Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
When it comes to car insurance and crash recovery, few topics cause more confusion—or carry higher stakes—than Pennsylvania’s tort options, insurance deadlines, and post-accident procedures. To help drivers understand how these laws really work, Lawyer Monthly spoke with Jared M. Teich, Partner at Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C. (HGSK), who co-authored these insights with Shareholder Jeffrey Stanton.
Together, they break down some of the most common—and most critical—questions Pennsylvania drivers face after a crash, from choosing the right coverage and handling medical bills to protecting your rights when insurers or government entities are involved.
Below, Teich and Stanton share practical, plain-English answers that every Pennsylvania motorist should know before—and after—a collision.
Jeffrey K Stanton - Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C.
When reviewing your auto insurance policy, one of the most important—and often misunderstood—choices you’ll make is whether to select full tort or limited tort coverage. This decision can have a major impact if you or a loved one is ever injured in a crash.
With limited tort coverage, you agree to give up your right to recover for pain and suffering unless you suffer a “serious injury,” such as a permanent disfigurement or a serious impairment of a bodily function. You can still recover economic losses like medical bills or lost wages, but not for the very real physical and emotional harm caused by another driver’s negligence—except in limited circumstances, such as when the at-fault driver was DUI or the vehicle was registered outside Pennsylvania.
Full tort coverage, on the other hand, gives you full protection. It allows you to pursue both economic and non-economic damages, regardless of how severe your injuries may appear.
Importantly, your tort selection generally applies to everyone covered under your policy—including your spouse, children, and other resident relatives—and it also impacts your uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) benefits.
While full tort coverage usually costs a bit more, it offers far greater peace of mind and ensures you and your family retain the right to be fully compensated if tragedy strikes.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we handle both full and limited tort claims and are here to help our clients understand their rights every step of the way.
The hours immediately following a car crash are critical. What you do—or don’t do—can make all the difference in protecting your rights.
First, call the police and make sure a report is filed. A formal police report documents how the crash occurred and identifies the at-fault driver, which is essential for any insurance or legal claim.
Next, gather evidence at the scene. Take photos or videos of the vehicles, the surrounding area, skid marks, road conditions, and any visible injuries. If you notice nearby businesses or homes with cameras, make a note—surveillance footage can be invaluable in proving fault.
Seek medical attention immediately, even if you think your injuries are minor. Go to a hospital, urgent care center, or your primary care physician. Early documentation of your injuries connects them to the crash and helps prevent insurance companies from arguing that your pain “came later.”
The sooner you act within those first 72 hours, the stronger your claim will be.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we help clients preserve evidence, document injuries, and protect their rights from day one.
After a crash, medical bills can pile up quickly—but understanding how Pennsylvania’s insurance laws work can help protect your finances.
Every Pennsylvania auto policy includes at least $5,000.00 in first-party medical benefits, commonly called Personal Injury Protection or “PIP.” Once you complete a PIP application, your own auto insurer must pay your medical bills—regardless of who caused the accident. If you don’t have your own policy (for example, as a passenger), the PIP coverage of the vehicle you were in applies.
When PIP coverage is exhausted, your health insurance usually becomes responsible for the remaining medical costs. However, many health insurers seek reimbursement or “subrogation” from your settlement—essentially asking to be repaid for bills they covered.
Importantly, Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law contains an anti-subrogation provision that prevents certain health insurers from asserting a lien against your recovery. Whether a specific insurer has that right—and the scope or amount of the lien—depends on the type of health insurance plan as well as the language of the plan itself, which can be legally complex.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we analyze plan language, challenge improper liens, and negotiate reductions so our clients keep as much of their settlement as possible.
Understanding how PIP, health insurance, and liens interact is key to protecting your recovery—and your financial future.
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is vital if you’re injured by a driver who has no insurance or in a hit-and-run crash. In those cases, your own UM coverage may be the only source of recovery for your injuries.
Equally important is underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, which applies when the at-fault driver’s insurance limits are too low to fully compensate you. In Pennsylvania, the minimum required liability coverage is only $15,000 per person, an amount that rarely comes close to fully compensating an accident victim. If you or a loved one suffers injuries in a car crash, UIM coverage ensures additional protection beyond the other driver’s policy.
Pennsylvania also allows for stacking, a powerful option that increases your UM/UIM protection when you have more than one vehicle or policy. With intra-policy stacking, you multiply the UM/UIM limits on a single policy by the number of vehicles insured under it. For example, if your policy lists three cars with $100,000 of UM/UIM per vehicle, stacking gives you $300,000 in total protection.
You can also have inter-policy stacking, which lets you combine UM/UIM coverage across multiple separate policies—for instance, if you insure different vehicles or household members under different policies.
In short, UM/UIM coverage and stacking provide critical protection when other drivers are uninsured or underinsured.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we help clients understand their coverage, identify potential stacking options, and make sure they—and their families—are fully protected before and after a crash.
Insurance companies are supposed to protect you—but too often, profit comes first. They make money by collecting premiums, not by paying claims, and sometimes use delay, denial, or underpayment tactics to protect their bottom line. When this happens, Pennsylvania law gives you powerful tools to fight back.
Under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371, if an insurer acts in bad faith, courts can award punitive damages, interest, attorney’s fees, and court costs. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Rancosky v. Washington National Insurance Co. defines bad faith as when (1) the insurer lacks a reasonable basis to deny benefits, and (2) it knows—or recklessly disregards—that lack of reason.
Bad faith can take many forms: refusing to investigate a claim properly, ignoring evidence favorable to the insured, unreasonably delaying payments, misrepresenting policy terms, or offering unreasonably low settlements. It’s more than just “hard bargaining”—it’s a failure to act honestly, fairly, and in good faith.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we have decades of experience holding insurers accountable when they cross the line from tough negotiation into unlawful conduct. Our Insurance Coverage Team has successfully handled complex coverage disputes and recovered bad-faith damages for policyholders across Pennsylvania.
If you believe your insurer is treating you unfairly, contact HGSK Injury Lawyers for a free evaluation. We’ll review your claim, explain your rights, and help you pursue the compensation—and fairness—you deserve.
Yes — you may have a case, but claims against government entities are subject to special rules and strict deadlines.
In Pennsylvania, if your injury was caused by a government vehicle or a roadway defect, you must give the public entity written notice of your claim within six months of the accident. Failing to do so can bar your claim entirely, even if it’s otherwise valid.
Government agencies are generally protected from lawsuits under the Sovereign Immunity Act (for state entities) or the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (for local entities). However, there are several important exceptions that allow injured people to pursue compensation. These include cases involving the operation of government vehicles, dangerous road or sidewalk conditions, or negligent maintenance of traffic controls, among others.
These claims can be complex—public entities have unique defenses, shorter time limits, and caps on damages. That’s why it’s critical to consult an experienced attorney as soon as possible.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we understand the nuances of government liability and will carefully evaluate whether your case meets one of the legal exceptions. We’ll help ensure all notices are filed on time and fight to hold the responsible entity accountable.
Yes — in many cases, you still can. Pennsylvania follows a rule called comparative negligence, which means you can recover compensation for your injuries as long as you are not more than 50% at fault for the accident.
In practical terms, this means that even if you share some responsibility—say, you were speeding slightly, but the other driver ran a red light—you can still pursue a claim. However, your total recovery will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury finds you 20% responsible and awards $100,000 in damages, your recovery would be $80,000.
Insurance companies often try to exaggerate a claimant’s share of fault to reduce payouts, so it’s important to have experienced legal counsel protecting your interests.
At HGSK Injury Lawyers, we know how to investigate accidents, gather evidence, and push back against unfair blame-shifting tactics. Even if you think you may be partly at fault, don’t assume you have no case—you may still be entitled to significant compensation.
Jared Teich - Partner at Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C.
In Pennsylvania, the law gives you two years from the date of an automobile accident to either settle your claim or file a lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations, and missing that deadline can bar your right to recover entirely.
The overall timeline of your case often depends on the length and nature of your medical treatment. The attorneys at HGSK Injury Lawyers don’t rush to settle while you’re still healing—we want to be sure every injury, medical bill, and future treatment need is fully documented and included in your claim.
If your case does not resolve within two years, our firm will file a lawsuit to preserve your rights. Once in litigation, cases can sometimes take additional time depending on the court’s schedule, discovery, and the insurance company’s willingness to negotiate. Throughout this process, HGSK’s attorneys work tirelessly to keep your case moving forward and to maximize your recovery.
As for fees, HGSK Injury Lawyers works on a contingency-fee basis—meaning you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. Our fee comes as a percentage of the settlement or verdict, so our success is directly tied to yours.
From start to finish, our goal is simple: to handle the legal burden so you can focus on healing.
Attorney Jeff Stanton provides valuable knowledge and guidance to individuals injured by the negligence and carelessness of others. As an experienced personal injury litigator, Mr. Stanton is adept at handling all aspects of a personal injury claim—from the initial investigation through trial. His hands-on approach is aimed at delivering real results for clients.
As a partner in the firm and a member of HGSK’s Insurance Coverage Team, Mr. Stanton’s practice involves personal injury litigation, complex insurance coverage disputes, uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, bad faith litigation, and appellate cases. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, Rising Star, an honor bestowed on no more than 2.5% of lawyers in Pennsylvania.
Prior to joining Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C., Mr. Stanton served as an attorney for the Governor’s Office of General Counsel, representing and advising the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. He also clerked for the Honorable Chad F. Kenney in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
While completing his J.D. at Drexel University (cum laude, 2011), Mr. Stanton served as an Executive Member of the Moot Court Board and Teaching Assistant in the Trial Advocacy Program. He earned the Cozen O’Connor Best Moot Court Competition Brief Award and the Highest Classroom Achievement Award in Pennsylvania Practice. He holds a B.A. in Psychology (2007) from Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology.
Mr. Stanton is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He serves on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, is a Member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, and formerly sat on the Editorial Board of Young Lawyer, a supplement to The Legal Intelligencer (2013–2020).
Attorney Jared Teich is an experienced trial lawyer who represents individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, and medical malpractice cases throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Before joining Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C., Mr. Teich spent six years defending physicians, nurses, hospitals, and health systems in medical malpractice claims. He now uses that experience to benefit injured plaintiffs, providing strategic insight and an insider’s understanding of how the defense operates.
Attorney Teich is known for his attention to detail and his commitment to guiding clients through every step of the litigation process toward a successful outcome.
