County, and straight answers on car accidents, falls, dog bites, and wrongful death. An attorney who handles Columbia County claims can tell you which of these rules apply to your situation.
The Short Answers: Deadlines, Fault, and Insurance
- The two-year rule: most injury and wrongful death actions must be started within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524).
- If a government body is involved, notice is due in 6 months (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522). A court can excuse a late notice only for a reasonable excuse.
- The 51% bar (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102): your award drops by your percentage of fault, and above 50% it drops to zero.
- Auto claims: limited tort or full tort? The choice on your policy decides whether you can seek pain and suffering damages without a serious injury (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705).
- Fatal accidents have two kinds of claims: wrongful death for the family (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301) and survival for the decedent’s own claim (§ 8302).
Filing Deadlines for Injury and Wrongful Death Claims in Pennsylvania
For most injury claims the clock is two years. Section 5524 of Title 42 applies it to injuries to the person and to deaths caused by another’s negligence or wrongful act, and it also reaches other negligent, intentional, or tortious conduct not covered by a different limit.
A claim by a child is counted from adulthood: for an unemancipated minor, the period of minority is not part of the time to sue, and the person has the same time after reaching age 18 (42 Pa.C.S. § 5533(b)(1)). Under § 5533(a), insanity or imprisonment does not extend the time unless a statute provides otherwise.
When an injury leads to death, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8301 gives the family a wrongful death action and § 8302 lets the decedent’s own cause of action survive. The limit in § 5524 is two years for both.
If a city, county, township, transit agency, or Commonwealth agency may be responsible, the notice deadline is six months, not two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)). The written notice must identify the injured person, the date and hour, and the approximate location, and a Commonwealth agency case also requires a filing with the Attorney General. A court must excuse a failure to file on a showing of reasonable excuse (§ 5522(a)(2)).
Some relief exists for local government cases: incapacity from the injury (not more than 90 days) is excluded, the six months begins at death when the injury is fatal, and actual or constructive notice to the unit means missed formal notice is not a bar (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(3)).
A claim that a health care provider caused the injury is a medical professional liability claim, and the MCARE Act adds a seven-year outer limit from the date of the alleged tort or breach, with an exception for a foreign object left in the body (40 P.S. § 1303.513).
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How Pennsylvania Handles Partial Fault
Pennsylvania uses a modified comparative negligence rule. If the plaintiff’s negligence is not greater than the defendants’ causal negligence, recovery is allowed but reduced by the plaintiff’s share (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)).
Put in numbers, a plaintiff 40% at fault receives 60% of the damages found, a plaintiff 50% at fault receives half, and a plaintiff 51% at fault receives nothing. The gap between 50% and 51% is where many disputes are fought.
Multiple defendants change the math. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.1), each defendant is generally liable only for its own proportion, but joint and several liability applies to intentional misrepresentation, intentional torts, a defendant held at least 60% liable, hazardous site releases, and Liquor Code § 497 violations.
Car Accidents and the Tort Election
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, the tort option on a private passenger auto policy is either full tort or limited tort. Full tort preserves claims for noneconomic loss (subsection (c)); limited tort preserves economic loss claims but precludes noneconomic loss claims unless there is a serious injury (subsection (d)).
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702, a serious injury means a personal injury resulting in death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement, and insurers frequently contest whether an injury meets that definition.
There are exceptions. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1), someone bound by limited tort recovers as if under full tort if the at-fault person was convicted of or accepted ARD for DUI in the accident, drove a vehicle registered in another state, intended to injure, or lacked required financial responsibility. Full tort rights are also retained against vehicle manufacturers and repairers for defects (§ 1705(d)(2)) and by occupants of vehicles other than private passenger vehicles (§ 1705(d)(3)).
Working out the applicable option can take some care. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(b)(2), the named insured’s choice covers other insureds on the policy, and when two policies conflict the occupant rule decides, with full tort as the fallback. Someone with no registered vehicle and no policy coverage is not precluded from seeking noneconomic loss (§ 1705(b)(3)). Separately, § 1711(a) requires the policy to include a $5,000 medical benefit.
Suing a Government Unit in Pennsylvania
Whether a city, borough, or township can be sued turns on 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8541 and 8542. Immunity is the rule, and the exceptions are a closed list that includes vehicles, personal and real property, traffic controls and lighting, utility service facilities, streets, sidewalks, and animals.
Even a successful claim against a local agency is capped: $500,000 in the aggregate under 42 Pa.C.S. § 8553(b), with pain and suffering limited by § 8553(c) to death and permanent loss of a bodily function, disfigurement or dismemberment where medical and dental expenses are over $1,500.
Sovereign immunity protects Commonwealth parties except in the categories in 42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(b) (for example vehicles, real estate, highways and sidewalks, and potholes), and damages against them are capped at $250,000 per plaintiff and $1,000,000 in total (§ 8528(b)).
Any injury on public property, or involving a public vehicle, deserves prompt review because of the six-month notice in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522.
Which Court Handles a Claim From Bloomsburg
The Court of Common Pleas has unlimited original jurisdiction over civil claims (42 Pa.C.S. § 931). Smaller claims can go to a magisterial district judge, whose civil jurisdiction reaches $12,000 exclusive of interest and costs (§ 1515(a)(3)). By statute, a matter above $50,000 cannot be sent to compulsory arbitration (§ 7361(b)(2)).
The trial court for Bloomsburg is the Court of Common Pleas of Columbia County, part of the Twenty-sixth Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951), and the county seat is Bloomsburg. The Twenty-sixth Judicial District covers Columbia and Montour counties together.
What Kinds of Injury Cases Do We See in Bloomsburg?
Crashes Involving Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles
A vehicle crash can involve the at-fault driver, the injured person’s own policy, and sometimes a government body if the road or a public vehicle was involved (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522). Each layer has its own rules and deadlines.
A person bound by limited tort still recovers as if under full tort when the at-fault vehicle was registered in another state (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1)).
Slip and Fall and Premises Injuries
Premises injuries, such as a fall on a wet floor, an unlit stairway, or a broken step, turn on whether the owner or occupier was negligent. The injured person’s own share of the fault is weighed under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, and the two-year deadline in § 5524 applies.
Property owned by a state agency is governed by sovereign immunity exceptions for real estate, highways, and sidewalks (42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(b)).
Bitten by a Dog
The Dog Law contains a rule about medical costs: any cost to the victim for medical treatment resulting from an attacking or biting dog must be paid fully by the owner or keeper (3 P.S. § 459-502(b)(1)). It also requires confinement of the dog after a bite (§ 459-502(a)).
Beyond medical costs, recovery for other losses is an ordinary injury claim, with the two-year deadline in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524.
When an Injury Is Fatal
A wrongful death action may be brought for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another, and the right of action exists for the benefit of the spouse, children, or parents of the deceased (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301(a), (b)). It is brought by the personal representative for the benefit of those entitled by law (Pa.R.C.P. 2202(a)).
Both actions are subject to the two-year limit in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524.
Products, Equipment, and Work Injuries
Injuries from defective products are decided under the framework in Tincher v. Omega Flex, 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014), which allows a plaintiff to prove a defect through the consumer-expectations standard or the risk-utility standard.
Workplace injuries have a special rule: the employer’s liability is exclusive (77 P.S. § 481(a)), and a lawsuit against someone other than the employer is preserved by § 481(b).
Was someone else at fault? Talk to an attorney in Columbia County.
A Note on Bloomsburg and the Local Courts
Deadlines and fault rules are the same across Pennsylvania, and the courthouse is not. An injury in Bloomsburg is handled in Columbia County, and getting the timeline for that court from an attorney who practices there is a sound first step.
For a criminal charge rather than an injury claim, see our Bloomsburg criminal defense page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Pennsylvania?
Two years is the general rule. An action to recover damages for injuries to the person, or for a death caused by another’s wrongful act or negligence, must be commenced within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524).
What is a notice of claim in Pennsylvania?
It is the written statement required by 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(1): the injured person’s name and address, the date and hour of the accident, its approximate location, and the name of any attending physician, filed within six months.
What happens to my claim if the other side says I share the blame?
Your claim survives as long as your share is not greater than the defendants’, but the award is diminished by your percentage of fault (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)). Evidence about fault often decides the number.
What is the difference between limited tort and full tort?
Full tort keeps the right to seek both economic and noneconomic damages after a crash caused by another person (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(c)). Limited tort keeps the right to economic loss but precludes noneconomic loss unless the injury is a serious injury (§ 1705(d)).
Does a broken bone meet the serious injury threshold?
It depends on the injury and the medical evidence. The question is whether the injury meets the statutory definition in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702, and an attorney can review your records against it.
What if a loved one died from a car accident in Bloomsburg?
A death caused by another driver’s negligence can support both a wrongful death action (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301) and a survival action (§ 8302), generally within two years (§ 5524).
Can a minor file an injury lawsuit after turning 18?
Yes. The period of minority does not count against the time to sue, and the same time period applies once the person reaches 18 (42 Pa.C.S. § 5533(b)(1)).
Who pays my medical bills after a dog bite in Pennsylvania?
Under the Dog Law, any cost to the victim for medical treatment resulting from an attacking or biting dog must be paid fully by the owner or keeper of the dog, and the Commonwealth is not liable for those costs (3 P.S. § 459-502(b)(1)).
Which court hears a personal injury case in Columbia County?
The Court of Common Pleas of Columbia County is the Twenty-sixth Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951), and it has unlimited original jurisdiction under § 931.
What if someone other than my employer caused my work injury?
Then you may have a third-party claim, which is an action at law against that party (77 P.S. § 481(b)), separate from workers’ compensation against the employer.
Talk to an Attorney About Your Bloomsburg Injury
Questions about deadlines, fault, the tort election, or a government notice are exactly what an initial conversation is for. Use the form to get matched with an attorney who can answer them for your case.
