Philadelphia and New York have always had a little bit of a rivalry. Philly suffers from an inferiority complex of sorts, and New York is a little high on its own supply. Both have distinctly East Coast personalities (kind, but not nice) and have an urban grit that gives them both their grimey, concrete charm we all know and love.
But what happens if you’ve been injured in one of these iconic cities? Who do you turn to in order to hold someone accountable for your injury? How different are personal injury lawsuits between the Big Apple and the City of Brotherly Love? Turns out, they operate fairly differently. Here’s how.
How New Yorkers Handle Personal Injury Lawsuits
New Yorkers are famously tough. You can’t be in those kinds of close quarters and not develop some kind of thick skin. Still, injuries occur and there’s ways that they handle them if they progress to the lawsuit stage. When that happens, New Yorkers are ready with a Queens personal injury lawyer to fight on their behalf.
The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit is three years from the date of injury. Meaning that if you are injured and there are grounds to pursue action, you’ve got about three years to file or you lose the right to seek compensation.
Also a personal injury lawyer specializes in representing individuals who have been injured due to the negligence or wrongful conduct of others, helping them secure compensation for their losses.
New York follows a pure comparative negligence rule, meaning that a plaintiff can recover damages even if they are found to be partially at fault for their injury. But, the compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault. So, if the injured party is found to be, say, 25% at fault, their damages will be reduced by 25%. Seems fair.
No-Fault insurance is New York’s thing, meaning that personal injury protection (PIP) covers medical expenses and lost wages regardless of who was at fault. But, there are limits to this coverage. If an injury is serious enough, lawsuits can follow beyond the no-fault system.
How Philadelphia Handles Personal Injury Lawsuits
If New York is tough, Philly is rough. Philadelphians are basically ready for a fight no matter what. This is the town where a mascot beat up a 13 year old and was celebrated afterwards. Philly doesn’t mess around, you gotta be ready for a tussle at the drop of a hat. A Philadelphia personal injury lawyer is at the ready in these situations.
The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Pennsylvania is two years from the date of injury. Less time than New York, but two years is a reasonable time frame from injury to lawsuit. If you can’t scrape a case together in that time, you’re SOL.
Unlike New York, Philly follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This means that plaintiffs are only able to recover damages if they are less than 51% at fault. If they are found to be more than 51% at fault, then they get nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. So, if you’re injured in Philly and you want to file a suit, you better hope it wasn’t your fault.
Pennsylvania follows a choice no-fault insurance system for car accidents. Drivers have the freedom to opt between no-fault and traditional tort liability policies. A no-fault option covers medical expenses and wage recovery regardless of fault while traditional tort allows for a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for additional damages.
Variability of Injuries
While both major east coast cities, the type of injuries that occur between New York and Philadelphia vary a little bit. In NYC, the high population density and heavy reliance on public transportation lead to pedestrian accidents and slip-and-fall cases. New York’s infrastructure alone makes this tricky with plentiful subway stations and packed sidewalks. It’s easy to have these incidents in the city.
In Philadelphia, there is less reliance on public transportation as the city is much smaller. Though they share similar urban problems, there is much more suburban landscape in Philly than in NYC. Car accidents are far more prevalent than in New York due to that suburban environment.
New York vs. Philly
There’s always been tension between NYC and Philly. Especially after this last NBA season where the Knicks stopped being awful just in time for the Sixers’ star player to get injured. The legal frameworks that both cities work within as it relates to personal injury lawsuits are mostly similar but contain a few key differences. New York tends to be a little more forgiving to people who are at fault for their injuries while Philly couldn’t care less. Philadelphia has a more suburban landscape which makes it easier for car accidents to occur while New York has more pedestrians at risk for injury due to the high density population. If you’re going to be injured, which city would you prefer to reside in?
