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Your State College Personal Injury Attorney
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. The sections that follow cover the filing deadlines, the fault rule, the limited tort and full tort choice, claims against government bodies, the courts, and the kinds of injuries most often behind a claim. An attorney who handles Centre County claims can tell you which of these rules apply to your situation.
Deadlines and Fault Rules: The Short Version
- The two-year rule: most injury and wrongful death actions must be started within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524).
- 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.
- Pennsylvania’s comparative fault rule: damages are reduced in proportion to your fault, and barred if your fault is greater than the defendants’ (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102).
- 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).
- Families have rights after a fatal accident: wrongful death and survival actions under 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8301 and 8302, generally within two years.
Time Limits: When an Injury Claim Must Be Filed
The main deadline is set by 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524: an action for injuries to the person, or for the death of an individual caused by another’s wrongful act, neglect, unlawful violence, or negligence, must be commenced within two years.
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.
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)).
Where the government unit is not the Commonwealth itself, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(3) excludes up to 90 days of incapacity from the notice period, starts the period at death in a fatal case, and does not treat missed notice as a bar if the unit had actual or constructive notice.
One caution: claims that a doctor or hospital caused the injury fall under the MCARE Act, which sets a seven-year outer limit (40 P.S. § 1303.513) and other special requirements beyond the ordinary injury rules.
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What Happens When You Are Partly to Blame
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), a claim survives if your negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendants, and the damages are reduced in proportion to your share.
The result is the familiar 51% bar: reduced recovery up to and including 50% fault, none at 51% or above. Evidence about speed, lighting, warnings, and conduct after the incident often decides where the percentage lands.
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.
The Pennsylvania Tort Option After a Crash
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)).
A “serious injury” is defined in the statute as a personal injury resulting in death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702). Whether a particular injury meets that definition is often disputed.
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)).
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.
Government Defendants: Different Rules and Caps
Local governments have broad immunity under 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541. The exceptions in § 8542(b), including vehicles, personal property, real property, traffic signs and lights, utility facilities, streets, sidewalks, and animals, apply only where damages would be recoverable at common law and the agency’s negligence caused the injury (§ 8542(a)).
Section 8553 of Title 42 limits what can be recovered from a local agency: $500,000 in the aggregate per cause of action or occurrence (§ 8553(b)), with pain and suffering available only in cases of death, or permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent disfigurement or permanent dismemberment when 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.
Court Structure for Injury Claims in Centre County
Pennsylvania’s trial court of general jurisdiction is the Court of Common Pleas, which has unlimited original jurisdiction (42 Pa.C.S. § 931). Magisterial district judges hear civil claims up to $12,000, exclusive of interest and costs (§ 1515(a)(3)), and compulsory arbitration cannot be required for a matter where the amount in controversy exceeds $50,000 (§ 7361(b)(2)).
A State College injury lawsuit that reaches the trial court is filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. That court is the Forty-ninth Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951), and Bellefonte is the county seat.
Types of Personal Injury Claims
Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
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.
A vehicle defect can support a separate claim against a manufacturer or repairer, and limited tort does not limit that claim (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(2)).
Slip and Fall and Premises Injuries
A slip and fall claim is a negligence claim, so the same two-year deadline (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524) and 51% fault bar (§ 7102) apply as in other injury cases.
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)).
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.
When an Injury Is Fatal
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)).
Both actions are subject to the two-year limit in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524.
Injuries From Products and On the Job
Product claims are strict liability claims, and Tincher v. Omega Flex, 104 A.3d 328 (Pa. 2014) says the defect may be established under either a consumer-expectations or a risk-utility test.
A worker hurt on the job generally looks to workers’ compensation against the employer (77 P.S. § 481(a)), while a claim against a third party, such as an equipment maker or another contractor, can proceed separately (§ 481(b)).
Have questions about your injury claim? Connect with an attorney.
What to Know About Cases in State College
State College cases are heard in Centre County. Knowing which court you will be in, and how it schedules cases, matters because deadlines such as the two-year filing limit and the six-month government notice run regardless of the court, and an attorney who handles Centre County matters can watch those dates for you.
Charged with a crime rather than injured? Read about criminal defense in State College.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the statute of limitations for an injury claim in Pennsylvania?
Most injury and wrongful death actions must be commenced within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). Claims against government units have a separate six-month written notice requirement (§ 5522).
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.
How does shared fault reduce my compensation in Pennsylvania?
Damages are diminished in proportion to the negligence attributed to you (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)). If you are found 30% at fault, for example, a $100,000 award becomes $70,000.
Can I get pain and suffering under limited tort?
Only if the injury is a serious injury, which the statute defines as death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1702, 1705(d)), or if an exception applies.
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.
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Pennsylvania?
The right of action exists for the spouse, children, or parents of the deceased (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301(b)), and the action is brought by the personal representative for the benefit of those entitled by law (Pa.R.C.P. 2202(a)).
How does the statute of limitations work for an injured child?
The years before age 18 are not part of the time within which the action must be commenced, and the person has the same time as others after attaining majority (42 Pa.C.S. § 5533(b)(1)).
What should I do after a dog bite in State College?
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).
Do I have to go to a courthouse in State College for an injury claim?
A lawsuit is filed in the Court of Common Pleas, here the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. Smaller civil claims, up to $12,000 exclusive of interest and costs, can go before a magisterial district judge (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515(a)(3)).
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.
Get Started With an Attorney in State College
You do not have to work out the dates and rules alone. Fill out the form, and you will be connected with an attorney who can review your injury, the deadlines, and what a claim may involve.
