What is a car accident claim worth in Pennsylvania?

Every rule below is quoted from Pennsylvania law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.

Pennsylvania · Choice no fault2 yearsto sue for injuries

The short answer

Nobody can price your claim from a web page, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What we can show you is real: the amount insurers actually paid per claim in Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania rules that raise or lower what you collect. $29,719 was the average injury claim paid in Pennsylvania in 2022.

Six questions, no sign up

Nothing you pick is sent anywhere or saved. The answer appears on this page.

Was anyone hurt?
Who caused the crash?
Does the other driver have insurance?
How bad is the car?
Did anyone miss work?
Did police write a report?

What claims paid in Pennsylvania

Injury claims in Pennsylvania averaged $29,719 each in 2022.

Car and property damage claims averaged $5,676.

Average amount paid per claim in Pennsylvania, 2022. Source: NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report.
Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance$29,719
Car and property damage$5,676
Personal injury protection, paid by your own policy$4,267
Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy$10,860
Collision coverage, paid by your own policy$5,973

These are averages of every claim insurers closed, from the largest to the smallest. A claim with a hospital stay sits far above the average, and a fender bender sits far below it.

What changes the number in Pennsylvania

If you were partly at fault

Pennsylvania uses modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. You can recover money as long as your share of fault is not greater than the fault of the person you are suing. Your award is reduced by your own percentage of fault.

“the fact that the plaintiff may have been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery by the plaintiff or his legal representative where such negligence was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought, but any damages sustained by the plaintiff shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff”

42 Pa.C.S. Section 7102(a)

The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling

Pennsylvania drivers must carry at least $15,000 in liability coverage for one injured person, $30,000 total per accident if more than one person is hurt, and $5,000 for property damage.

“Financial responsibility. The ability to respond in damages for liability on account of accidents arising out of the maintenance or use of a motor vehicle in the amount of $15,000 because of injury to one person in any one accident, in the amount of $30,000 because of injury to two or more persons in any one accident and in the amount of $5,000 because of damage to property of others in any one accident.”

75 Pa.C.S. Section 1702

If the other driver has no insurance

Pennsylvania insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on every policy, but buying it is optional. You can reject it by signing a written rejection form. If the insurer never gives you that form to sign, you get UM/UIM coverage automatically at the same limits as your liability coverage.

“No motor vehicle liability insurance policy shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this Commonwealth...unless uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages are offered therein or supplemental thereto...Purchase of uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages is optional.”

75 Pa.C.S. Section 1731(a)

The deadline that ends the claim

You have 2 years to sue over injuries from a car crash in Pennsylvania.

“An action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another.”

42 Pa.C.S. Section 5524(2)

What a lawyer takes if you hire one

In Pennsylvania, a lawyer's contingency fee agreement must be in writing, must explain how the fee is calculated and what expenses come out of the recovery, and the lawyer must give the client a written statement at the end of the case showing the outcome and how the money was divided.

“A contingent fee agreement shall be in writing and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal, litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery, and whether such expenses are to be deducted before or after the contingent fee is calculated.”

Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c)

Sources on this page

Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.

  1. 42 Pa.C.S. Section 7102(a)
  2. 75 Pa.C.S. Section 1702
  3. 75 Pa.C.S. Section 1731(a)
  4. 42 Pa.C.S. Section 5524(2)
  5. Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c)

Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.