Hazleton Personal Injury Lawyers

Sí. Puede llamarnos en español al (877) 888-4777 a cualquier hora; la consulta es gratuita y no paga honorarios de abogado a menos que ganemos su caso. Atendemos en español la primera llamada, la consulta y todas las conversaciones sobre su caso. — Yes. Intake, the free consultation and every conversation about your case can be in Spanish.

Move to safety if possible, call 911, and seek immediate medical attention. Document the scene with photos of vehicle damage, road conditions, and any visible injuries. Exchange insurance information with other drivers and get witness contact details. Do not discuss fault with anyone at the scene or give recorded statements to insurance companies before consulting an attorney.

If you chose limited tort coverage, you can only sue for pain and suffering if you sustained a 'serious injury' as defined by Pennsylvania law. Full tort policyholders can pursue all damages regardless of injury severity. Our attorneys review your insurance policy, assess your injuries, and determine the best path to maximum compensation.

You may recover medical expenses, lost wages, future treatment costs, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property damage. In cases involving reckless behavior, punitive damages may also be available. We calculate the complete value of your claim including long-term impacts before negotiating with insurers.

Pennsylvania's statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of injury. However, claims against government entities may have shorter notice requirements of six months or less. Acting quickly helps preserve evidence such as surveillance footage, witness memories, and vehicle data recorders.

Politely decline to give a recorded statement and direct them to your attorney. Insurance adjusters are trained to get you to say things that reduce your claim value. They may seem friendly but their goal is to pay you as little as possible. Let our attorneys handle all communication with insurance companies to protect your rights.

Hazleton is about 25 miles from our office up I-81, and a Hazleton injury case is a Luzerne County case — it is filed at the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, where we are. The first conversation is by phone; after that we meet at the office, by video, or at your home or hospital room in Hazleton. Nothing about the case is handled differently because of the drive.

The outside limit for filing is two years from the injury (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524), and a case that is filed and tried to a Luzerne County jury can run a year or more after that. Most cases are shorter: a claim with clear fault settles within months of treatment ending, and a filed case under the county's arbitration limit is heard by a three-attorney panel well before a trial date. Truck cases and cases with permanent injuries take longest, because the value depends on a medical picture that takes time to settle.

Pennsylvania does not cap pain and suffering in an ordinary injury case; a Luzerne County jury sets it from the severity and permanence of the injury and the medical evidence behind it. Two rules cut into it: a 'limited tort' election on your own auto policy restricts pain-and-suffering recovery to 'serious injury' cases (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705), with exceptions we check for, and claims against a municipality or the Commonwealth are capped by the Tort Claims Act.