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Schedule Your Free ConsultationT-Bone Accident Attorney in Philadelphia, PA, Handling Complex Cases
You might have been driving through the intersection when another car slammed into your driver's side door. As a Philadelphia T-bone accident lawyer, we've seen how fast these crashes happen and how hard they hit.
Maybe you walked away with broken ribs, a concussion, or internal injuries that will take months to heal. Your car door offered almost no protection against the impact.
Now the medical bills are piling up. The insurance company calls with questions that make you feel blamed. You're just trying to recover, but everything feels overwhelming.
We understand what you're facing, and we're here to help you pursue the maximum compensation available for the injuries and losses you suffered in the car accident. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Find Out What Your Case is Worth
We invite you to reach out to us today to schedule a free consultation with a member of our team. Call (215) 486-0123 or contact us online to learn more.
How You Can Recover Compensation After a T-Bone Accident in Philadelphia
You have two paths to get compensated after a T-bone crash in Philadelphia.
Use Your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage First
Pennsylvania requires every driver to carry Personal Injury Protection coverage.
This is your own insurance policy, and it covers your immediate medical expenses no matter who caused the accident. You can tap into your PIP coverage right now to pay for medical costs up to your policy limits, such as emergency room visits, CT scans, X-rays, surgery, hospital stays, prescription pain medication, and follow-up appointments with specialists.
You don't have to wait for the other driver's insurance company to finish investigating or admit their driver was at fault. Your PIP coverage gives you quick access to medical treatment when you need it most.
File a Claim Against the At-Fault Driver's Insurance
This is where you pursue the other driver's liability coverage for all your damages. You're holding the driver who ran the red light or failed to yield accountable for the harm they caused.
This claim takes longer to resolve because you need to prove who was at fault and document the full extent of your injuries. But it's also where you recover the compensation that actually covers the serious losses T-bone accidents typically cause.
Both options work together. Your PIP coverage provides access to the medical care you need immediately. The liability claim provides an opportunity to be fully compensated for everything you've been through.
Your Limited Tort Policy Might Limit Your T-Bone Accident Compensation
When you bought your car insurance in Pennsylvania, you chose between full tort and limited tort coverage. That choice affects what you can recover after a T-bone crash.
If you have limited tort, you agreed to restrict your right to sue for pain and suffering damages in exchange for lower insurance premiums. You can still recover your medical expenses and lost wages, but you can't pursue compensation for physical pain, emotional trauma, and the way your injuries have disrupted your life unless your injuries meet Pennsylvania's definition of "serious injury."
If you have full tort, you have unrestricted rights to sue for all damages, including pain and suffering. No thresholds to meet. Regardless of the severity of your injuries, if you're hurt, you can pursue full compensation.
In the case of T-bone accidents, serious injuries are common. Broken ribs, fractured pelvis, internal organ damage, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries are common in T-bone collisions because you're taking the full force of impact through the side door with minimal protection.
Even if you have limited tort coverage, your injuries could qualify as an exception to Pennsylvania's limited tort insurance coverage law, restoring your full rights. Some examples of circumstances that constitute exceptions include:
- The victim sustained a serious injury, such as permanent impairment and certain types of broken bones, internal injuries, and head injuries.
- The at-fault driver was convicted of DUI.
- The vehicle that the at-fault driver was operating is registered outside of Pennsylvania.
The first exception is the big one. Side-impact crashes typically cause severe enough injuries to meet the "serious injury" threshold under Pennsylvania law. We review your policy, evaluate your injuries, and apply every available exception to maximize your compensation.
You shouldn't lose money because of a policy choice you made years ago without fully understanding what it meant. Discuss your case with our Philadelphia T-bone accident lawyer.
What If Both Drivers Claim the Other Ran the Red Light?
T-bone accidents often happen at intersections where both drivers insist they had the right of way. One driver says the light was green. The other driver swears it was red. No witnesses. No traffic cameras. Just two conflicting stories.
This is where Pennsylvania's comparative negligence rule becomes critical.
Under comparative negligence, you can still recover compensation as long as you're less than 51% at fault for the accident. Your total compensation gets reduced by your percentage of fault, but you don't lose everything just because you share some responsibility.
Here's how it works in a disputed T-bone case.
Suppose that the other driver ran a red light and T-boned you, but you were also driving over the posted speed limit. The jury might assign 85% of fault for the crash to the other driver for running the light and 15% of fault to you for speeding. If your total damages are $200,000, you would recover $170,000 (your damages minus your 15% share of fault).
However, if the jury decides you're 51% or more at fault, you can't recover any compensation at all under the state's comparative negligence rule.
Insurance companies know this. They'll work hard to shift as much fault onto you as possible to reduce the amount of compensation they have to pay. They'll claim you were distracted, speeding, or not paying attention. They'll argue you had time to stop but didn't. They'll twist every detail to make you look careless.
That's why proving fault is so important in disputed T-bone cases. We gather traffic camera footage, witness statements, accident reconstruction analysis, traffic citation records, and any other evidence that shows what actually happened at that intersection.
The stronger our evidence, the less fault they can pin on you, and the more compensation you recover.
Don't let a disputed fault keep you from the compensation you deserve. Contact us for a free consultation. Our Philadelphia T-bone accident lawyer knows how to prove who's really at fault.
How Long Do You Have to File Your T-Bone Accident Claim
Pennsylvania gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss that deadline, the court likely dismisses your case, and you lose your right to compensation permanently. It doesn't matter how strong your case is or how badly you were hurt. The deadline is absolute.
Two years might seem like a long time when you're focused on recovering from broken bones and internal injuries. But building a solid case takes months. We need time to investigate the accident, gather evidence, obtain your complete medical records, consult with accident reconstruction experts, and document how your injuries have affected your ability to work and live your life.
Waiting until the last minute puts you in a weak position. The insurance company knows you're desperate, and they'll use that against you in negotiations.
Don't miss out on your right to fair compensation by waiting too long to take legal action.
What Your T-Bone Accident Claim Is Actually Worth
T-bone accidents cause some of the most serious injuries we see in car crash cases. The compensation needs to reflect the severity of the physical, financial, and emotional losses that you're dealing with. Our Philadelphia car accident lawyer can help you discover all types of compensation and recover that which you deserve.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include all the financial losses you can prove with bills and documentation.
Economic damages include your medical expenses for emergency transport, emergency room treatment, surgery, hospital stays, physical therapy, occupational therapy, prescription medications, medical equipment like crutches or wheelchairs, home modifications if you need accessibility features, and future medical care if your injuries require ongoing treatment.
Your economic losses also encompass lost wages for the paychecks you've already missed and for any future reduced earning capacity you'll face if you can't return to your previous job or work the same hours.
Additionally, economic damages include property damage payments to repair or replace your vehicle and any other out-of-pocket costs directly connected to the accident.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that don't come with receipts but impact your life in ways that are just as devastating.
- Physical pain from broken ribs that makes it hard to breathe or sleep.
- Emotional trauma from being afraid to drive through intersections.
- Loss of enjoyment in activities you loved but can't do anymore because of your injuries, like playing with your kids, exercising, traveling, and hobbies that require physical ability.
- Disfigurement from scars that remind you of the crash every time you look in the mirror.
- Mental anguish from dealing with chronic pain that changes your mood and your relationships.
- Loss of consortium if your injuries have damaged your relationship with your spouse.
The insurance company will never volunteer to pay you what your case is worth. They'll offer a fraction of the real value and hope you're too overwhelmed or too desperate to fight back.
How We Fight for Maximum Compensation in Your T-Bone Case
Insurance companies have lawyers focused on finding strategies to minimize your compensation. You need experienced attorneys who know how to fight back with evidence and strategy.
We Investigate and Prove Fault
In disputed T-bone cases, evidence is everything.
We track down traffic camera footage from the intersection, interview witnesses who saw what happened, obtain traffic citation records to see if the other driver was ticketed at the scene, and hire accident reconstruction experts who can analyze the physical evidence and testify about which driver had the right of way.
We build a case that makes it hard for the insurance company to blame you.
We Document Every Injury
Side-impact crashes cause complex injuries that insurance companies love to downplay.
We work with your doctors and independent medical experts to show the full extent of your trauma. Broken ribs, internal bleeding, organ damage, concussions, or spinal injuries.
We make sure the insurance company understands exactly what you're dealing with and how it's changed your life.
We Calculate True Damages
Most people drastically underestimate what their case is worth because they only think about current medical bills and lost wages.
We calculate your future medical needs, your reduced earning capacity over the rest of your career, and the long-term impact of living with chronic pain or permanent disability.
We make sure the settlement or verdict actually covers the full cost of what happened to you.
We Handle All Insurance Communication
Anything you say to the insurance adjuster can be twisted and used against you later.
We take over all communication so they can't trap you into saying something that damages your case. You focus on healing. We focus on protecting your rights.
We Negotiate Aggressively
Insurance companies make lowball offers, hoping you'll accept out of desperation or frustration.
We counter with evidence, expert testimony, and a clear demonstration of what a jury would award if the case goes to trial. We don't settle until the number is fair.
We Go to Trial if Necessary
Some insurance companies refuse to be reasonable. When that happens, we can take your case to court and let a jury decide what you deserve.
We've been doing this for over 50 years. We know how to present T-bone accident cases to juries and win.
Fighting insurance companies and gathering evidence while you're injured is overwhelming. Let our Philadelphia T-bone accident lawyer handle the legal battle so you can focus on healing. Discuss your case with us today.
"Greatest firm I’ve ever dealt with. I’ll inform all my friends. Was very informative throughout the case!"
— Darren Baugh, Former Client
Why Trust Us With Your T-Bone Accident Claim
This firm exists to represent families and individuals who've been hurt because of someone else. People who are facing injuries they never asked for and bills they can't afford.
When you come to our firm, we start by learning about you, not just your accident. We want to know what your life looked like before the crash. What you did for work, how you spent time with your family, what activities brought you joy, and what a typical day involved.
We can't fight for what you've lost unless we understand who you were before someone T-boned you at an intersection.
You're walking into our office on one of the hardest days you've faced. You're hurt, confused about the legal process, and dealing with insurance companies that make you feel like you did something wrong. Our first job is to educate you about what's happening and what to expect at every stage. You should never feel lost or uncertain about your own case.
The team we've built here genuinely cares about the people we represent. You'll feel that from the first phone call. We're not processing cases as fast as possible to move on to the next one. We're invested in your outcome because we understand what's at stake.
When you need to talk to your lawyer at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday or noon on Sunday, you won't get an answering service. You'll talk to one of our attorneys. We've never operated like a traditional nine-to-five law firm because injuries don't wait for business hours, and neither do your questions or concerns.
What drives us is winning. Our goal is for you to walk away from this legal battle with the insurance company fully compensated, so that you have all the resources you need to rebuild your life.
We've represented injured people across Pennsylvania for over 50 years.
We've recovered more than $100 million in compensation for our clients. We've been recognized as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, named to America's Top 1000 Personal Injury Attorneys, selected for The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and ranked in the Top 25 Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers.
You need lawyers who won't back down when insurance disputes your claim. Talk to our t-bone accident attorney in Philadelphia, PA, for experienced representation you can trust.
Contact Our Philadelphia T-Bone Accident Lawyer at van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim for a Free Case Consultation
You might be dealing with serious injuries, mounting bills, and an insurance company that's already trying to find ways to blame you or minimize what they owe.
We've handled hundreds of T-bone accident cases. We know how to prove fault even when both drivers have different stories. We know how to fight for full compensation even when the insurance company refuses to be reasonable.
For help from a T-bone accident lawyer in Philadelphia, reach out to van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim online or call today.
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Call 215-486-0123 or Fill Out Our Online Contact Form
