Most people never expect to be in an accident, which means when one happens, they’re met with a process that seems foreign and often overwhelming. Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence laws and varying statutes of limitations only complicate the matter.
Segal, Berk, Gaines & Liss is a firm with over 50 years of experience advocating for Philadelphia and Delaware Valley residents injured in accidents. This page serves as a guide to explain the personal injury claim process, its steps, and expected timelines.
No Win, No Fee
An accident can already derail your momentum and dramatically affect your life. With experience and a solid understanding of how personal injury claims work, Segal, Berk, Gaines & Liss is ready to ease your burden and fight for fair compensation.
Our “No Win, No Fee” philosophy means that you don’t pay us a penny unless we recover a settlement or win at trial!
How Personal Injury Claims Work in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, pursuing compensation for a personal injury follows a defined process.
The initial action entails filing a claim with the at-fault party’s insurer. This is not to be conflated with a lawsuit. Lawsuits are a separate and more complex legal action that only occur if a settlement or agreement can’t be reached.
The at-fault party’s insurer is responsible for damages, including medical expenses, but they often contest this liability. Insurers aren’t your friends. They’ll push to limit their payments, often by arguing that the claimant shares responsibility for the accident.
It’s also worth noting that Pennsylvania adheres to comparative negligence rules. This means if a claimant is 51% or more at fault for the accident and resulting injury, they cannot recover damages.
How the Personal Injury Claim Process Unfolds Step by Step
Every claim is different and may not follow a standard 1-2-3 process. Our firm treats every client as an individual and can help you navigate the process, even when it varies from the following steps.
1. Seeking Medical Attention
A claim needs to be substantive. First-person testimony and experience are not enough to substantiate a compensation claim. You must prove a settlement or financial award is warranted, and to do that, you need detailed medical records and receipts.
Seek medical attention immediately after an accident, even if you feel fine. It’s necessary to have that initial visit. If hidden injuries manifest later, it’s easier to establish a connection between the accident and the injury.
Consistency in medical care is the takeaway. Gaps in care or failure to follow medical advice create holes in the personal injury claim process, holes that insurers will exploit.
Unbiased, clinically sound evidence can determine how much your personal injury claim will work and be worth. Once you have that, find the right personal injury lawyer who can put the pieces together.
2. Consulting a Personal Injury Attorney
Most people wait too long to contact an attorney. There’s a common misconception that claimants should have all their costs and damages figured out before reaching out to a law firm. By that time, the insurer is already building its case, and you might lose critical pieces of evidence.
It’s best to contact a personal injury attorney and start the personal injury claim process before you ever talk to an insurance adjuster. Call an attorney immediately after an accident, after you’ve received any emergency medical attention.
Don’t let financial concerns hold you back. Segal, Berk, Gaines & Liss offers a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers, not a paralegal. This is an opportunity to assess the merits of your claim and discuss next steps.
3. Investigating and Gathering Evidence
The success of the personal injury claim process relies heavily on accident investigations and collected evidence. While claimants can collect some evidence, such as witness details and photos or videos of the scene, most critical evidence comes from attorney investigations and access.
Attorneys have legal tools they can use to access and protect surveillance footage, witness statements, depositions, and defendant records. Segal, Berk, Gaines & Liss also has access to verified expert witnesses in fields such as medicine and accident reconstruction.
Because of how personal injury claims work, investigations and evidence preservation are essential to defending compensation requests. Your attorney uses each to substantiate and build your claim. Once built, your attorney files the claim and turns their attention to securing the strongest possible settlement.
4. Filing the Claim and Negotiating a Settlement
The personal injury claim process is formal. When your attorney files the paperwork, it triggers a response timeline and begins the clock for negotiations. What follows is a series of meetings between your legal team and the insurer’s.
During negotiations, your team will present its evidence supporting your claim; the insurer’s team will do the same.
Once each side understands the presented narratives, the insurer will decide whether to make an offer. Your team reviews the offer with you and then suggests whether to accept or decline. You make the final decision.
If the insurer is negotiating in good faith, the process can go smoothly and quickly, but it often takes months or longer. Still, most personal injury claims settle outside of court.
Segal, Berk, Gaines & Liss won’t stop fighting until you receive fair compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage — see our results. If the insurer refuses to make a fair settlement, we take the next logical step: a formal lawsuit.
5. Litigating Your Claim
When good-faith negotiations fail, the next logical step in the personal injury claim process is a lawsuit. This adds a level of legal formality and supervision, though many cases still resolve through negotiation even at this stage.
A lawsuit in Pennsylvania requires the official filing and notification to the court and defendant, discovery or evidence sharing, a settlement conference, and, when necessary, a trial.
Filing a lawsuit raises the stakes, but it’s nothing to fear. We handle all filings, deadlines, depositions, and court appearances. Your job is to focus on recovery. Helping you understand how personal injury claims work at every stage, including litigation, is part of what we do.
How Long a Personal Injury Claim Takes in Pennsylvania
The personal injury claim process in Pennsylvania takes time, but there’s no fixed timeline. Several factors can affect the complexity of a claim, including:
- Severity of injuries and length of treatment
- Number of liable parties
- Insurer cooperation
- Whether a case goes to trial
Simple claims may resolve in a few months, but complex cases that go to trial can take a year or more.
As your legal team, we’ll keep the process moving to avoid delays and keep your claim on track. Call us to schedule your free consultation and to learn the next steps in the personal injury claim process.
