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.

It’s critical to make wise Pennsylvania Car Insurance Choices when you purchase or renew coverage. As a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer, I believe the following are some of the most important choices you can make to protect your family:

• Full Tort Not Limited Tort
• Increased Liability Limits
• Increased Medical Benefits
• Buy optional Lost Income and Funeral/Death Benefits
• Choose High Amounts of Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage
• “Stack” your Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage in a muli-vehicle Policy

For more advice Download my Book:

Tim Rayne, Car Accident Lawyer trayne@macelree.com 610-840-0124 www.TimRayneLaw.com

One of the most critical acts in a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Case is to make sure that the claim is filed in a timely manner so that you don’t lose your rights to compensation.

In almost all Personal Injury cases, the deadline for filing, or Statute of Limitations, is two years from the date of the incident. If claims are not properly filed in Court by then, your rights are forever extinguished.

Nevertheless, there are special rules that apply if the target of the Lawsuit, the Defendant, has died.

Can you Sue a Dead Person?

You cannot sue a dead person in Pennsylvania. Legally, the person no longer exists, so suing him/her is not proper. But, does that mean that the dead person’s insurance company or the dead person’s assets are immune and cannot be pursued? No.

A dead person’s Estate and any insurance policy covering the dead person for the incident can be forced to compensate a victim of an accident caused by the dead person.

In order to pursue the legal claim, the injured person must sue the Estate of the Dead person by bringing a claim against the Executor or Administrator of the Estate.

What if no Estate has been opened for the Dead person? How do you sue?

If no Estate has been opened for the dead person, then the lawyer for the injured person can open the Estate for the sole purpose of filing a lawsuit against it.

It may sound crazy, but it’s often necessary for the victim’s lawyer to open the Estate so that the dead person can be sued.

What if you Didn’t know the Defendant was dead and Sued too late?

Just because a Defendant dies, the time limitation for filing suit isn’t automatically extended. Consequently, if you wait until the last minute to file a lawsuit and mistakenly sue a dead person, you might be out of luck and your lawsuit might get dismissed.

When is the Statute of Limitations Extended in a Case Involving a Dead Person?

There is a statute in Pennsylvania, 20 Pa.C.S. 3383, that might extend the Statute of Limitations against a dead Defendant.

Section 3383 – Statutes of Limitations; claims not barred at death – states:

The death of a person shall not stop the running of the statute of limitations applicable to any claim against him, but a claim which would otherwise be barred within one year after the death of the decedent shall not be barred until the expiration of one year after his death. Nothing in this section shall be construed to shorten the period which would have been allowed by any applicable statute of limitations if the decedent had continued to live.

So, if the Defendant dies within one year of the expiration of the Statute of Limitations, the time limit is extended until one year from the date of death.

Presumably, this rule is meant to help the victim by giving extra time to locate the Estate or open the Estate so that the claim can be pursued.

Tim Rayne is a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County Law Firm MacElree Harvey, Ltd. For over 25 years, Tim has been helping accident victims understand their legal rights and receive fair treatment from insurance companies. Tim has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester and can be reached at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or you can check out his website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.

Jury Trials can be time consuming, risky and expensive. Many cases are better suited for Arbitration.

What is Arbitration and why is it better than a Jury Trial for some Pennsylvania Personal Injury cases?

What is Arbitration?

Arbitration is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution in which rather than take a Civil Case, like a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawsuit, to a Jury Trial, the parties agree to resolve it a different way.

Arbitration involves a hearing similar to a Trial and is usually binding, meaning that the Arbitrator’s decision ends the case.

The parties choose a neutral person, like an attorney or retired Judge, to act as a single Arbitrator, or they might choose a Panel of Three Arbitrators to hear the case. The parties often submit legal memoranda and documents in advance of the Hearing for the Arbitrator to review.

Then, a Hearing is schedule either live or virtually. Arbitration Hearings are similar to Trials in that they usually involve Opening Statements, Testimony and Cross Examination of Witnesses, Submission of Documents and other Evidence and Closing Arguments. Sometimes legal arguments are submitted after the Hearing. The Arbitration ends with the Arbitrator’s decision which is usually written and sent to the parties.

What are the Advantages of Arbitration?

Although for some cases a Jury Trial is preferable, the following are the benefits of Arbitration:

• A binding decision with no Appeal
• A quicker Hearing (I recently tried an Arbitration in 4 hours and the Jury Trial of that case would have taken 4 days)
• Decreased Costs (Often Expert Reports can be used rather that expensive live testimony of experts)
• Decreased Stress on Litigants (Arbitration is quicker and less formal than a Trial – putting less stress on the parties)
• Arbitrations can be Private and Confidential – while Jury Trials are Public Events.

Each case is unique so it’s impossible to predict with certainty how long it will take a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Claim to resolve.

In my 25 plus years of helping Pennsylvania Accident Victims I’ve had cases settle in 3 months or take as long as 5 years to resolve.

It’s unwise to try to settle a case too quickly because insurance companies won’t pay unless you sign a Release giving up all future claims. So if you settle your case but then have injuries resurface or worsen, you cannot get more compensation.

Because of the finality of a settlement, it’s important to know the full extent of your injuries and damages before your case is valued and settled.

Here are some factors that can impact the length of time it will take for your case to settle a Personal Injury Claim:

• The severity of your injuries;
• The length of your medical treatment;
• Whether your injuries are temporary or permanent;
• Whether it’s clear or questionable who caused the accident;
• Whether there is just one or more than one Defendant;
• The amount of insurance coverage and available assets of the Defendant;
• Whether your claim can be fairly settled or needs to be litigated;
• The backlog of the court where your case is venued; and
• The number of witnesses and experts involved in your claim.