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Your Radnor Personal Injury Attorney
If you or someone in your family was injured in Radnor, you are probably looking for plain answers about time limits, fault, and what a claim involves. Pennsylvania sets several of those by statute, so many answers can be checked. Keep reading for the time limits, the fault bar, the auto insurance election, government notice rules, the court structure in Delaware County, and straight answers on car accidents, falls, dog bites, and wrongful death. Talking with an attorney who knows Delaware County practice can turn these general rules into a plan for your claim.
Your Key Pennsylvania Rules in One Place
- 2 years is the general limit to file a lawsuit for a personal injury or a wrongful death (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524), with different rules for minors and government defendants.
- Claims against a government body: written notice within 6 months of the injury (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522), which is much shorter than the two-year lawsuit deadline.
- If you are partly at fault, you may still recover unless your share is greater than the defendants’ (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102). At 51% or more, recovery is barred.
- Your auto policy’s tort election matters. Limited tort bars noneconomic damages unless the injury is a serious injury (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1702, 1705), with several exceptions.
- Families have rights after a fatal accident: wrongful death and survival actions under 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8301 and 8302, generally within two years.
How Long Do You Have to File an Injury Lawsuit?
Pennsylvania’s general injury deadline is two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). It applies to actions for injuries to the person or for death caused by the wrongful act or negligence of another, and to many other tort claims that no other section addresses.
For an injured child, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5533(b)(1) pauses the count until the child turns 18. For adults, the same section says that insanity or imprisonment does not extend the time to file (§ 5533(a)).
Fatal accidents can support a wrongful death action (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301) and a survival action (§ 8302). Each is an action for the death of an individual caused by another’s negligence, so the two-year period in § 5524 applies.
Six months is the number to remember for public defendants. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a), a written notice describing the injury, the date and hour, and the location must be filed with the government unit, and with the Attorney General where a Commonwealth agency is involved. Late notice can be excused only on a showing of reasonable excuse (§ 5522(a)(2)).
For a government unit other than the Commonwealth, the six months does not include up to 90 days during which the injured person could not give notice because of incapacity from the injury, the period starts at death if the injury results in death, and failure to give notice is not a bar if the unit had actual or constructive notice of the incident or condition (§ 5522(a)(3)).
Injuries from medical treatment are a separate category. The MCARE Act bars a medical professional liability claim commenced more than seven years after the alleged tort or breach, except for a foreign object left in the body (40 P.S. § 1303.513).
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Comparative Negligence and the 51% Bar
The rule is in 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a): a plaintiff who is partly at fault can still recover as long as the plaintiff’s negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendants sued, and the recovery is diminished by the plaintiff’s share of the fault.
That means the cutoff sits between 50% and 51%. Someone found 10% responsible loses 10% of the award, someone found 50% responsible loses half, and someone found 51% responsible loses all of it, which is why insurers push to raise the injured person’s share.
Where several parties share the blame, the rule is several liability in 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.1)(2), with joint and several liability for intentional torts, intentional misrepresentation, a 60% or greater share, hazardous substance releases, and Liquor Code § 497 violations.
Why Your Auto Policy Can Change a Crash Claim
Section 1705 of Title 75 sets the two choices. Full tort leaves noneconomic damages available (§ 1705(c)); limited tort leaves economic damages available and limits noneconomic damages to serious injuries (§ 1705(d)).
What counts as serious is set by 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702: death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. Records and medical opinions carry most of the weight.
Limited tort does not apply to everyone in every crash. A person bound by it may recover as if full tort had been chosen when the at-fault person was convicted of or accepted ARD for driving under the influence in that accident, was driving a vehicle registered in another state, intended to injure, or had not maintained financial responsibility (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1)). Full tort rights are also kept against those in the business of designing, manufacturing, or repairing motor vehicles for a vehicle defect (§ 1705(d)(2)), and by an occupant of a motor vehicle other than a private passenger motor vehicle (§ 1705(d)(3)).
Whose election governs is answered in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(b): the named insured’s choice applies across the policy, the occupied vehicle’s policy controls when policies conflict, and a person with no vehicle and no policy is not precluded from noneconomic loss. Covered policies must also include a $5,000 medical benefit (§ 1711(a)).
Government Defendants: Different Rules and Caps
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.
Damages against local agencies are capped at $500,000 in the aggregate for the same cause of action or occurrence (42 Pa.C.S. § 8553(b)), and recoverable losses are limited to past and future earnings and earning capacity, medical and dental expenses, loss of consortium, loss of support, property losses, and pain and suffering only for death or a permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent disfigurement, or permanent dismemberment where medical and dental expenses exceed $1,500 (§ 8553(c)).
Commonwealth parties, such as state agencies and their employees, have sovereign immunity with listed exceptions, including vehicle liability, medical-professional liability, care of personal property, Commonwealth real estate, highways and sidewalks, potholes and other dangerous conditions of highways, and animals (42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(b)). Damages are limited to $250,000 for any plaintiff and $1,000,000 in the aggregate (§ 8528(b)).
Because notice within six months (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522) and these limits apply together, an injury involving a public road, a public building, or a public vehicle should be looked at quickly.
From Magisterial District Judge to Common Pleas
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)).
In Delaware County the Court of Common Pleas is the Thirty-second Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951). It is the court for a lawsuit from Radnor, and Media is the county seat.
The Injuries Behind Most Claims From Radnor
Auto Accident Injuries
In a car, truck, or motorcycle case, three things usually decide the outcome: who was at fault under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, which tort option applies under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, and whether the injury meets the serious injury definition in § 1702 when limited tort is in play.
If the at-fault driver was convicted of or accepted ARD for DUI in the accident, limited tort does not stand in the way (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1)).
Premises Liability Claims
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.
Where a public body owns the property, immunity is the starting point (42 Pa.C.S. § 8541), and the claim must fit a listed exception such as real property or sidewalks (§ 8542(b)).
Dog Bite Injuries
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)).
Claims for losses beyond medical costs follow the ordinary injury rules, including the two-year limit in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 and the fault rule in § 7102.
Wrongful Death Claims for Families
Two claims can come from a fatal accident: the wrongful death action for the spouse, children, or parents (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301(b)) and the survival action that lets the decedent’s own claim continue (§ 8302). The personal representative brings the wrongful death case (Pa.R.C.P. 2202(a)).
A recovery for the same damages during the injured person’s lifetime affects the wrongful death claim (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301(a)), so prior actions are consolidated to avoid a duplicate recovery.
Defective Products and Job-Related Injuries
A product liability claim alleges that a product was defective. In Tincher v. Omega Flex, 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a plaintiff in a strict liability case may prove a defect under either a consumer-expectations standard or a risk-utility standard.
If a third party such as a manufacturer or another company contributed to a workplace injury, the employee may bring an action at law against that party (77 P.S. § 481(b)) even though the employer is protected by § 481(a).
Hurt in Radnor? Find out where your claim stands.
A Note on Radnor and the Local Courts
An injury in Radnor belongs to Delaware County and its Court of Common Pleas. Local practice, such as how quickly cases are listed and how arbitration is used, shapes how the general rules on this page play out, and a local attorney can tell you what that looks like in Media and in the magisterial district that may hear a smaller claim.
Charged with a crime rather than injured? Read about criminal defense in Radnor.
Also serving: our West Chester page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still file a lawsuit for an injury from a while ago?
It depends on how long ago. Two years is the general limit (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). Some situations change the count, such as a claim by a minor (§ 5533(b)(1)), but insanity or imprisonment does not extend the time on its own (§ 5533(a)).
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.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Yes, if your negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendants. Your damages are then reduced in proportion to your share (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)).
Does my limited tort choice stop me from suing after a car accident?
Not always. Under limited tort you can still seek economic loss (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)), and several exceptions restore full tort recovery, including an at-fault driver’s DUI conviction or ARD in the accident (§ 1705(d)(1)).
What does serious impairment of body function mean?
The phrase comes from the definition of serious injury in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702, along with death and permanent serious disfigurement. Whether a specific injury qualifies is a question of fact and medical proof.
How long do we have to file a wrongful death claim?
Two years for an action for the death of an individual caused by another’s negligence (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). Claims against a government unit also require written notice within six months, and for a unit other than the Commonwealth that period starts at the death (§ 5522(a)(3)(ii)).
What happens to the two-year deadline for minors?
For a minor, the two-year period under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 is counted from age 18 rather than from the injury (§ 5533(b)(1)).
What should I do after a dog bite in Radnor?
Get medical care, report the bite so the dog can be confined as the Dog Law requires (3 P.S. § 459-502(a)), and keep records of your treatment costs, which the owner or keeper must pay under § 459-502(b)(1).
Which court hears a personal injury case in Delaware County?
The Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County is the Thirty-second 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.
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