Pennsylvania Auto Insurance Options: Exceptions to Limited Tort

When you choose limited tort on your Pennsylvania auto insurance policy, you generally give up your right to sue for pain and suffering for injuries you suffer in an accident. With limited tort, you can only seek money damages for economic loss - such as lost wages or medical expenses - except under certain exceptions. The exceptions to limited tort that would allow you to collect money for pain and suffering are listed below:

1. The injury is determined to be serious. It is very possible that many injuries that most people would consider to be serious may not be determined to be so under the current legal definition.

Examples of "serious" injuries that were not serious enough to waive limited tort restrictions:

• A man sustained a severe fracture of his right and left lower jaw in an accident. He was hospitalized for six days, had his mouth wired shut for 14 weeks, and lost 20 pounds during his ordeal. It was legally decided that this injury was not a serious injury and he received nothing for his pain and suffering.
• A woman sustained a fractured vertebrae in a car accdent. She was hospitalized, wore a back brace, and was unable to bend from the waist. She, too, was found not to have suffered a serious injury. She received nothing for her pain and suffering.

2. The person at fault for the accident is not just charged - but convicted - of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) is accepted. If you are injured by a drunk driver who is killed in the accident, you can not collect for pain and suffering since the driver can never be convicted of the crime.
3. The at-fault driver is driving a vehicle that is registered in another state.
4. You were injured in an accident while driving or riding in a commercial vehicle.

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