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Recent Articles
All Pennsylvania Drivers Should Have Full Tort Insurance
Reno John Ciccotta, Esquire
One of the most important decisions you have to make in purchasing a new automobile insurance policy or renewing an existing policy is whether to select "Full Tort" coverage or "Limited Tort" coverage. "Limited Tort" insurance policies are advertised as cost-savers with premiums that could be as much as several hundred dollars less than a ""Full Tort" policy. However, if you purchase a "Limited Tort" policy and later become involved in an automobile accident in which you suffer injuries, the policy may prevent you from recovering money damages for your pain and suffering. Although a "Limited Tort" policy is cheaper than a "Full Tort" policy, with the cheaper policy, you give up your right to recover money damages unless you have suffered a "serious injury." By choosing "Limited Tort" insurance, you sacrifice full protection for you and for your family members who reside with you.
With a "Limited Tort" policy, you will only be able to recover pain and suffering damages if your accident-related injuries are very "serious". In recent cases, Pennsylvania judges have ruled that fractured skulls and broken bones do not rise the level of a "serious injury" and have denied injured persons with "Limited Tort" policies from recovering money damages. In one particular case, an accident victim with "Limited Tort" coverage suffered a severe fracture of his right and left lower jaw, was hospitalized for six days, had his mouth wired shut for fourteen weeks and lost twenty pounds.
Nevertheless, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that he did not suffer a "Serious" injury and he received nothing for his pain and suffering.
To safeguard your right to receive fair compensation in the event that you are injured by a negligent person in an automobile accident, you should select the "Full Tort" option over the "Limited Tort" option. If you purchase a "Full Tort" insurance policy, once you have established that the other driver was responsible for your injuries, there are no technical restrictions on whether you will be able to recover money damages for your pain and suffering.
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