Pain and Suffering From a Vehicle Accident
Electing “limited tort” on your own motor vehicle policy in Pennsylvania saves you a few bucks ($100-$300 per year on your premiums), but you risk waiving your right to sue for pain and suffering (or “non-economic loss”) for a car accident. (Click here to learn about limited tort and the various exceptions).
So, how much is a claim worth for “pain and suffering” in PA, anyway?
Valuing “Pain Suffering” from Car Accident or Truck Crash
Your claim for non-economic damages from a motor vehicle accident can range from next-to-nothing ($500 or less) to several million dollars. The two key factors for valuation are: (1) the overall effect of the car crash on your life, and (2) the geographic location of the accident.
The Effect of the Motor Vehicle Accident On Your Life
Each person is different. Some are young. Others are… formerly young. Some expect aches and pains in their current stage of their life, possibly due to prior injuries or age. Others do not and, instead, live a 100% pain-free lifestyle that depends on them being active and pain free: running marathons, sitting for long stretches at work, caring for multiple young children, etc.
Thus, your station-in-life will determine the impact of new pain from an accident on your life-overall. A good lawyer will perform a full evaluation of your lifestyle (and medical health) before versus after the accident. With that — and with objective proof of your prior lifestyle (such as gym memberships and/or pictures of you running marathons prior to the accident) — your claim for “pain and suffering” will be maximized. Likewise, getting prompt treatment is also important.
Eastern Versus Western PA
The geographic location of your case will have a massive impact on the value of your claim for non-economic loss. For example, if your case goes before a jury in Eastern PA (such as Philadelphia or Delaware Counties), the jury verdicts for pain and suffering tend to be substantially higher than those in Western PA, such as Pittsburgh, including Allegheny County, Beaver, Butler, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.
Western PA Verdicts
In a Western PA, the verdicts tend to be relatively low, overall.
But why?
Western PA is the former home to the industrial revolution. Many jurors today are the children and grandchildren of steel and/or coal workers, who prospered from Pittsburgh as a company town. They believed: “you make your money in the mill, not the courtroom.” Plus, for a jury verdict, you need 10 of 12 jurors to agree to award money for pain and suffering. If only 3 of 12 would never agree to such an award, the plaintiff has a problem. In fact, “pain and suffering” awards in Western PA are often “zero” or next to zero, absent special facts.
Moreover, appealing a low verdict can be problematic, to say the least. For example, in one Western PA case (Beaver County), Davis v. Mullen, 773 A.2d 764, 565 Pa. 386 (2001), a jury’s low verdict caused the Plaintiff to appeal, asserting as follows:
The jury awarded Davis $4,218.44 as compensation for his medical expenses and payment for the personal property that Davis claimed was damaged in the accident. Davis filed a motion for a new trial, arguing … [the verdict] did not compensate him for pain and suffering.
On appeal, the highest court in PA (the Pennsylvania Supreme Court) noted a slight delay by the Plaintiff in receiving treatment for the accident. With that, PA’s Supreme Court opined:
Accordingly, we determine that [the jury was within its rights to find that] (1) that Davis did not suffer pain and/or (2) that his alleged injury was not caused by the negligence of the defendant.
Eastern PA Verdicts
As noted, these tend to be substantially higher than in Western PA, especially regarding “minor” motor vehicle accidents.
For example, on September 29, 2023, a Delaware County jury awarded a Plaintiff in a “minor” rear-end accident case $1.48 million for pain and suffering. Following the verdict, the Plaintiff’s attorneys were quoted to have said:
“There’s a trend in Delaware County and [other Eastern PA] counties, as there has been in Philadelphia and other counties as well, towards larger verdicts,” Kevin O’Brien of Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Law said. “Verdicts that are more commensurate with how the plaintiffs perceive the value in the case.”
Moreover, in a mere “fender bender” case, a jury in the Philadelphia suburbs awarded a Plaintiff 1.8 million dollars. Click here for more.
Contact Us Today
Whether your case is in Western Pennsylvania (Allegheny County and the surrounding counties) versus Eastern PA (Philadelphia and Delaware County, for example) will have a major impact on your claim for pain and suffering. Also important will be the impact of the accident on your lifestyle.
Regardless, on balance, a claim for pain and suffering is worth too much to risk by electing “limited tort.”
Let’s get started!
412.342.0992
