Out-of-State Driver Accident: How a Crash With a Visiting Driver Changes Your Claim

Can you sue an out-of-state driver for a crash in Pennsylvania?

Yes. A driver from another state who causes a crash here can be sued in Pennsylvania, because Pennsylvania courts can reach a person who causes harm through an act in this Commonwealth (42 Pa.C.S. § 5322(a)(3)). If you are bound by limited tort, a crash caused by a driver of a car registered in another state also lets you recover as if you had full tort (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1)(ii)).

That second rule surprises people. It can turn a claim limited to medical bills and wages into one that includes pain and suffering, without any serious-injury showing.

The limited tort exception, in plain terms

Normally, a person bound by limited tort cannot recover for pain and suffering unless the injury is a serious injury. Section 1705(d)(1) lists at-fault driver situations that remove that limit. One of them is when the person at fault is operating a motor vehicle registered in another state.

Notice the wording. It turns on where the vehicle is registered, not where the driver lives. A Pennsylvania resident driving a car with Delaware plates can trigger it, and a New Jersey resident driving a Pennsylvania-registered car may not. The registration on the crash report and the plate photos you take at the scene matter.

• Photograph the plate, including the state name.
• Confirm the registration state on the police crash report.
• Note whether the car was a rental, a company car or a borrowed car, since fleets often register vehicles out of state.

Who pays your medical bills

Nothing about the other driver's home state changes where your medical bills go first. Pennsylvania's priority rules send you to your own policy's first-party benefits if you are a named insured, then to a household policy (75 Pa.C.S. § 1713). Every Pennsylvania policy includes at least $5,000 in medical benefits (§ 1711).

Your claim for pain and suffering, lost income beyond your benefits and other losses goes against the out-of-state driver's liability insurance.

Dealing with an out-of-state insurer

The other driver's insurer may be based anywhere, and its adjusters may be unfamiliar with Pennsylvania's tort options. Some will assume your limited tort election caps your claim without checking the vehicle registration. Others will apply their home state's habits to fault questions. Pennsylvania law generally governs a crash that happens here, including modified comparative negligence under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102.

Liability limits also vary by state. If the other driver carries low limits and your losses are larger, your own underinsured motorist coverage may be the next source of payment.

Where the case is filed

A crash on the Blue Route in Delaware County is usually filed in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas in Media. A crash on the Schuylkill Expressway or Roosevelt Boulevard usually belongs in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas at City Hall. You generally do not have to travel to the other driver's state to bring your claim.

Delaware County sits between Philadelphia, Delaware and the New Jersey bridges, so drivers from neighboring states pass through on US-1, I-476 and Baltimore Pike every day.

Practical problems and how we handle them

Out-of-state drivers can be harder to reach after the crash, and some leave the area before police finish. Get their license, address, insurer and policy number at the scene, and a photo of the insurance card. If the driver left without stopping, our hit-and-run page explains your options.

Sometimes the out-of-state insurer disputes coverage, or the driver turns out to have no insurance at all. An at-fault driver who has not maintained the financial responsibility Pennsylvania requires is a separate limited tort exception (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)(1)(iv)), and your own uninsured motorist coverage, if you carry it, may pay for the losses the driver cannot.

Pennsylvania generally allows two years to file suit (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524), but out-of-state service and coverage letters take time, so start early. Warren I. Siegel, a Pennsylvania lawyer since 1992 and also admitted in New Jersey and Colorado, can review the registration, the policies and your tort election. The fee is 100% contingency: no attorney fee unless we recover, all case costs advanced by the firm and repaid only from a recovery. Call (267) 412-4601 or send the free case review form.