Serving Scranton and Lackawanna County
Serving Scranton and Lackawanna County
Riders come off worst in almost any collision, and the other driver’s insurer knows it — which is why fault is contested more often in motorcycle claims than in any other kind. If you were hurt riding in Lackawanna County, this page sets out what a claim involves, what has to be proved, and how long you have to bring it.
A few lines is enough to start. Nothing you send here creates a lawyer–client relationship.
If your deadline is close, call the office rather than sending a form.
A claim after a collision is a claim against the at-fault driver, which in practice means against that driver’s insurer. In motorcycle cases the adjuster’s opening position is usually that the rider was going too fast, moved where they should not have, or was not visible. That argument is made early, and it is made whether or not the evidence supports it.
Our work begins with establishing what happened: the police report, the road and the sightlines, the damage patterns on both vehicles, any camera footage before it is overwritten, and the accounts of anyone who saw it. Physical evidence carries more weight in these claims than in most, because the marks on the road and the bike often contradict the driver’s account.
Injuries in these cases are usually more serious, which changes the timetable rather than the approach: a claim cannot be valued sensibly until the medical picture has settled. Where an insurer will not meet a reasonable figure, the case is filed in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. Cases are decided here, by people from here, and that matters to how they are valued.
Duty and breach. That the driver owed you the ordinary care every driver owes, and fell short of it — a left turn across your path, a lane change without looking, a failure to yield at a junction.
Causation. That the collision caused the injury. Expect the insurer to argue that part of the harm was down to speed, to the gear worn, or to a pre-existing condition in the record.
Loss. Medical costs, wages lost while you could not work, and the effect of the injury on ordinary life. Each has to be evidenced separately.
Pennsylvania's limited tort election restricts claims for pain and suffering, but it applies to injuries sustained in a private passenger vehicle. A motorcycle is generally not a private passenger vehicle for that purpose, so a rider hurt on a bike is usually not held to the restriction even where their own policy carries the election. It is worth confirming rather than assuming, because the wording of the policy matters.
Coverage is where riders are more often caught out. Medical benefits coverage is not required on a motorcycle policy in the way it is on an auto policy, and many riders carry little or none — which decides who pays for treatment while the claim runs. Check the declarations page early rather than at the point the bills arrive.
Pennsylvania law sets a deadline of two years from the date of injury for most personal injury actions (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). The deadline is strict: a claim filed a day late is generally barred regardless of its merits. Claims involving a municipality or the Commonwealth carry shorter notice requirements.
If yours is not here, the answer is usually a short phone call rather than a long page.
Injury work here is done on a contingency basis: the fee is a percentage of what is recovered, and there is no fee if nothing is recovered. The percentage, and how case expenses are handled, are set out in writing before any work begins.
In the first instance any medical benefits coverage on your motorcycle policy, then your health insurer. The at-fault driver’s insurer pays nothing until the claim is resolved. Part of our work is making sure bills are directed to the right place so they do not go to collection while the claim runs.
Not before you know what the injury will require. An early offer is made while the medical picture is incomplete, and accepting it closes the claim permanently — including for treatment you later turn out to need.
No. Pennsylvania applies comparative negligence: the claim is reduced by the share of fault attributed to you, and is barred only if that share is greater than the other party’s. An allegation from an adjuster is not a finding, and the share is decided on evidence.
It depends chiefly on treatment, and motorcycle injuries often take longer to settle than an auto claim’s. Once the medical picture is stable, straightforward claims resolve within several months; a filed case takes considerably longer. We will tell you early which yours looks like.
Most clients never do. Where a case is filed, most are still resolved before trial. If yours is going to be the exception, you will know well in advance.
A single attorney takes responsibility for each case and remains the point of contact throughout. A short conversation is usually enough to tell you whether there is a claim worth pursuing and what the next step is.
Office address to be supplied — Scranton, Pennsylvania. Nothing sent through this site creates a lawyer–client relationship.
