automobile accidents attorney Lorenzo Gianvito and Lavelle Punxsutawney Pennsylvania lawyers insurance injury law

Decisions, decisions. Choosing the right automobile insurance coverage is one of the most important decisions that you must make, not only for your protection, but for your family's protection, as well. Often, people choose their auto insurance coverage at a young age, and then never review their coverages until it is too late. For your information, we have listed different types of insurance coverages below. Please read these to protect yourself and your family.

Under the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law ("MVFRL"), you must elect a tort option, either "full tort" or "limited tort". Many people elect a limited tort option when they are young, in an attempt to save a few premium dollars when their premiums are very high, but never change this coverage after they get married and have children. If you have elected this limited tort option, your decision may be binding on not only your spouse, but also your innocent children, if they are involved in a motor vehicle collision.

Limited tort restricts your ability to recover for pain and suffering damages in an automobile accident. Unless you have sustained what is defined as a 'serious injury' under the MVFRL, you will be unable to recover damages for what may turn into months of severe pain, suffering and loss of the quality of your life. Worse yet, you may have unknowingly bound your spouse or children to limited tort, meaning that they, too, cannot recover for their injuries. Given the very small savings in premium dollars, versus what could be thousands of dollars in lost benefits, We highly recommend that you select the Full Tort Option. If you have already selected Limited Tort, we recommend that you change coverage immediately, or at least at the time of your next renewal.

First Party Benefits: First Party Benefits are benefits payable to you if you are in a collision. They are classified into Medical Benefits, Income Loss Benefits, and Funeral Benefits. Many people do not know that if they are injured in an accident, their insurance company must pay for their medical expenses, regardless of whether they were at fault or totally innocent in causing the accident. That is why these benefits are sometimes referred to as 'no-fault benefits', since they are payable regardless of fault.

Medical Benefits: $5,000 is the required minimum coverage mandated by law. We recommend a minimum of $10,000 [or possibly more in excess coverage, if you have no other medical insurance]. The reason why we recommend this amount is that it does not take long to use up $5,000 in medical benefit coverage, given the cost of medical services. If you were at fault in causing the accident, you cannot make a claim against the other driver for payment of your medical bills. Even if you were innocent, you will most likely not be able to have your medical bills paid until your case against the negligent driver is settled or tried.

Income Loss Benefits: There is no requirement that you carry these benefits. However, if you work, we recommend that you carry at least $1,000/month / $5,000/total medical benefit coverage. We recommend this for the same reasons as set forth above. If you do not have another disability insurance policy, you have no reimbursement for your lost wages. If you were at fault, you cannot recover from the other driver for wage losses. Even if you were innocent, you may lose your income for several months, and will not be reimbursed until your case against the negligent driver is settled or tried.

Funeral Benefits: There is no requirement that you carry these benefits. However, we recommend that you carry at least $1,500 in coverage. Although certainly no one wants to think about dying in a collision, fatal accidents unfortunately occur in alarming numbers. The last thing you would want to do would be to burden your family with funeral expenses during their period of grief.

Third Party (Liability) Coverage: Third Party Coverages apply if you have caused an accident. Although no one likes to think that they are negligent, it is a fact of life that people are at times inattentive, and do cause accidents. I would venture to say that no one reading this can say that they've never had a close call, if not an accident itself, because they weren't paying attention to their driving.

Personal Injury Liability Coverage: $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident is the required minimum coverage. We recommend a minimum of $100,000 per person / $300,000 per accident. The reason why we recommend this amount is that your insurance company is only obligated to pay the maximum amount of the coverage that you have elected. It is possible that you may have a judgment entered against you, and you may then be required to pay the excess of that judgment out of your own pocket.

Property Damage Liability Coverage: This coverage is required. It provides money to pay property damage claims made against you if you have caused an accident.

Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Benefits: These are 'hybrid' benefits, as they have characteristics of both First Party and Third Party Benefits. They come into play where a negligent driver causes injury to you or your family, but the negligent driver either has no insurance or has minimum coverages that are not enough to compensate you for your injuries. There is no requirement that you carry these benefits, but we highly recommend that you do.

Uninsured Motorist Benefits: You need not carry these benefits, but we recommend that you carry $100,000 per person / $300,000 per occurrence coverage. The reason why we recommend this amount is that there is a significant percentage of Pennsylvania drivers who drive without insurance coverage. If they drive carelessly andcause injury to you, you would have to make a claim against them individually to recover for your injuries and losses. You can bet that if they do not carry automobile insurance, they probably do not have money or assets to pay for your losses. In that case, you turn to your own insurance carrier to protect yourself and your family from uninsured losses, but only if you carry this coverage.

Underinsured Motorist Benefits: You need not carry these benefits, but we recommend that you carry $100,000 per person / $300,000 per occurrence coverage. The reason why we recommend this amount is that there is an even greater significant percentage of Pennsylvania drivers who drive without adequate insurance coverage. If they drive carelessly and cause injury to you, their insurance company is only obligated to pay you up to the policy limits carried by the negligent driver. For instance, if you are hit by a driver who carries only $15,000 in liability limits, and you are unable to work for a year because of your injuries, after your company pays your income loss benefits (if you carry them), and the other driver's insurance company pays its limits, you probably have an uncompensated loss. In that case, you turn to your own insurance coverage to protect yourself and your family from this deficiency, but only if you carry this coverage.

For free advice on your legal rights to Automobile Insurance Benefits, call Lorenzo, Gianvito & Lavelle, P.C.

The Pennsylvania Worker's Compensation law was enacted to provide a measure of protection to workers and their families when they were injured on the job, unable to work, and unable to pay for their medical bills.

Worker's Compensation involves a trade-off of rights: You do not have the right to sue your employer for causing your injury, so you are not entitled to what are commonly known as 'pain and suffering' damages, and you only receive a percentage of your lost wages. In exchange, you do not have to prove that your employer was 'negligent' or careless in causing your injury, only that you were injured while working for that employer.

If you are injured at work, you are entitled to have all of your medical and therapy bills paid, and to have your prescription medication bills, prosthetic devices, and other necessary treatment paid for by your employer.

You should report a work injury as soon as possible, but in no event more than 21 days after the work injury, or you may lose several weeks of your wage loss benefits. The law states that you must give notice of your work injury to your employer within 120 days of the injury.

Many employers provide written 'accident reports' to be completed in the event of an injury. If so, you should make sure that one is completed if you are injured on the job.

The law gives your employer some control over your medical treatment. If your employer posts a list of at least 6 health care providers, you must treat with one of those health care providers for 90 days. Your employer cannot force you to go to any particular doctor or health care provider. If none of the health care providers on the list are qualified to treat your injury, you may seek alternate care.

Make sure you tell your doctor about your work environment and your work injury when you see him. This is part of what doctors call your patient 'history', and is an important part of your medical treatment. It is also important because it helps the doctor to determine whether you are able to be released back to work at full duty or light duty.

If you sustain a work injury, you should make sure that the medical provider you see bills your employer's Worker's Compensation insurance carrier. It is the primary insurance provider, and it should pay bills before any auto insurance or group health insurance benefits are paid. If the Worker's Compensation insurance company does not pay your bills, then you should have your bills submitted to a secondary insurance source, such as auto or group health insurance.

Disability benefits are simply wage loss payments you are entitled to receive if you are unable to work. They are calculated based on a percentage of your average weekly wage, ( commonly known as your 'comp rate'). In general, your 'comp rate' is two-thirds ( 2/3) of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum weekly rate of $ 662.00 [the statewide average weekly wage in the year 2002]. Under the law, the statewide average weekly wage, or maximum weekly benefit, changes every year.

There is no minimum compensation rate. However, if your average weekly wage multiplied by two-thirds (2/3) is less than one-half (½) of the statewide average weekly wage, $331.00 [$662.00 x ½ = $331.00, for year 2002], then your 'comp rate' is either $331.00, or 90% of your average weekly wage, whichever is less.

If a worker's death is caused by a work injury, illness, or disease, his or her family may be entitled to compensation benefits. However, the death must occur within 300 weeks of the injury or exposure. The amount payable depends on the survivor and the number of dependent children. Therefore, you should call our office for advice if you have lost a family member due to a work injury, illness or disease.

Specific Loss Benefits: These benefits are payable if you suffer an amputation or loss of use of certain body parts, or if you suffer a permanent disfigurement of your head, face or neck. Specific loss benefits also include loss of sight in one or both eyes, and loss of hearing in one or both ears. The amounts payable are listed on a schedule, and you may be entitled to both disability [wage loss] payments and Specific Loss Benefits. Therefore, you should call our office if you have sustained a Specific Loss injury.

If you receive Worker's Compensation benefits, your employer should issue a Notice of Compensation Payable ('NCP') and Statement of Wages. If you do not receive an NCP and wage statement with your compensation check, you should ask for a copy. You are entitled to receive an NCP and wage statement, and should obtain copies to make sure that your injury is accurately described and your average weekly wage and comp rate are correct.

If you gave notice of your injury and you are not paid within 21 days of the time you gave notice, or if you receive a Notice of Denial, you should call our office.

If you receive a Petition to Suspend or Terminate your Compensation benefits, you should call our office immediately. Your employer or its insurance company generally cannot stop payments to you without a court Order. If you receive a Petition to Suspend or Terminate your Compensation benefits, your employer is taking you to court, and you should have an attorney to defend you.

You have 3 years from the date of your injury to file a Worker's Compensation claim. However, you should not wait for very long to file a Claim Petition. If you receive a Notice of Denial, or do not receive anything within 3 weeks of the time you reported your injury, you should call our office. The longer you wait, the more difficult it may become to prove your claim.

Under recent amendments to the Worker's Compensation Act, an employee can now settle his Worker's Compensation claim as though it were an auto accident case. However, giving up your right to Worker's Compensation for a lump sum requires a lot of consideration. You maybe settling not only your wage loss benefits, but also your medical benefits. You should call our office before you accept a settlement of your Worker's Compensation claim.

You may have other claims to assert, such as products liability and negligence claims. These are not claims against your employer, but may be claims against a careless driver who has injured you, or claims involving injuries from a defective product. These are referred to as 'Third Party' claims. If you file a Third Party claim, and you win, your employer or its insurance company may be able to recover some of the money it has paid to you for compensation, which is known as 'subrogation'. The reason for subrogation is to reimburse the employer for money it has spent to treat your injury and pay your wage loss, when another party was responsible for the loss [the 'Third Party']. In these actions, the employer may be permitted to recover some of the money it spent on your behalf, but should not be able to recover all it has spent.

For free advice on your legal rights to Worker's Compensation, call Lorenzo, Gianvito & Lavelle, P.C.

The "Federal Old Age and Survivors Disability Insurance Program", commonly known as "Social Security" was enacted to protect individuals whose income has been affected through retirement, disability or death of a family member. There are several different kinds of Social Security benefits available, two of which are reviewed briefly below.

Disability Insurance Benefits are provided to individuals who worked in recent years and who are now disabled. You may not have known this, but Disability Benefits are insurance benefits: when you worked, you paid into the general Social Security fund through 'FICA' deductions. Although these funds are used primarily for retired persons, they are also available to you if you have become disabled. In order to meet Social Security requirements for Disability, you must show that you are incapable of performing substantial gainful activity, i.e., unable to work not only your prior job, but most every other job available in the national economy. You must also have worked recently, and paid into the Social Security fund.

'SSI' benefits are similar to Disability Benefits, as they also require that you show that you are disabled. However, they are based on financial need, rather than on being 'insured' by Social Security. In other words, although you may not be 'insured' for Disability Benefits, you may still be eligible for SSI benefits if you are unable to work and are in financial need of benefits. The Application Process It is not uncommon for the Social Security Administration to deny valid claims once or even twice. You should not be discouraged from appealing a denial of your claim. If you receive a denial of your claim, call our office for advice on filing your appeal and preparing your case.

For free advice on your legal rights to Social Security Benefits, call Lorenzo, Gianvito & Lavelle, P.C.

In addition to our primary personal injury practice, we handle a wide variety of general legal practice fields, including real estate transfers, estate planning and wills, estate administration, corporate filings, contracts, and general civil litigation. Our fees for services are competitive in the area.

Our attorneys represent both commercial clients and individuals in all proceedings and transactions that deal with real property-land and the structures attached to it-including purchase and sale agreements, construction, mortgages, foreclosures, leases, zoning, title examinations, quiet title actions, closings, and property management.

Our firm offers a variety of services for people who wish to plan in advance for the distribution of property upon their death, including wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, so that their property goes to the persons or charities that they wish, and their heirs pay the minimum possible tax.

We have a significant practice in probate and estate administration. Probate is the legal process by which a will is proved to be valid and decedents' debts are paid and assets distributed after they die. Estate administration includes the probate process as well as non-probate transfers of the deceased's assets, and generally includes collecting all of the decedent's assets, liquidating his or her liabilities, paying necessary taxes (if any), and distributing property to heirs. State laws direct the probate court how to distribute the deceased's estate, so it is important to consult a firm with expertise in this area of the law.

Our attorneys provide a wide variety of services to our business clients, from assisting in selecting the form of business entity under which to operate, preparation of agreements, sale and purchase of businesses, obtaining financing and funding for business operations, and employee relations to business dissolution.

We draft contracts in virtually all areas of civil law, and are highly capable at negotiating and drafting contracts; litigating contract performance disputes; and evaluating the appropriate remedies for breached contracts.

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

Copyright © 2008 by Lorenzo & Gianvito, P.C. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.

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