Filing a claim after a rear-end accident in Haverford typically starts with a police report, a prompt medical evaluation, notice to your own insurer, and records of your treatment and expenses. Fault usually turns on whether the driver behind you was following too closely, though Pennsylvania allows fault to be shared. You generally have two years from the date of injury to act.
Getting hit from behind is jarring, especially when your neck starts aching the next morning and the insurance calls have already started. The Haverford car accident lawyers at Silver & Silver can explain how a claim like this is evaluated and what your choices look like.
Pennsylvania’s Rule on Following Too Closely
Pennsylvania’s vehicle code has a section on following too closely, which says a driver “shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent,” given the speed of traffic and the condition of the road. What counts as reasonable changes with conditions, since stop-and-go traffic on the Blue Route calls for different spacing than an open stretch of Township Line Road.
That duty is a common starting point when an insurer or investigator evaluates a Haverford rear-end accident. It isn’t the whole analysis, though. What the driver in front did matters too, whether that was a sudden and unsafe stop, brake lights that were not working, or an unexpected reverse.
Fault Can Be Shared, and It Affects What You Recover
Fault in a rear-end crash isn’t always all on one driver. If your own stop was sudden and unsafe, or your brake lights weren’t working, an insurer can assign you part of the responsibility.
Under Pennsylvania’s rule on shared fault, whatever percentage lands on you comes off what you recover, and if you’re found more than 50 percent at fault, the claim is barred entirely. Some responsibility on your side doesn’t end a claim, but it does change how much you might get.
A car accident claim can account for medical expenses, lost wages, reduced future earning capacity, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, and vehicle damage. Each of those figures is reduced by the fault assigned to you, so a clear record of what happened and what it cost carries weight from the first insurance call onward.
What Filing the Claim Involves
The steps after a rear-end collision aren’t complicated, but they’re easy to let slide when you’re hurting and your car is in the shop. A few basics apply in most claims:
- Report the collision to police and request a copy of the report
- Get evaluated by a medical provider promptly, even if the symptoms seem mild
- Notify your own insurance company about the crash
- Save bills, treatment notes, and any record of time missed from work
Rear-end impacts tend to produce whiplash and neck strain, and they can injure the back or other soft tissue. Concussions are less common, but they happen. Some of these injuries don’t announce themselves for a day or two, which is why a prompt evaluation matters even when you feel mostly fine. The car accident attorneys at Silver & Silver handle collision claims across Delaware County and the rest of southeastern Pennsylvania, and much of that work is explaining what an insurer is asking for and what the record shows.
What Comes Next After Being Rear-Ended in Haverford
A rear-end crash rearranges an ordinary week fast. Appointments, repairs, missed work, and phone calls pile up while you’re still sore. Once you know how fault is looked at in Pennsylvania and what a claim can cover, you have a clearer sense of where you stand.
It’s natural to still feel shaken by a crash you never saw coming, and that feeling often outlasts the visible damage. For 45 years, Silver & Silver has represented injured people across Pennsylvania in personal injury matters. The firm also handles Social Security Disability claims in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Weeks later, the stiffness in your neck and back can still be there, and so can the question of how much room the driver behind you left. Contact us today to learn more.
Disclosure:
This website is designed to provide only general information. The information presented on this website is not formal legal advice. You should not rely on any general information from any source for making legal decisions. Each legal matter is unique and requires specific attention from a qualified attorney. Unless a representation agreement has been signed with the Law Offices of Silver and Silver, we are not your legal representatives.
