Philadelphia moves fast, and it does not wait for anyone to catch up. I-95 backs up for miles at rush hour, the Schuylkill Expressway earns its nickname on a near-daily basis, and pedestrians pack Market and Chestnut at lunch hour.
The Slocum Firm represents people seriously injured in this city, and we build these claims around what they are actually worth rather than what an insurer’s opening number says.
We have represented injured Pennsylvanians since 2009, and we bring the same standard to a Philadelphia case that we bring to one in Lackawanna County: direct access to the attorney handling your file, and a willingness to litigate when a settlement offer falls short of what the case is worth.
A Philadelphia case is not the same as a Scranton case. It runs through a different court, in front of a different jury pool, against carriers with their own patterns, and the work has to account for that from the start.
If you were hurt in Philadelphia, call The Slocum Firm at (570) 209-7376 before you give a recorded statement or accept any offer. We answer at any hour, and the conversation costs nothing.
Philadelphia’s Streets Set This Market Apart
Every city has traffic. Philadelphia has traffic layered on top of some of the most punishing road design in the country. Roosevelt Boulevard, a 12-lane stretch through North and Northeast Philadelphia, has long carried a reputation as one of the country’s most dangerous roads, though the city’s own Vision Zero reporting now puts Broad Street ahead of it in total traffic deaths.
The Schuylkill Expressway, I-76, remains a chokepoint of narrow lanes and merging traffic. I-95 along the Delaware River carries a volume of commercial and commuter traffic that turns any slowdown into a multi-vehicle risk.
Beyond the highways, neighborhood-level risk varies block by block. The Kensington corridor deals with a mix of heavy commercial traffic and pedestrian activity that produces frequent collisions. South Philadelphia’s narrow rowhouse streets were never designed for the traffic volume they carry today.
West Philadelphia sees a steady stream of crashes tied to University City congestion and SEPTA bus routes. Northeast Philadelphia, anchored by Roosevelt Boulevard, continues to post some of the highest crash totals in the city despite years of safety redesigns. Knowing these patterns matters when we build a case, because where a crash happened often tells us as much about who is likely to be found at fault as the police report does.
Practice Areas We Handle in Philadelphia
We represent clients across the full range of personal injury claims that arise in a dense urban environment, including:
- Auto accidents on I-95, I-76, Roosevelt Boulevard, and city streets
- Truck accidents involving commercial vehicles moving freight through the city
- Motorcycle accidents, where fault is contested more often than in other crash claims
- Pedestrian accidents in Center City and dense residential neighborhoods
- Bicycle accidents involving Philadelphia’s growing network of bike lanes
- Premises liability and slip and fall claims
- Construction accidents tied to the city’s ongoing development boom
- Rideshare accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers
- Traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury cases
- Burn injuries
- Wrongful death claims
Construction accidents call for particular attention here. With cranes and scaffolding visible across large stretches of the city, construction site injuries have become a steady source of catastrophic claims, often involving multiple potentially liable parties: a general contractor, a subcontractor, a property owner, and sometimes an equipment manufacturer. Sorting out that web of responsibility, and making sure no liable party is missed, is a large part of what these cases require.
Rideshare crashes present their own complications. An Uber or Lyft driver’s insurance coverage can shift depending on whether the app was on, whether a ride was accepted, and whether a passenger was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Getting that coverage question right early prevents a claim from stalling out against the wrong policy months into the process.
How Does Pennsylvania Law Apply to a Philadelphia Case?
The statutes governing your claim do not change because you live in Philadelphia rather than Scranton, but how those statutes get applied often does, given the city’s court system and its insurance climate.
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, Philadelphia residents generally have two years from the date of an injury to file a lawsuit. Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule, found in 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, bars recovery once a plaintiff is found 51 percent or more at fault, though anyone at 50 percent or less can still recover damages reduced by their share of responsibility.
Fault allocation is contested hard in this market, and a pedestrian struck in a marked crosswalk or a motorcyclist with a clean record can still find a share of blame proposed against them. Building the evidence to push back against that framing is a routine part of our work here.
Auto accident claims also turn on the tort election, meaning the choice you made when you bought your policy between limited tort and full tort, under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705. Limited tort restricts a claim for pain and suffering unless the injury meets a serious injury threshold, while full tort preserves that right without restriction. We review this on every intake call, because it shapes the case before any negotiation begins.
Philadelphia civil claims are typically heard in the Court of Common Pleas, part of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Jury pools, case management timelines, and how quickly a judge moves a case toward trial all differ from what we see in northeastern Pennsylvania, and a case filed here has to be prepared for that rather than for the court it would have run through somewhere else.
Venue matters too. Where a case gets filed, and whether it belongs in Philadelphia County or a neighboring county depending on where the crash happened and where the defendants reside, can affect everything from the jury pool to how quickly the case moves. That is a decision we make deliberately on every case, not by default.
What Should You Expect From Your Attorney?
You should expect to talk to the attorney handling your case, not a coordinator. Every client works directly with that attorney, reachable by call or text at any hour, from the first conversation through resolution.
You should also expect the case to be prepared as though it will be tried. When a first offer does not reflect what a case is worth, we prepare to litigate rather than press a client to accept less, and that preparation is often what moves the number.
Catastrophic claims need that most. A traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury case takes months of medical documentation, life care planning, and economic projection before its real value is clear, and that work has to be done before the settlement conversation rather than after it.
What Should You Do After an Injury in Philadelphia?
Get medical attention immediately, whether that means calling 911 at the scene or going to Temple University Hospital, Jefferson Health, or Penn Medicine shortly after. An early medical record is also one of the most important pieces of evidence a claim will have.
Document the scene with photos if you are able, and get the names of any witnesses before they disappear into the crowd. If possible, preserve damaged clothing, shoes, or personal belongings, which can support other evidence in the claim.
Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company, including your own, before speaking with a lawyer. A recorded statement becomes part of the claim file permanently, and answers given before anyone has assessed the injury are difficult to revisit later.
Contact The Slocum Firm as soon as you reasonably can, because the sooner we get involved, the more evidence is still available.
Philadelphia’s density cuts both ways here. It means more potential witnesses at almost any crash scene, but it also means surveillance footage from nearby businesses gets recorded over quickly, and a bystander who saw exactly what happened will not remember your case as clearly a month from now as they would today. Acting promptly also gives your attorney more time to secure video footage, inspect the crash location, and preserve evidence before it is lost or destroyed.
The Slocum Firm’s Philadelphia Commitment
The Slocum Firm has represented injured Pennsylvanians since 2009. We practice from our office in Scranton, Lackawanna County, and our attorneys are admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which covers Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. Philadelphia clients get the same direct attorney access that clients in northeastern Pennsylvania have relied on since the firm opened.
Every client works directly with the attorney handling their case rather than a rotating group of case managers, and that attorney is reachable at any hour. Across our practice we have recovered in more than 95 percent of the cases we have taken, and our attorneys bring more than 50 years of combined experience to serious injury claims.
Results may vary. Prior case outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
We take Philadelphia injury cases on contingency, so you pay nothing upfront and owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. Case expenses are separate from the attorney fee, and we will explain exactly how they work before you decide anything. Call The Slocum Firm at (570) 209-7376 at any hour to find out where your case actually stands.
FAQs: Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer
These are the questions we hear most often from people injured in Philadelphia.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Philadelphia?
Generally two years from the date of the injury under Pennsylvania law. Claims against a government entity, such as the City of Philadelphia, often carry shorter notice deadlines, so it is worth confirming your specific timeline with a lawyer early.
What types of cases does The Slocum Firm handle in Philadelphia?
We handle auto, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents, premises liability and construction accidents, rideshare crashes, and catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases throughout the city.
How does full tort versus limited tort affect a Philadelphia car accident claim?
Your tort election determines whether you can pursue pain and suffering damages after a car accident. Full tort preserves that right fully, while limited tort restricts it unless your injury meets the serious injury threshold set out at 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702, which is death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.
Who will actually be handling my case?
The attorney assigned to it, from the first conversation through resolution, reachable by call or text at any hour. You will not be routed to an intake coordinator or handed off to a case manager, and the same attorney prepares the case for trial if it does not settle fairly.
Does The Slocum Firm handle catastrophic injury cases in Philadelphia?
Yes. Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, severe burns, and wrongful death claims are among the case types where working directly with one attorney throughout matters most.
Injured in Philadelphia? Call Before You Sign Anything.
Call The Slocum Firm at (570) 209-7376, at any hour, whether the crash happened this week or several months ago. You will speak directly with an attorney about what your case would require and what the record currently supports. There is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you, and we will explain how case expenses are handled before you decide anything.
