If you were in a car accident and the insurance company told you that you were limited tort and could not recover, you should talk to the lawyers of Urban Law. That is not always true and there are circumstances when it may at first glance to appear to be limited tort but in fact you may not be.
Limited tort is a written signed or electronically signed choice on a form (called limited tort election) which may lower your auto premium you must pay but at a cost to your potential case if you’re not “seriously injured or permanently disfigured”. While serious impairment of some life function (i.e. you can’t perform an essential, particular everyday task or action anymore) or permanent disfigurement (like scarring or loss of limb for instance) will get you over the threshold to be considered full tort, which is probably most common in major motor vehicle accidents causing serious personal injuries, there are other ways you may also be considered full tort instead of limited tort.
A serious injury is case specific. A broken finger to a pianist may be a serious injury and meet the full tort threshold; likewise a homemaker who can’t lift laundry baskets of clothes or pick up clothes off child’s floor or push a vacuum cleaner or kneel to scrub the floor or garden) may also meet the serious injury threshold.
There are other ways a person who appears to be covered by a limited tort policy is not limited after all but rather considered full tort. Being full tort allows an injured person recover not only for economic damages like medical expenses and lost wages for bodily injury but also now for “pain and suffering“ damages as well. Here are some common situations where you may be considered full tort instead of limited tort. If the policy covering the car, you were in is covered by insurance under a limited tort election, and you are considered limited tort, there may be exceptions and exemptions, or circumstances in which limited tort does not apply to you, such as:
Likewise, if the at fault driver was operating a motor vehicle while high or intoxicated, and found guilty of DUI or accepts ARD, you may be considered full tort. These exceptions will not apply if you are seeking under insured motorist coverage under your home policy.
If you were in a commercial vehicle, a work truck, box truck, delivery van, tractor trailer, or other type of work vehicle or bus, that is not considered to be a motor vehicle under Pennsylvania law, again, you may be considered full tort, and not limited tort.
If you are struck by a negligent driver as a pedestrian or a bicyclist, and you're struck while legally operating a motorcycle, UTV or ATV, you are considered full tour and not limited tort, because you were not in a motor vehicle at the time of the accident.
If you are injured in a car accident and are living with someone at the same residence but not related nor legally married and you were either operating the vehicle with permission of the vehicle owner or as a passenger or occupant of that vehicle, you will not be considered limited tort even if the policy covering the call is limited tort, because you are not a resident relative to the policyholder (unless you too are listed as a "named insured" under the policy; however if you were listed merely as an additional driver, then you will not be bound by the policy holder's limited tort election)
Contact our Personal Injury attorneys online or by phone at (888) 268-0023 if you’ve been injured in the workplace. The Law Offices of Anthony Urban, P.C. can help you ensure that you receive the amount of compensation you deserve after an accident.