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Your Pittsburgh Personal Injury Attorney
Injuries in Pittsburgh tend to follow the shape of the city. Three rivers, the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio, funnel traffic toward the Fort Pitt Tunnel, the Liberty Bridge, the Parkway East (I-376) and Route 28. Neighborhoods such as Mt. Washington, Polish Hill and Beechview are built on steep grades with stairways and tight corners, and the South Side and the Strip District put nightlife, deliveries and pedestrians into a small area.
If you were hurt in Pittsburgh because of someone else’s carelessness, three Pennsylvania rules usually shape the claim from the start: how much of the blame a jury could place on you, which tort option your auto policy carries, and whether a public body is involved. Each is explained below with the statute behind it. NeedAnAttorney.net can connect you with an attorney who handles claims in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
How shared blame reduces a claim
Pennsylvania allows a plaintiff to recover when the plaintiff’s negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendants, and it reduces the award in proportion to the plaintiff’s share (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)). If a jury awards $100,000 and assigns 20% of the fault to you, the award drops to $80,000. At 51% the claim is barred. That is why the way you describe a crash to an insurance adjuster can matter as much as the crash itself.
What your auto policy decides
A private passenger auto policy carries either full tort or limited tort (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705). Limited tort keeps the right to seek economic loss but bars noneconomic loss, such as pain and suffering, unless the injury is a serious injury (§ 1705(d)). The statute defines that as death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702). Several exceptions restore full tort rights, including when the at-fault driver has not maintained the required financial responsibility or is driving a vehicle registered in another state (§ 1705(d)(1)). When two policies with different elections could apply to you, the policy on the vehicle you were riding in controls if you are an insured on it, and full tort applies otherwise (§ 1705(b)(2)).
When a public body is involved
A claim against a city, county or authority runs on a different clock. A written statement generally has to be filed within six months of the injury (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(1)), and a local agency can be held liable only in the situations listed in 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542(b), which include dangerous conditions of streets and of sidewalks along streets the agency owns. Damages against a local agency for one occurrence are capped at $500,000 (42 Pa.C.S. § 8553(b)).
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Pittsburgh Injury Attorney
Anyone can promise results, so ask about process instead. These questions fit a Pittsburgh injury claim in particular:
- How often do you file in Allegheny County? Allegheny County is the Fifth Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. § 901), and its Court of Common Pleas has a Civil Division (§ 951(b)). An attorney who works there regularly can tell you how a case like yours usually moves.
- What is my filing deadline? Most injury claims must be started within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). A minor’s time to sue is counted from adulthood (§ 5533(b)(1)), and notice to a government body is due within six months (§ 5522).
- How will you handle my share of the fault? The 51% cutoff in 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102 means the other side will look for ways to raise your percentage. Ask how the attorney plans to answer that.
- Which insurance policies could apply? Your own auto policy, the other driver’s, and a household member’s can all be in play, and the tort option on the relevant policy changes what you can claim (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705).
- How are you paid, and what costs do I owe? Ask for the fee agreement in writing. Many injury attorneys work for a percentage of any recovery instead of an hourly rate. Ask what the percentage is and whether case expenses come out before or after it.
- Who will I hear from day to day? Find out whether you will speak with the attorney or with staff, and how quickly calls are returned.
When you are ready, submit the form on this page. It connects you with an attorney who takes Pittsburgh injury cases, and using it does not commit you to hire anyone.
Injury Claims We See Around Pittsburgh
Crashes on the main routes
Fault in a crash on the Parkway East, in a tunnel or on a river bridge is decided by the evidence: the police report, photographs, vehicle damage and witness accounts. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians are all measured by the same negligence rules (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102), and the tort election on an auto policy can change what an injured occupant may claim (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705).
Falls on hills, steps and sidewalks
In hilly neighborhoods the cause is often a broken step, an unlit stairway or an icy walk. A private owner or business can be responsible for a dangerous condition it created or failed to fix. If the fall was on a sidewalk along a street the city owns, the city can be liable only within the terms of 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542(b)(7), which makes the local agency secondarily liable where its responsibility comes from its power to require others to install and repair sidewalks, and the six-month notice in § 5522 applies.
Injuries at work
A Pennsylvania employee’s claim against the employer is generally handled through workers’ compensation, because the employer’s liability under that Act is exclusive (77 P.S. § 481(a)). A claim against someone else whose negligence caused the injury, such as a driver, an equipment maker or another contractor, can go forward separately (77 P.S. § 481(b)).
Dog bites
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 (3 P.S. § 459-502(b)(1)). A separate injury claim for pain and other losses is subject to the two-year deadline in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524.
Fatal injuries
A wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative of the estate for the benefit of the people the law names, the spouse, children or parents of the deceased (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301(b); Pa.R.C.P. 2202(a)). The statute also allows recovery, in addition to other damages, of reasonable hospital, nursing, medical, funeral and administration expenses (§ 8301(c)). The decedent’s own claim survives death (§ 8302), and the two-year period in § 5524 generally applies.
Starting The Personal Injury Attorney Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Intake Process
Evidence in an injury claim does not keep. Skid marks wash away, video gets overwritten and witnesses move. If you were hurt in Pittsburgh, the form at the top of this page sends your details to NeedAnAttorney.net, which then connects you with an attorney who takes cases in Allegheny County. Using the form costs nothing, and you are not obligated to hire the attorney you speak with.
Before that call, pull together what you have: photographs, the police report number, the names of anyone who saw what happened, and every bill and insurance letter you have received. Ask how fees and case expenses are handled before you sign anything.
Frequently Asked Questions: Pittsburgh Personal Injury Attorney
What deadline applies to a Pittsburgh injury lawsuit?
Most injury and wrongful death actions must be commenced within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). If the injured person was a minor, the period of minority is not counted, so the time to sue runs from adulthood (§ 5533(b)(1)).
What if a city or county vehicle or property was involved?
Written notice generally has to be filed within six months (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(1)). A court must excuse a missed notice when there is a reasonable excuse (§ 5522(a)(2)), and for a government unit other than the Commonwealth the notice is not a bar if the unit had actual or constructive notice of the incident or condition (§ 5522(a)(3)(iii)). Do not count on either exception; file promptly.
How does Pennsylvania treat a plaintiff who was partly at fault?
A plaintiff whose negligence was not greater than the defendants’ can still recover, with the award reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)). Someone found 51% at fault recovers nothing.
If two defendants share the blame, can I collect everything from one of them?
Usually not. Liability is generally several, meaning each defendant pays its own share (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.1)(2)). The statute makes liability joint and several in listed cases, including intentional torts and a defendant found 60% or more at fault (§ 7102(a.1)(3)).
Does limited tort end my claim after a car accident?
It limits the claim for noneconomic loss unless the injury is a serious injury, defined as death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1702, 1705(d)). Economic loss remains available, and the exceptions in § 1705(d)(1) can restore full tort rights.
How can I find out which tort option applies to me?
Start with the declarations page and the election form on your own policy. The option chosen by a named insured applies to the insureds on that policy, and if policies conflict, the one on the vehicle you were in generally controls (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(b)(2)). An attorney can read the policies with you.
Can I sue my employer for a work injury?
Generally not. The employer’s liability under the Workers’ Compensation Act is exclusive (77 P.S. § 481(a)), but a third party whose negligence contributed can be sued separately (§ 481(b)).
Who can bring a wrongful death claim?
The personal representative of the estate brings it for the benefit of the spouse, children or parents (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301; Pa.R.C.P. 2202(a)). A survival action for the decedent’s own claim is separate (42 Pa.C.S. § 8302).
Who pays for medical treatment after a dog bite?
The Dog Law requires the owner or keeper of an attacking or biting dog to pay the victim’s medical treatment costs (3 P.S. § 459-502(b)(1)). That does not replace a claim for other losses.
What should I keep after an accident in Pittsburgh?
Keep photographs of the scene and your injuries, the police report number, witness names and phone numbers, medical records and bills, and any letters from insurers. Talk to an attorney before giving a recorded statement to an adjuster.
Serving Injured Clients Across the Pittsburgh Area
NeedAnAttorney.net connects personal injury clients throughout Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania. If you were injured in a nearby community, we can help match you with the right attorney there too.
