Tim Rayne

Pennsylvania Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

Tim Rayne

Pennsylvania Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

Car Accident

Are Pennsylvania Uninsured/Underinsured Benefits Paid on a No-Fault Basis?

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Are Pennsylvania Uninsured/Underinsured Benefits Paid on a No-Fault Basis?

No, although Uninsured/Underinsured Benefits are coverage that you choose and pay for on your own Pennsylvania Car Insurance Policy, those benefits are not paid on a No-Fault basis.  Instead, in order to recover Uninsured or Underinsured Benefits you need to be able to prove that someone else caused the accident that led to your injuries and damages.

Car Insurance benefits that are paid on a No-Fault basis in Pennsylvania include Medical Benefits, Lost Income and Funeral/Accidental Death Benefits.  So, regardless of who caused the car accident, if you have paid for those benefits on your Car Insurance Policy, then you can recover them regardless of whether the accident was your fault or someone else’s fault.

However, in order to recover Uninsured/Underinsured Benefits from you own car insurance, you need to be able to prove that someone else caused the accident.

For more information on Uninsured or Underinsured Benefits or your legal rights after a Pennsylvania Car Accident, contact Pennsylvania Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer Tim Rayne at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out his website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.

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Accidents at Dangerous Intersection of Route 926 and Route 52 in Kennett Square Pennsylvania

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As a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer in Chester County Pennsylvania, Tim Rayne has helped hundreds of vehicle accident victims.  Over the past 25 years, Tim has seen accidents reoccur on certain roads and at certain intersections and one of those is the light at the dangerous intersection of Route 926 and Route 52 in East Marlborough Township outside of  Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Dangerous intersection Route 926 and Route 52
Dangerous Intersection Route 926 and Route 52

In the last 3 years, Tim Rayne has handled two serious crashes that occurred at the intersection of Route 926 and Route 52, one where a motorcycle rider was seriously injured when a van turned left in front of him and the other where a truck ran a red light causing a fatal collision with his client’s car.

The Route 926 and Route 52 intersection itself is tricky because traffic is often heavy and there is no turning lane for drivers on Route 52.  This makes drivers impatient and can lead to risky left hand turns that can cause collisions.  There is also a steep hill on 926 headed eastbound which increases speed and reduces braking distance.

If you live in this area of Chester County and drive these roads, please be careful.  If you happen to be involved in a crash, Tim Rayne can help you with your legal claim because of his experience with two previous cases that arose there.

Tim Rayne is a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County Pennsylvania law firm MacElree Harvey.  For over 25 years, Tim Rayne has been helping injured accident victims receive fair treatment and compensation from insurance companies.  Tim regularly handles Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents throughout Chester County and the entire Philadelphia area.  Contact Tim Rayne at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com.  

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Professional Football Player Dwayne Haskins Tragically Dies as Pedestrian on a Highway – What are the Legal Implications?

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On April 9, 2022, Dwayne Haskins, 24-year-old quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers was tragically killed as pedestrian in Fort Lauderdale Florida. For unknown reasons, Haskins was attempting to cross a major highway near the airport at approximately 6:30 AM when he was struck and killed by a dump truck. The truck driver stayed on scene and the police are investigating the accident. 

When a tragic death like this occurs, there potentially two legal proceedings that can take place, Criminal and Civil. 

Criminal Proceedings

Regarding Criminal proceedings, the police will conduct a full accident reconstruction. This will likely include pulling any “Blackbox” computer data from the truck to check the driver’s speed, steering and braking just before the crash. The police will use that data and scene evidence like skid marks to attempt to re-create the accident to determine whether there is any evidence of reckless driving that could lead to criminal charges against the truck driver. 

To be successful with criminal charges, the police and district attorney would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the truck driver was reckless and caused the death. 

Civil Claims

Haskin’s family could also consider pursuing a Civil Wrongful Death lawsuit against the truck driver and trucking company for his tragic death. In the civil case, the claim would be for recklessness or negligence and the family would have to prove by preponderance of the evidence (which is just a more likely than not standard), that the driver was reckless or negligent and caused Haskin’s death.

If the civil case went to trial, the jury would have to weigh the comparative fault between the truck driver and and Haskins himself. The truck driver’s lawyer could certainly argue that he was driving on a highway and never expected to encounter a pedestrian in the roadway and that at 6:30 in the morning, darkness would have limited his visibility. 

In my view, the key to the case will be the speed at which the truck was traveling. If the truck was traveling at or near the speed limit, it sounds like an extremely difficult case to win from the side of either the police or the family. However, if the truck driver was driving well over the speed limit, an argument can be made that, had he been driving more slowly and carefully, he could have seen and avoided Haskins and the death would have been prevented. 

Ultimately, if a civil case is tried, the jury will need to decide whether the truck driver was negligent and whether Haskins was negligent. If the jury finds that the truck driver was negligent he and his employer can be held liable for compensating the family for his untimely death. That compensation could be very substantial based upon Haskins high earnings as a professional football player.

Nevertheless, the ultimate compensation award would be reduced by any percentage fault assessed to Haskins for his negligence. So, if the jury found Haskins to be 50% responsible for causing the crash, the compensation the family would receive would be reduced by 50%.  This legal defense is called Comparative Negligence.

It’s very early to make any real predictions but, based upon what I have read so far, in my opinion this sounds like it is just a terrible tragedy and will be a tough legal case for the family to pursue.

Tim Rayne is a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County Pennsylvania law firm MacElree Harvey.  Tim helps injured accident victims understand their legal rights and receive fair compensation from insurance companies.  You can Contact Tim at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out his website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.  

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Limited Tort Exception – Car Registered Out-of-State

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Limited Tort Exception – Out-of-State Registered Vehicle

When you buy car insurance in Pennsylvania you have to select Full Tort or Limited Tort.

Full Tort is more expensive coverage, but protects your full legal rights to compensation if you are injured in a car accident caused by someone else.  You can recover Economic Damages, like Medical Bills and Lost Wages, and can also recover Non-Economic Damages, like money for Pain and Suffering and Disability.

Limited Tort is less expensive, but your legal rights to compensation are limited.  You can recover Economic Damages, but cannot recover Non-Economic Damages unless you suffer a Serious Injury (Death, Serious and Permanent Disfigurement or Serious Impairment of Body Function).

There are Exceptions to Limited Tort which provide that, under certain circumstances you can recover Non-Economic Damages even if you selected Limited Tort.

One of those Exceptions is if the driver responsible for causing the accident was driving a vehicle registered outside of the state of Pennsylvania.  So, if you select Limited Tort but then are injured in an accident involving a car registered in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland (which is common given our location) or some other state, then you can still recover Non-Economic Damages even if you have selected Limited Tort.

As a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer,I recommend that you have Full Tort not Limited Tort.  But even if you have Limited Tort, an Exception might apply that can save your rights to fair compensation if you are injured in a car accident caused by someone else.

To learn more about Pennsylvania Insurance issues or your legal rights after a Car Accident contact Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer Tim Rayne at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out his website at TimRayneLaw.com.  For over 25 years, Tim has been helping injured accident victims understand their legal rights and receive fair compensation from insurance companies.  Tim has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania and also meets with clients in their homes or virtually via Zoom or FaceTime.  

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Important Car Insurance Choices – Liability Coverage

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When you purchase Car Insurance in Pennsylvania one of the decisions you need to make is How Much Liability Coverage Do You Want?

What is Liability Coverage?

Liability Coverage is coverage that you buy in order to protect you if you or if someone you allow to drive your car makes a mistake while driving and causes an accident that hurts someone or damages property.  Liability Coverage requires that your insurance company must hire a lawyer to defend any legal claims against you and must pay compensation for any injuries or damages you cause – but only up to the amount of Liability Coverage that you chose and paid for.

How Much  is the Minimum Liability Coverage that You are Required to Carry?

In Pennsylvania, the minimum Liability Coverage is $5,000 for Property Damage and $15,000 per Person/$30,000 per Accident Bodily Injury.

That means that if you cause an accident an damage a car or some other property and you have the State Minimum Coverage, only $5,000 of Property Damage is covered.  Likewise, if you hurt one or more people and have the Minimum Bodily Injury Coverage, only $15,000 per Person and $30,000 total per Accident is available to be paid by your Insurance Company to make up for the injuries or deaths you cause.

You are probably thinking (and should be thinking) well that’s not enough!  And you would be correct.  Serious accidents can cause tens of thousands in Property Damage and hundreds of thousands in Bodily Injury damages.

How Much Liability Coverage Should you Purchase?

Having liability coverage makes your car insurance company responsible for assigning an adjuster to handle any claims against you and, if a lawsuit is filed, hiring and paying an attorney to defend you in that lawsuit. The insurance company also is obligated to pay compensation to the victims of the car accident that you caused up to the amount of your coverage.

When you purchase liability coverage you need to choose the “Limits” of your coverage. That is the amount that you choose to cover the damages that you cause. Having more than the minimum amount of coverage is advisable because if you cause a serious accident, it can easily resolve in damages well in excess of the minimum policy limits.

I recommend that everyone carry at least $50,000 of Property Damage coverage and $250,000 per person $500,000 per accident of Bodily Injury coverage.

I also recommend that you talk to your insurance agent about having an Umbrella Policy that would stack on top of your car insurance and homeowners insurance to provide even more protection you should happen to be negligent and cause an accident that results in catastrophic injuries.

So, check out your Car Insurance Policy and see how much Liability Coverage you have and if you have an Umbrella Policy.  If you don’t have the Limits I’ve recommended, please price an increase in Liability Limits to $50,000 for Property Damage $250,000 per person/$500,000 per accident Bodily Injury and a $1 or $2 Million Umbrella Policy.

Tim Rayne is a car accident and personal injury lawyer with the law firm of MacElree Harvey. For over 25 years, Tim has been helping people understand their legal rights and make appropriate car insurance choices. Tim is also been representing injured accident victims in courts throughout the area. Contact Tim at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com for a Free Consultation regarding your Car Accident or Personal Injury claim.

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Important Car Insurance Choice – Make Sure You Have Lost Income Benefits

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Make Sure You Have Lost Income Benefits on Your Pennsylvania Car Insurance

Lost Income Benefits are optional for Pennsylvania Car Insurance and, in my experience as a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer, a majority of people don’t purchase Lost Income Coverage.

Premiums for Lost Income Coverage are relatively inexpensive and there are many coverage options to choose from in terms of monthly and total maximum coverage.

One of the best features of Lost Income Coverage is that, like Medical Bill Coverage, it pays out on a No-Fault Basis.  This means that regardless of who is at fault for causing the accident, if you have lost income due to a vehicle-related accident, your insurance company has to pay your lost income up to the amount of your coverage.

In addition, the coverage applies to almost any vehicle-related accident, so if you are hurt as a driver or a passenger in a car, a pedestrian or bicycle rider hit by a car, or as a passenger of an Uber/Lyft or a bus, your own car insurance must pay your Lost Income.

Making a claim for Lost Income benefits will not increase your premiums if the accident was not your fault.  You paid for this coverage to protect yourself and your family so your insurance company cannot hold the claim against you unless your were at fault for causing the accident.

So, I recommend that you look at your Car Insurance Policy and make sure you have adequate Lost Income Coverage and, if you don’t, contact your insurance agent to add it immediately.

Check Out a Video on Lost Income Coverage

Tim Rayne is a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer practicing with the law firm MacElree Harvey in West Chester and Kennett Square Pennsylvania.  For over 25 years, Tim has made it his mission to educate on the importance of proper Car Insurance choices to protect your family after a Pennsylvania Car Accident.  If you have questions about your Car Insurance Policy or need advice after being injured in a Pennsylvania Car Accident, Contact Tim Rayne at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out Tim’s website www.TimRayneLaw.com.  

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