If you make a mistake and cause a Car Accident that injures someone, then your Car Insurance Company has two responsibilities: Defense and Indemnity.

Car Insurance Duty to Defend

The first duty that your Car Insurance Company has is to take over defending you from any claims.

Before a Lawsuit is filed in Court, your Car Insurance Company will assign one or more adjusters to investigate your accident and value and negotiate claims.

If a Lawsuit gets filed against you, then your Car Insurance Company must pay to hire a lawyer to defend the Lawsuit.

Car Insurance Duty of Indemnity

In addition to providing you with a defense regarding any claims arising out of the accident, your Car Insurance Company also has a duty to pay fair compensation to the victim to make up for injuries and damages, but only up to the amount of Liability Coverage that you purchased.

In Pennsylvania you pay for two types of Liability Coverage, Property Damage and Bodily Injury. Property Damage pays for damages to other vehicles or things and Bodily Injury pays for injuries to people.

In Pennsylvania, drivers are required to carry at least $5,000 in Property Damage coverage and Bodily Injury coverage of at least $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident, but you can (and should) choose to purchase much higher amounts.

If you cause a Car Accident, then your Car Insurance Company must negotiate in Good Faith with the injured person and pay fair compensation for Property Damage and Injuries up to the amount of coverage. If the claims are worth in excess of the coverage, then you may face claims against your personal assets.

If you feel that your Car Insurance Company is not negotiating in Good Faith with the victim, you can tell the attorney or adjuster or you can hire your own lawyer to protect your assets.

Ultimately, if your insurance company fails to settle the claims against you within your policy limits and the trial results in a verdict in excess of your coverage, then you may have a Bad Faith claim against your insurance company to force it to pay the excess verdict and other damages.

You can learn more about Car Insurance issues by downloading my Free Book – Protecting Your Family From Accidents or contact me at trayne@macelree.com or 610-840-0124. Check out my website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.

At the end of every Personal Injury case I get to give almost all of my clients a pleasant and surprising response to the question: What is the Tax Rate on my Personal Injury Settlement or Verdict? The Answer is usually ZERO!

Personal Injury Settlements and Verdicts are Not Income – Settlements and Verdicts are Compensation to Make Up for Injuries

The IRS and State Governments, like the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, tax all forms of Income. PA has a fixed rate and the IRS has a progressive rate based upon income.

However, Personal Injury Settlements and Verdicts are not considered to be Income and, consequently, are not Taxable.

Personal Injury claims based upon physical injuries are supposed to provide compensation to victims to make up for harms and losses including medical bills, lost income, physical and emotional pain and suffering, disability and scarring and disfigurement.

The IRS considers this money as compensation for harm, not Income, so tax is not due.

Beware of Exceptions that Can make Settlements and Awards Taxable

Despite the general rule that Personal Injury claims are not taxable, there are several possible exceptions that can make Injury Settlements or Verdicts taxable including:

• Settlements or Verdicts not involving Personal Injury or Sickness
• An additional award of Punitive Damages
• Wrongful Death Cases

It’s important to have an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer to ensure that you know whether or not there will be tax consequences at the end of your Personal Injury case.

Slip and Fall Accidents cause serious injuries and can result in liability for Property Owners and Managers. To successfully pursue an Injury Claim, the victim must prove Negligence on the party of the party responsible for the Property, which normally requires proof that it had Actual Notice or Constructive Notice of a dangerous condition and failed to take reasonable steps to correct it before the accident.

Why is Notice Required?

Property Owners are not automatically held liable for all injuries on the property. It’s considered to be unfair to hold a Property Owner responsible for an injury unless it Knew (Actual Notice) or Should Have Known (Constructive Notice) about the Dangerous Condition and had the ability to fix the condition and prevent the accident.

What is Actual Notice?

Actual Notice exists when the Property Owner created the condition or actually knew about it before the Accident.

What is Constructive Notice?

Constructive Notice exists when the condition was present for a period of time such that the Property Owner should have known about it if it had been exercising reasonable care and could have made it safe before the accident.

So, to prove Constructive Notice you would want to investigate surveillance or security video, if available, to try to pinpoint when the dangerous condition was created. You would also investigate what policies the property owner had concerning inspection and maintenance of the property and whether those policies were followed.

Proving Notice can be a challenge in many Personal Injury cases so it’s important to retain competent legal counsel to represent your interests.