Average Pennsylvania Personal Injury Settlements and Verdicts – Lawsuit Information Center Blog

The post is about the settlement compensation payouts you can expect in Pennsylvania.
A recent study of jury verdicts found that the average personal injury jury verdict in Pennsylvania is $903,705.00.
Now let’s turn the kaleidoscope and look at the median.  If you remember from the 9th grade, the median is found by ranking the data from biggest to smallest and then identifying the middle of the data so that there is an equal number that is larger and smaller on each side.  If you had 1001 data points, the 500th biggest number would be in the middle.
For many data groups, the gap between the average and the median is the same or very close to it.  With personal injury verdicts, they are usually light-years apart.  This is reflected in this new study that just came out in Pennsylvania.  The median compensatory award in Pennsylvania in the study was $45,000.00

Which number is more beneficial? Most personal injury outcome watchers view the median as the more useful number.
Why?  Because the highest Pennsylvania verdict in the study was $85,000,000.00.  This skews the data across the board.  The $85 million case involved a Penn medical student who stepped into an uncovered manhole in Philadelphia.  He collected, under a high-low agreement, $18,000,000.
But that $85 million remains the statistical number and skews that data.  From a statistical standpoint, we see that the average can be significantly skewed by a few values that are not remotely representative of the jury verdicts.  So the median generally provides a better representation of the Pennsylvania verdict data.
One other thing worth mentioning for context: this is only the plaintiffs’ verdicts where the Plaintiff received a monetary award from the jury.  According to the study, this happens in 38% of personal injury cases in Pennsylvania.
I think statistics like this tell us a lot about the big picture of personal injury cases in Pennsylvania.  I think it is helpful for Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers who practice over a large swath of the state.
What do these verdict statistics mean for your case?   The answer is clear: absolutely nothing.  There are so many — SO MANY — factors that make up the value of a personal injury case.  There is no settlement calculator or formula.
Your case’s true value is disconnected from the average or median settlement or verdict statistics.  Hundreds of people come to our website every single day looking for information on the settlement value of their claims.  We break down jury and settlement data by venue and injury type — the two most reliable factors in predicting how much your case is worth.
But even those are just pieces of the mosaic that scratch the surface of estimating the case’s value.  You can also look at sample verdicts.  But you will be left with a broad range when you add all of these things up without the experience or the general understanding of how insurance companies and juries value cases.
How do you narrow that range?  Only an experienced lawyer who has settled thousands of cases in that jurisdiction can get you there.
Let’s look at some of the most important elements of Pennsylvania’s personal injury law including how long a prospective plaintiff can wait before filing a lawsuit, caps on the amount of damages that can be awarded, and how shared fault cases are resolved.
The statute of limitations for personal injury claim in Pennsylvania is generally two years from the date of the injury or accident. 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5524(2) This means that if you are injured due to the negligence of another person or entity, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit.
There are some exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations. For example, if the injury was not immediately apparent or was the result of exposure to a toxic substance, the statute of limitations may be extended. In cases involving minors, the statute of limitations may be extended until the minor reaches the age of 18.
Do yourself a favor: if you have a possible claim, don’t wait until the statute of limitations gets close to expiring before calling a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer. First, there are so many statute of limitations exceptions that it sometimes swallows the rule.
ut just as importantly, pursuing a personal injury claim can be a complex and time-consuming process that requires careful planning, investigation, and legal strategy. By waiting until the last minute, most personal injury lawyers won’t take your case even if it has great promise.
Medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania are not covered by a separate statute of limitations period. All Pennsylvania malpractice cases are governed by the general 2-year statute of limitations that applies to other personal injury cases, including Pennsylvania wrongful death lawsuits.  This means that victims of medical negligence have 2-years from the date that they discover or should have discovered that they had a potential medical malpractice claim.
Medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania are subject to a 7-year statute of repose deadline on top of the normal 2-year statute of limitations. The statute of repose sets an absolute maximum limit for how long a plaintiff has to file a claim. The statute of repose time limit is not based on when the plaintiff “discovery” or “should have discovered” that they were the victim of malpractice. Instead, the seven years runs from the date that the plaintiff’s injury occurs. This can be considerably sooner than the date of discovery, especially in malpractice cases involving failure to diagnose.
In Pennsylvania, there is no cap on damages in personal injury cases. This means that plaintiffs can potentially recover an unlimited amount of damages for their losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related costs.
It’s important to note, however, that Pennsylvania does have a cap on punitive damages. Punitive damages are a type of damages that are intended to punish the defendant for particularly egregious behavior, such as intentional or reckless conduct. In Pennsylvania, punitive damages are limited to 200% of the compensatory damages awarded, or $500,000, whichever is greater.
Also, in lawsuits against the state government, a cap of $250,000 per claimant and $1 million in total claims from a single incident might apply.
Pennsylvania does not require actual malice for punitive damages.  So you see punitive damages come into play in car accident, medical malpractice, and product liability claims in Pennsylvania.  We have a birth injury case in southern Pennsylvania now where punitive damages are in play but would not be in most other jurisdictions.
Pennsylvania follows a modified version of the comparative negligence rule in personal injury cases involving shared fault. Comparative negligence is a defense that reduces the damages a plaintiff can recover if the plaintiff’s own negligent acts partly contributed to the injury. This requires juries to allocate fault between plaintiffs and defendants, e.g., the plaintiff was 10% at fault and the defendant was 90% at fault.
Under Pennsylvania law, if a plaintiff is more than 50% at fault they are not entitled to recover any damages. So if a jury determines that a plaintiff was 60% responsible and the defendant was 40% responsible for an injury the plaintiff loses the case. When the plaintiff’s share of fault is less than 50% they are entitled to damages but the amount of damages will be reduced in based on the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.
Pennsylvania does not allow medical malpractice plaintiffs to recover damages for medical expenses or lost wages if those expenses were covered by insurance or other benefits. So if a plaintiff incurs medical expenses of $100,000 and his health insurance covers $90,000 then he can only recover damages for the $10,000 that was not covered.
Pennsylvania has adopted a number of special procedural and substantive rules that are applicable specifically to injury cases involving medical malpractice claims against licensed healthcare providers.
A certificate of merit must support all medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania. Pa. R.C.P. No. 1042.3. The certificate of merit must confirm that a “qualified expert” has reviewed the facts and allegations in the case and provided a written opinion that the defendant’s conduct did not meet the accepted medical standard of care.
This is essentially an opinion from one doctor stating that the defendants were negligent. The certificate of merit must be submitted within 60 days of the lawsuit being filed or the case will be automatically dismissed. The obvious purpose of this requirement is to filter out potentially frivolous or excessive malpractice lawsuits.
In Pennsylvania, medical malpractice lawsuits are subject to special choice of venue limitations. Medical malpractice lawsuits in Pennsylvania can only be filed in the County where the alleged malpractice occurred. Pa. R.C.P. No. 1006.
Pennsylvania Slip and Fal Lawsuits
Our firm manages significant injury and wrongful death cases in Pennsylvania and across the nation. What can you expect when you engage us? We collaborate with and compensate our Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys from our legal fees. We are picking the best malpractice lawyers in Pennsylvania to work with on your case. But there is no added cost for having the expertise of two legal teams rather than one. Plus, and this is important,  you are only responsible for a fee if there’s a successful settlement or a jury awards you compensation.
For a complimentary, no-commitment consultation, connect with us online or ring us at 800-553-8082.
 

Personal injury lawyers handling serious personal injury truck and auto accident, medical malpractice and products liability cases throughout the United States.
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