Pennsylvania Negligence and Fault Laws

These basic legal concepts are at the heart of every personal injury lawsuit

Fault. It’s the basis for personal injury law (not to mention, the battle cry of child siblings everywhere... "It’s his fault!" "No, it’s her fault!"). 

Really, though, determining fault is very important to the outcome of a Pennsylvania lawsuit. Negligence and fault are both important for determining liability, but the definitions are different. 

Learning these terms and related concepts can help you determine whether to file a lawsuit for your Pennsylvania personal injury.

Purpose of Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuits

A personal injury lawsuit is a way to recover compensation for your financial losses related to an injury. The purpose of a personal injury lawsuit is to make the plaintiff (injured person) whole, or to restore them to the financial condition they would be in if the accident hadn’t happened. 

In other words, if you’re injured and it’s someone else’s fault, they should have to pay for your costs. However, under the Pennsylvania statute of limitations, you must file your claim within a specific time frame after the injury occurs. 

To receive damages (money) as compensation, the plaintiff’s claim must meet certain criteria.

First, the plaintiff must prove the defendant was negligent.

What is negligence?

Negligence refers to a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person would in a similar situation, leading to harm or damage. To prove negligence in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must generally establish the following elements:

1. Duty of care. Everyone has a duty to someone at some time, and this can change by the moment. For example, a driver has a legal duty to every other road user. As a driver, you must use reasonable caution to avoid harm to other drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and others. Even pedestrians have a duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing accidents or acting in a way that might be harmful.
   
   There are also situations where there is a more strictly proscribed duty. This could include doctors, childcare providers, security guards, landlords, and anyone else whose role as related to another person would give rise to a specific duty of care.
   
2. Breach of that duty. If the defendant fails to act as a reasonable person would in a similar situation, they have breached their duty of care. That might mean they were speeding, went through a stop sign or red light, were tailgating... any number of traffic infractions would qualify. But it could also include a shopkeeper who didn’t quickly clean a puddle on the floor, and a customer slipped and fell. It could be a restauranteur who failed to keep food at the required temperature, causing a patron to fall ill with food poisoning... the examples are nearly endless.
   
3. Causation. A successful lawsuit requires that the injury was actually caused by the breach. Consider this: A driver is speeding and causes a collision with another car. A bicyclist 100 feet away is so distracted by the crash that they lose their balance and fall off their bike. The driver caused the car crash, but they did not cause the bicyclist’s fall. The bicyclist would not be able to recover damages for their injuries from the driver. 
   
4. Injury. There must be an actual injury. Anger, inconvenience, annoyance, etc. are not injuries. The injury must have cost you money; if you’re in a car accident that leaves you with a bruise or small cut that doesn’t require medical treatment, you likely don’t have a cause of action for a personal injury lawsuit.
   
5. Damages. This is the amount of money you may be awarded by a settlement or verdict. Damages are intended to cover the financial costs associated with the injury.

What is fault?

Fault refers to legal responsibility for causing harm or damage, regardless of the means. A person or entity found at fault in a legal sense can be held liable for damages, whether their actions were intentional, negligent, or strictly due to liability.

Fault could include negligence. It can also include intentional wrongdoing like assault or fraud, or strict liability. Strict liability is where fault is assigned without proving negligence or intent, like in cases involving dangerous activities. It often applies to dog bite lawsuits and Pennsylvania defective product claims.

Comparative fault in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This rule allows an injured party to recover damages even if they were partially at fault, but only under specific conditions.

The plaintiff can recover damages only if they were less than 51% at fault for the injury. If they are 51% or more at fault, they cannot recover damages. If the plaintiff is partially at fault (but less than 51%), their damages will be reduced by the percentage of their fault. For example, if a plaintiff is 30% at fault and the total damages are $100,000, they would recover $70,000.

Fault is critical in Pennsylvania personal injury cases because the amount of damages the plaintiff can recover is directly tied to how fault is apportioned between the parties. Courts in Pennsylvania use a jury or judge to assign fault percentages when multiple parties are involved.

Joint and several liability in Pennsylvania law

In cases where multiple defendants are at fault, Pennsylvania law permits a plaintiff to recover the full amount of damages from any defendant who is more than 60% at fault. Defendants less than 60% at fault are only responsible for their proportionate share of the damages.

Pennsylvania is an at-fault state for personal injury and property damage claims

In most Pennsylvania personal injury cases (such as slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, or product liability), Pennsylvania operates as a traditional at-fault state. This means that when someone is injured or their property is damaged, the person responsible (“at fault”) is liable for paying damages. 

The injured party may:

• File a claim against the at-fault party’s insurance company;
• File a lawsuit against the at-fault party directly; or
• File a claim with their own insurance company, and the insurer may seek reimbursement from the at-fault party.

Pennsylvania automobile insurance system

A Pennsylvania driver must choose between no-fault insurance and the traditional at-fault system.

For most Pennsylvania personal injury claims, the courts follow at-fault rules, meaning the party responsible for the injury pays damages. The exception is auto insurance, which follows the hybrid system and allows a driver to choose either limited or full tort coverage. 

If you’ve been injured in Pennsylvania, your best bet is to contact a Pennsylvania personal injury attorney, who can advise on your legal options and the best way to proceed with your claim.