Yes. If you were partially at fault in a Pennsylvania accident, you can still file a claim in many cases. Pennsylvania law does not block an injured person from recovering money just because that person shares some of the blame. However, your share of fault must not be greater than the fault of the person or people you are bringing the claim against.
Fault disputes can make an already hard situation feel worse. Insurance companies often try to turn a normal driving mistake, a split-second judgment call, or an incomplete record into a reason to pay less. Our job at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers is to push back with facts, clear analysis, and a strong case that shows what really happened.
How Shared Fault Works in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence law (Pennsylvania Law Code § 7102) determines how much each party in an accident is responsible for causing that accident. The court may find that more than one person contributed. For example, one driver may have been speeding, while the other may have made an unsafe turn. A pedestrian may have crossed outside a crosswalk while a driver failed to watch the road.
However, those facts do not automatically end the claim. State law says an injured person can still recover damages when that person’s negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendant or defendants. The same law says the damages must be reduced in proportion to the injured person’s share of negligence. That rule shapes settlement talks, insurance reviews, and courtroom decisions across Pennsylvania.
Assume your losses total $100,000. If you are found 10 percent responsible, the value of the claim would drop to $90,000. If you are found 50 percent responsible, the claim could still move forward, but the recovery would be cut in half. If your share of blame exceeds that threshold, the claim usually fails under Pennsylvania law.
Why Fault Is Often Disputed
Insurance adjusters do not simply accept your version of events because you are hurt. They look for statements, photos, road design, vehicle damage, phone records, and witness accounts that support a lower payment. Even a small claim can turn into a fight over lane position, following distance, right-of-way, speed, distraction, or visibility.
A common problem arises when the insurer treats partial fault as total fault. That is not the law. A person can make a mistake and still have a valid injury claim, and blame that is unfair or exaggerated can be challenged when the record is complete. When the evidence shows the other side created most of the danger, the percentage assigned to you can drop, and the value of the claim can rise.
What Can Strengthen Your Claim?
Medical records often carry more weight than people expect. Treatment notes can show how the injury occurred, how severe it was, and whether your symptoms remained consistent. Billing records, follow-up visits, imaging, and therapy notes can also make it harder for the insurer to argue that you were not hurt or that your losses are minor.
Good documentation outside the medical file also helps. When you schedule a free review with an attorney, they will likely look closely at the timeline, vehicles, road, and the people involved. They will never attempt to determine fault from guesswork alone. In many cases, the best evidence is gathered before memories fade and digital records disappear.
Helpful proof may include:
- Crash reports and any supplemental police findings can provide an early account of what officers observed and how the collision was documented. However, if the police report has errors, your lawyer will work to show where the report is wrong to help make your case stronger.
- Photos of vehicle damage, road marks, debris, weather, and traffic signs can help show how the crash happened and what conditions were present at the time.
- Witness names and recorded statements can support your version of events when fault is contested.
- Camera footage from businesses, homes, buses, or dash cameras can capture details that people miss or later forget.
- Cell phone records can become important when distraction is an issue.
- Wage records showing missed work and lost income can help prove the financial impact of the injury and support a claim for compensation.
Pennsylvania Auto Insurance Can Affect the Claim
Pennsylvania drivers usually carry either limited tort or full tort coverage. Full tort preserves the right to seek damages for pain and suffering without that extra restriction. Limited tort still allows recovery of medical bills and other out-of-pocket losses, but damages for pain and suffering may be limited unless the injury is considered serious or another exception applies.
That issue is separate from fault, but the two often impact the same case. Someone may be only partly responsible for an accident and still have a strong claim, yet the available damages may depend on the coverage election under the policy. Pennsylvania law requires insurers to give notice of those two options.
A lawyer will examine both questions at once. Fault percentage affects whether you can recover and by how much. Tort coverage affects what kinds of damages may be available in an auto case. When both issues are handled carefully, a claim becomes much harder for the insurer to minimize.
Deadlines Can Hurt a Good Case
Pennsylvania generally gives injured people two years to bring an action to recover damages for injuries caused by another party’s neglect or wrongful act. That deadline applies in many personal injury cases, including vehicle crashes. Missing that filing window can destroy a claim that otherwise had real value.
A waiting period can also damage the proof long before the deadline arrives. Video may be erased, witnesses may forget details, and vehicle damage may be repaired. In addition, phone data may become harder to obtain. Delays give the insurance company more room to argue about fault because the strongest evidence is often the earliest evidence.
Time also affects medical proof. Gaps in care, missed follow-up appointments, and inconsistent records can become defense themes. An attorney will usually focus on preserving the record before those holes appear, especially when the insurer already hints that you share blame.
Contact Ostroff Godshall If You Were Partially at Fault in a Pennsylvania Accident
Fault-sharing cases need a strategy built around proof, percentages, and Pennsylvania rules, not just a demand for payment. We prepare every file expecting the defense to shift blame, gathering records, identifying weaknesses in the insurer’s position, and building a timeline that shows why the other side bears the greater share of responsibility. We measure damages to reflect the full cost of your injury, and when litigation is warranted, we are ready.
Shared blame does not mean you should walk away. Even a modest shift in fault percentage can make a major difference in what your case is worth, and insurance companies know that. It is one reason they fight so hard over the fault split.
An attorney with OG Law is ready to fight just as hard on your behalf. Schedule your free case review by contacting us online or giving us a call at 484-351-0350.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still recover money if I received a traffic ticket?
Yes, in many situations you still can. A ticket can be used as part of the defense story, but it does not automatically determine the outcome of the civil claim.
Does partial fault affect a settlement even if the case never goes to court?
Yes. Insurance companies use fault percentages during settlement talks all the time, and those percentages can significantly affect the offer.
What if more than one other party helped cause the accident?
Pennsylvania law allows fault to be divided among multiple parties. That can matter when one driver, a company, or another person also helped create the conditions that led to the injury.
