If you were hurt in a car accident in Allentown, Pennsylvania law gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, and the evidence that proves your claim starts disappearing long before that deadline. Only two narrow exceptions change the timing: the discovery rule delays the clock when an injury or its cause could not reasonably have been known, and minority tolling starts the clock for an injured child at age 18.
You are heading home from a second shift at a distribution center off I-78 when a box truck drifts into your lane on Route 22 near the MacArthur Road exit. By the next morning, you are hurting, missing work, and fielding calls from an adjuster.
The Slocum Firm has served Pennsylvania since 2009, and our Allentown personal injury attorneys represent Lehigh Valley drivers from our Scranton office. Our Allentown car accident lawyers sort out every policy that applies, from your own coverage to a commercial carrier’s.
Call (570) 209-7376 to reach The Slocum Firm, 24 hours a day. No fees unless we win.
Crashes on Route 22, I-78, and Allentown’s Busiest Streets
Most serious Allentown car accident claims come from a handful of roads, and each one produces a familiar crash pattern. The road often shapes the evidence and the insurance that follows.
- Route 22: Short merges, heavy commuter traffic, and warehouse trucks produce rear-end and lane-change crashes, especially near the MacArthur Road and Airport Road interchanges.
- I-78: High-speed freight traffic through the Lehigh Valley leads to chain-reaction and sideswipe collisions.
- MacArthur Road: Retail traffic, frequent signals, and left turns create T-bone and turning crashes, including many distracted driving crashes.
- Hamilton Street and Lehigh Street: Dense city blocks, parked cars, and pedestrians lead to intersection crashes and collisions with cyclists struck in the Lehigh Valley.
The Lehigh Valley Freight Corridor: Commercial Vehicle Crashes
The Lehigh Valley’s warehouse and distribution economy puts a steady stream of commercial vehicles on Route 22 and I-78. When one of those vehicles causes a crash, the claim often reaches a policy far larger than a typical driver carries.
Pennsylvania’s minimum for a private car is just $15,000 per person. Federal law requires for-hire interstate carriers hauling general freight to carry at least $750,000, and many carry more.
The employer usually answers for a crash its driver causes on the job, whether the vehicle is a tractor-trailer, a box truck, or a delivery van. For crashes involving commercial trucks on Route 22 and I-78, federal safety records add a second layer of evidence.
Warehouse Traffic Beyond the Highways
Commercial vehicles no longer stay on Route 22 and I-78. As cargo moves between the highways and distribution centers, trucks increasingly travel local roads such as Route 100 in Upper Macungie and Airport Road near Lehigh Valley International Airport.
The busiest stretch of road in the region is where I-78 and Route 22 run together near Route 100, carrying an average of 126,705 vehicles a day, based on PennDOT traffic data. Warehouses clustered around Fogelsville feed much of that traffic.
On local roads, tractor-trailers make wide turns into driveways, back into loading docks, and stop at signals built for lighter traffic. Those movements create crashes that look different from highway collisions: turning conflicts, trucks blocking lanes, and cars striking trailers that sit low across the road.
Commercial Policies and Who Pays
A commercial vehicle crash often involves several possible policies, each tied to a different company:
- The employer’s commercial auto policy, when the driver was working at the time of the crash
- The motor carrier’s liability policy, for tractor-trailers hauling freight
- A leasing company’s policy, when the truck or trailer was rented
- A shipper’s or warehouse’s coverage, when a load was improperly packed or secured
Identifying every company behind the vehicle matters, because a policy that seems too small at first may be only one layer. The name on the door, the USDOT number, the trip’s delivery records, and the rental paperwork usually reveal who else belongs in the claim.
Did You Choose Limited Tort Without Realizing It?
Many Allentown drivers made the most consequential decision on their auto policy years ago and do not remember making it. The choice between full tort and limited tort decides whether you recover pain and suffering damages after a crash.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, limited tort must be elected in writing on a standardized form. If your insurer cannot produce that signed form, full tort generally applies, so requesting a copy is one of our first steps.
| Election | What You Pay | What You Keep After a Crash |
|---|---|---|
| Full tort | A higher premium | Pain and suffering for any injury someone else caused |
| Limited tort | A lower premium | Medical bills and lost wages, but pain and suffering only for a serious injury or a listed exception |
Even with a signed limited tort form, several exceptions restore full tort rights:
- Serious injury: Death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702. The impairment does not have to be permanent.
- DUI: The at-fault driver was convicted of DUI or accepted ARD, a pretrial diversion program, for the crash.
- Uninsured or out-of-state driver: The at-fault driver carried no insurance or drove a vehicle registered in another state.
- Commercial vehicle occupant: You were riding in a vehicle other than a private passenger car, such as a LANTA bus or a work truck.
A Limited Tort Claim, Step by Step
Limited tort never blocks the recovery of economic losses. Medical bills beyond PIP, lost wages, and vehicle damage remain recoverable under either election; only pain and suffering damages turn on the tort choice.
A hypothetical example, for illustration only. A Whitehall driver with limited tort is rear-ended on Route 22 near Airport Road. The crash breaks her wrist, she needs surgery, and she misses three months of work at a distribution center.
Her claim moves through three questions:
- Does an exception apply? If the at-fault driver was convicted of DUI, was uninsured, or drove an out-of-state vehicle, she keeps full tort rights, and the tort question ends there.
- What economic losses are recoverable? Her unpaid medical bills and lost wages are recoverable regardless of her election.
- Is the injury serious? If no exception applies, her pain and suffering claim depends on whether the injury seriously impaired a body function.
How Courts Decide Whether an Injury Is Serious
Pennsylvania courts decide a serious impairment of a body function claim with two questions: which body function was impaired, and whether the impairment was serious. The impairment does not have to be permanent.
Courts weigh how long the impairment lasted, what treatment it required, and how much it changed the person’s work and daily life. A surgery, a long absence from work, or lasting limits on ordinary tasks often support a serious injury finding.
In most cases, a jury rather than a judge decides whether an injury qualifies. Only when no reasonable person could disagree about the answer does a judge decide it before trial.
That is why documentation matters so much under limited tort. Treatment records, work restrictions, and a plain account of what the injury prevented from day to day often make the difference between a claim limited to bills and one that includes pain and suffering.
How Fast Does PIP Run Out After a Serious Crash?
First-party benefits, often called PIP, pay your medical bills from your own auto policy regardless of fault. Pennsylvania’s minimum is just $5,000 under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1711, and an ambulance ride, an emergency room visit, and imaging often use most of it in the first week.
For commuting workers, the bigger gap is lost pay. Income loss benefits are optional under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1712, and many Allentown drivers never bought them, so missed shifts come out of pocket until the injury claim resolves.
Once PIP runs out, health insurance generally picks up medical bills. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1797, providers billing your auto insurer must accept reduced rates and may not bill you the difference.
How Fault Percentages Change Your Recovery
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, you recover damages only if your share of fault is 50% or less. Your award drops by your percentage of fault, and at 51% you recover nothing.
A hypothetical example, for illustration only. A driver pulling out of a MacArthur Road shopping center cuts into your lane, and a jury values your injuries at $75,000.
| Your Share of Fault | What You Recover |
|---|---|
| 0% | $75,000 |
| 20% | $60,000 |
| 40% | $45,000 |
| 51% | $0 |
Adjusters work to push your share past that 51% line. They argue you were speeding, following too closely, or watching your phone, because one percentage point erases the claim.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage and Stacking
When the driver who hit you carries no insurance, or not enough, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) often becomes the main source of recovery. It also covers many hit-and-run collisions.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1731, insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage, and you only lose it by rejecting it in writing. That matters for claims against uninsured and underinsured drivers carrying Pennsylvania’s $15,000 minimum.
Stacking often multiplies the coverage. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1738, your limits stack across the vehicles on your policy unless you signed a waiver, so two cars with $25,000 in UIM each may provide $50,000.
An Allentown Stacking Example
In Pennsylvania, underinsured motorist coverage pays on top of what the at-fault driver’s insurer pays, up to your own UIM limits. Stacking decides how high those limits go.
A hypothetical example, for illustration only. A driver who carries Pennsylvania’s $15,000 minimum runs a red light on Hamilton Street and hits an Allentown resident, whose losses reach $150,000. The resident’s household insures two cars, each with $50,000 in UIM coverage.
| Coverage | Without Stacking | With Stacking |
|---|---|---|
| At-fault driver’s liability policy | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Your UIM coverage | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Total available | $65,000 | $115,000 |
The only difference is a form many drivers signed years ago without a second thought. Under § 1738, stacking applies unless the named insured signed the statutory waiver, and an insurer relying on a waiver has to produce it.
Checking Your Own Coverage
Your policy’s declarations page lists your UM and UIM limits and whether they are stacked. It is worth checking before you need it, because a household with several vehicles often carries more protection than it realizes, and rejected or unstacked coverage becomes a problem only after a crash.
Filing Deadlines for Allentown Car Accident Claims
Most Allentown car accident lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash, and insurance negotiations do not pause that clock. The exceptions are narrow, and waiting on one of them is risky.
The discovery rule rarely helps in a car crash case, because the crash itself usually puts you on notice of the injury. Minority tolling under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5533(b) starts an injured child’s two-year clock on their 18th birthday.
Meanwhile, the evidence runs on a much shorter clock. Business security video along Hamilton Street often records over within days, and commercial carriers’ electronic logs are only required to be kept for months.
Compensation, Including Punitive Damages in Drunk Driving Cases
Car accident victims in Pennsylvania may recover economic losses, non-economic losses where their tort election allows, and punitive damages for reckless conduct. Drunk driving crashes are the most common source of punitive damage claims.
Recoverable damages typically include:
- Medical bills beyond what PIP covered, including future treatment
- Lost wages, missed shifts, and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Vehicle repair or replacement
- Punitive damages for reckless conduct such as drunk driving
Punitive damages punish conduct that shows reckless indifference to others’ safety. A DUI conviction also lifts the limited tort restriction, so drunk driving crashes in Allentown often carry the full range of damages.
Where Allentown Car Accident Cases Are Filed
Lawsuits from crashes in Allentown are generally filed in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in downtown Allentown. Cases from crashes elsewhere in the Lehigh Valley may belong in Northampton County, depending on where the crash happened and where the defendants do business.
Filing in the right county from the start avoids transfer fights that delay the case.
What Happens After a Case Is Filed in Lehigh County
Most Allentown car accident claims settle without a lawsuit, but when a case is filed, it follows a predictable path through the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas at the courthouse on Hamilton Street:
- The complaint. The lawsuit begins with a complaint that names each defendant and describes the crash and the injuries.
- Service and response. Each defendant is formally served and generally has 20 days to respond under Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1026.
- Discovery. Both sides exchange records, answer written questions, and take depositions, which are sworn interviews recorded outside of court. The defense often asks for an examination by a doctor it selects.
- Arbitration or the trial track. Smaller claims go to compulsory arbitration before a panel of three attorneys under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7361, and either side may appeal for a new trial. Larger claims proceed toward a jury trial.
- Settlement conferences and trial. The court schedules conferences that often produce a settlement, and cases that do not settle go before a Lehigh County jury.
How Long a Lehigh County Case Takes
Timelines vary with the injuries, the number of defendants, and how contested fault is. A case that goes through full discovery often takes a year or more, while claims that settle before suit move faster.
Medical treatment usually sets the pace. A claim is easiest to value once doctors have a clear picture of the injury’s long-term effects, so settling too early risks leaving future costs out of the recovery.
No Fees Unless We Win
The Slocum Firm handles Allentown car accident cases on a contingency fee basis, and consultations are free. No fees unless we win.
We have represented injured Pennsylvanians since 2009, and Lehigh Valley clients reach us the same way our Scranton clients do. When you call, you get:
- Availability by phone, 24 hours a day
- More than 50 years of combined legal experience
- A recovery rate above 95%
- Hablamos español
Results vary by case, and prior outcomes do not guarantee a similar result.
FAQs: Allentown Car Accident Lawyer
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Allentown, Pennsylvania?
Two years from the crash for most injury lawsuits. Wrongful death claims generally run two years from the date of death.
Claims against a government entity, such as a LANTA bus or a City of Allentown vehicle, require written notice within six months under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522.
What is the difference between full tort and limited tort coverage?
Full tort keeps your right to recover pain and suffering for any injury someone else causes. Limited tort costs less but restricts pain and suffering to serious injuries and a short list of exceptions.
Your election generally binds your spouse and relatives living in your household too, so one choice on one policy shapes the whole family’s rights.
What if the driver who hit me was on the clock?
The employer usually answers for a crash its employee causes while working, and its commercial policy often carries far higher limits than a personal policy.
The company’s name on the vehicle, the driver’s delivery route, and dispatch records help prove the driver was working, so we request those records early.
Do I still have a claim if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Yes, as long as your share of fault is 50% or less. Your recovery drops by your percentage of fault.
When more than one driver or company caused the crash, Pennsylvania compares your share against all of them combined, which often keeps a partly-at-fault driver below the 51% line.
How much does it cost to hire an Allentown car accident lawyer?
No fees unless we win, and consultations are free. Under a contingency fee, the attorney fee comes from the recovery rather than from your pocket up front.
Your fee agreement explains how case costs are handled, so ask us to walk through it at your consultation.
Hurt in a Lehigh Valley Crash?
Injured in a crash in Allentown or anywhere in the Lehigh Valley? Call The Slocum Firm at (570) 209-7376. We’re available 24/7. No fees unless we win.
