A crash in Pennsylvania sets several clocks running at once, and the rules here differ from most states in one big way. Pennsylvania lets you choose, when you buy insurance, whether you can freely sue for pain and suffering or gave most of that right away for a lower premium. That single choice, made months or years before the crash, often decides more about your case than anything that happened at the scene. Here is what the law actually says, with the statute behind each rule.
The deadline that matters most
You generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Pennsylvania.1 The same two-year limit applies to a claim for vehicle or other property damage.1 Miss it and the court will almost always throw the case out, no matter how badly you were hurt. Two years feels like a long time while you are recovering. It is not, once you factor in months of treatment and the paperwork a lawsuit needs. Note the deadline early.
Pennsylvania is a choice no-fault state
Every Pennsylvania auto policy carries first-party medical benefits that pay regardless of who caused the crash. But when you bought the policy you also elected either "full tort" or "limited tort."2 Full tort keeps your unrestricted right to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering. Limited tort trades most of that right away for a cheaper premium; you can still recover medical bills and wage loss, but you generally cannot sue for pain and suffering unless your injury clears an exception such as a serious impairment of a body function.2 If you never made a written election, the law defaults you to full tort.2
Before you assume you are stuck with limited tort, read your declarations page and know the exceptions. You keep full tort rights even under a limited tort policy if, for example, the driver who hit you was convicted of DUI, was driving a vehicle registered in another state, or was uninsured.2
Your own insurance pays the first medical bills
Pennsylvania requires at least $5,000 in first-party medical benefits, often called PIP, on every policy, and it pays your medical bills after a crash no matter who was at fault.3 Send bills to your own auto insurer first. The insurer has to pay within 30 days of getting reasonable proof of the amount. If it does not, the overdue benefit collects 12% annual interest, and an insurer that refused to pay without a reasonable basis can be put on the hook for your attorney fees too.4 Keep every bill and note every mailing date.
The state minimum is thin
Pennsylvania's minimum liability coverage is 15/30/5: $15,000 for bodily injury per person, $30,000 per accident, and $5,000 for property damage.5 A single ambulance ride and one ER visit can blow past $15,000, so the at-fault driver's minimum policy often will not cover a serious injury. That is where your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) comes in. Insurers must offer UM and UIM with every policy, but the coverage is optional, and you can reject it only in writing, on a separate form signed and dated by you.6 If your insurer cannot produce a valid signed rejection, the law gives you UM/UIM equal to your bodily injury limits by default.6 Ask your carrier for that rejection form; a defective one can mean coverage you did not think you had.
How your share of fault changes the math
Pennsylvania uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. You can still recover if you were partly to blame, as long as your share of the fault is not greater than the other side's, but your damages are reduced by your percentage.7 Cross the line to 51% or more and you recover nothing.7 This matters constantly in winter crashes. Erie set a seasonal snowfall record of 166.3 inches in 2017-2018, with more than 32 inches in a single day that December,8 and pileups on snow rarely have one obvious villain. How the fault gets divided directly changes the check.
Get the official crash report
The Pennsylvania State Police sell a copy of a vehicle crash report for $22, available online or by mail beginning 15 days after the crash.9 The report locks in the responding officer's account, the diagram, and the other driver's insurance information, and adjusters take it seriously. If your crash was in Pennsylvania, you can start here.
The phone rule that just got teeth
Under Paul Miller's Law, 75 Pa.C.S. section 3316.1, holding or using an interactive mobile device while driving is illegal statewide, with primary enforcement, meaning an officer can pull you over for that alone.10 The law took effect June 5, 2025, and police issued warnings only for the first year. Since June 2026 they can write the citation, which carries a $50 fine.11 If the driver who hit you was on a handheld phone, that is evidence of negligence worth preserving.
When the other driver was drunk
A drunk driver can owe more than ordinary damages. Pennsylvania courts have allowed punitive damages against a driver whose intoxication and reckless operation showed reckless indifference to the safety of others, a rule that traces back to Focht v. Rabada.12 Pennsylvania also has a dram shop law: a bar, restaurant, or other licensee that served a visibly intoxicated customer can be sued for injuries that customer later causes off the premises.13 If alcohol was involved, the server may be a second source of recovery.
Vehicle damage and diminished value
Repairs are only part of the loss. A car with an accident on its record is usually worth less than one without, even after a clean repair, and that gap has its own claim. Because it is property damage, the two-year filing deadline applies to it as well.1 How to pursue it in Pennsylvania is covered here.
Damage caps apply only to the government
Against a private driver, there is no cap. Pennsylvania places no limit on pain and suffering or other compensatory damages in an ordinary car accident claim. Caps appear only when you sue the government. Claims against Commonwealth agencies are limited to $250,000 per plaintiff and $1 million per occurrence, and punitive damages are barred.14 Claims against local agencies such as a city or township are capped at $500,000 total per occurrence.15 If a government vehicle or a dangerous road condition was involved, those limits and much shorter notice deadlines come into play, so get advice quickly.
Practical order of operations
Get medical care and keep the records. Report the crash to your own insurer and open the first-party medical claim. Order the crash report once 15 days have passed. Photograph the vehicles, the scene, and your injuries. Write down what you remember while it is fresh. And pull your own policy to check the tort election and the UM/UIM limits, because those two lines quietly decide what your claim is worth. If the injuries are more than minor or fault is disputed, talk to a lawyer well before the two-year mark. You can find one through the legal directory.
This article is general information about Pennsylvania law, not legal advice.
Sources
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 42 Pa.C.S. section 5524, two year limitation (personal injury under subsection (2), property under subsection (7)). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=55&sctn=24&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. section 1705, election of tort options (full tort default and exceptions in subsection (d)). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=17&sctn=5&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. section 1711, required benefits ($5,000 first-party medical benefits). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=17&sctn=11&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. section 1716, payment of benefits (overdue after 30 days, 12% interest, attorney fees). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=17&sctn=16&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. section 1702, definitions of required financial responsibility (15/30/5). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=17&sctn=2&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. section 1731, availability, scope and amount of UM/UIM coverage. https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=17&sctn=31&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 42 Pa.C.S. section 7102, comparative negligence (51% bar). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=71&sctn=2&subsctn=0
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National Weather Service, Cleveland, Erie, PA lake-effect snowfall records report. https://www.weather.gov/cle/news_ErieSnowfall_Records_Report
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Pennsylvania State Police, Request a Copy of a Vehicle Crash Report ($22, available 15 days after the crash). https://www.pa.gov/services/psp/request-a-copy-of-a-vehicle-crash-report
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. section 3316.1, interactive mobile devices (Paul Miller's Law). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=33&sctn=16&subsctn=1
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Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Paul Miller's Law effective June 5 (one year of warnings, then a $50 citation). https://www.pa.gov/agencies/penndot/news-and-media/newsroom/statewide/2025/-paul-miller-s-law--effective-june-5
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Focht v. Rabada, 217 Pa. Super. 35, 268 A.2d 157 (Pa. Super. 1970) (punitive damages against an intoxicated driver). https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/superior-court/1970/217-pa-super-35-1.html
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Pennsylvania Liquor Code, 47 P.S. section 4-497, liability of licensees (service to a visibly intoxicated customer). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information?SESSYR=1951&SESSIND=0&ACTNUM=021&SMTHLWIND=&CHPT=4&SCTN=497&SUBSCTN=
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 42 Pa.C.S. section 8528, limitations on damages against Commonwealth parties ($250,000 per plaintiff, $1,000,000 per occurrence, no punitive damages). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=85&sctn=28&subsctn=0
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Pennsylvania General Assembly, 42 Pa.C.S. section 8553, limitations on damages against local agencies ($500,000 per occurrence). https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=85&sctn=53&subsctn=0