Limited or Full Tort with my car insurance?

Should I get Limited or Full Tort with my car insurance?

What is the Limited or Full Tort option?

Has an Insurance agent offered to save you $40.00 a year on your automobile insurance premium?

What did you say?

If the answer was “Yes,” chances are the insurance agent did not fully explain what having Full or Limited Tort means in the event you or a loved one is injured in a Pennsylvania car accident.   The agent also probably didn’t mention that they may receive a “Bonus” for how many customers they coax into electing Limited Tort.  Having “full overage” is not the same as “full tort.”

Please, do not be fooled.

In the event you are injured in a car accident on a Pennsylvania road or highway, Full Tort coverage allows a Pennsylvania policy holder to recover both Economic Damages and Non-Economic Damages in a personal injury case, such as, pain and suffering, embarrassment, humiliation, mental anguish, etc. Limited Tort coverage may limit your ability to recover those Non-Economic Damages

Consider these simple examples:

• Example 1: Driver 1 has Limited Tort under her Erie Insurance Policy.   Driver 1 is driving on the Morgan Highway near Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania when she is involved in a chain reaction car crash.  Driver 1 injured her neck and back. Driver 1 goes in an ambulance to Geisinger Community Medical Center and has xrays, which are negative.  Although Driver 1 did not fracture any of vertebrae in her neck or back, she has persistent pain, numbness and tingling radiating down her arms and requires physical therapy and a chiropractor.   Driver 1 attends 35 physical therapy and chiropractic sessions and even receives 2 epidural steroid injections into her cervical and thoracic spine region.   Driver 1 makes a settlement demand against the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident, Progressive Insurance Company.  No settlement offer is made because of Limited Tort.  A lawsuit is filed in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.  At trial a jury awards $ 0.00 because of Driver 1’s Limited Tort selection.
• Example 2: Driver 2 has Full Tort under her Geico Insurance Policy.  Driver 2 is stopped at an intersection and is gently hit from behind by another vehicle. Driver 2 has minimal pain but chooses to go to his primary care doctor 1 week later. He goes to 6 chiropractic appointments for his low back pain, and eventually is pain free. Although Driver 2 is not as badly injured as Driver 1 above, he settles his personal injury claim for $12,500.00.

See how Full tort can help you obtain justice?

Are your children protected in the event they are injured in a car accident ?

The tort selection of a parent will apply to their children, even if their child is injured while riding in someone else’s car.  Your tort selection follows you and your children as you drive or travel in different cars.

There are exceptions to the above rule on Limited Tort.  Let a Pennsylvania Personal Injury attorney from the Biscontini Law Firm manager your case and conduct a thorough investigation to see if there is a way to get around a Limited Tort automobile policy.  Having an experienced Pennsylvania Limited Tort lawyer will give you a greater chance to get the justice you deserve.

If you or someone you know has been seriously injured, call the Biscontini Law Firm for a free consultation at (570) 283-7777.