Suing for More Than Insurance Paid in Pennsylvania Small Claims Court

Attorney Answer

Yes, Pennsylvania's small claims court can hear a claim for more, up to $12,000. But what “more” you can claim depends on a choice you made when you bought your own policy, full tort or limited tort. And before you file, check that nothing you sign with the insurer ends the claim first.

Pennsylvania's small claims court is the magisterial district judge. 42 Pa.C.S. § 1515(a)(3) gives those courts jurisdiction over:

Civil claims, except claims against a Commonwealth party as defined by section 8501 (relating to definitions), wherein the sum demanded does not exceed $12,000, exclusive of interest and costs, in the following classes of actions:

A car-crash claim falls within those classes. If your losses are larger than $12,000, the same section lets you give up the excess to stay in that court, or you can bring the whole claim in the court of common pleas.

What “additional money” can mean. There are two kinds of loss:

Economic loss: wages you lost, out-of-pocket costs, anything the insurance payments have not covered. - Noneconomic loss: pain and suffering, inconvenience.

Your tort option decides the second kind. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(c), a person with full tort:

Each person who is bound by the full tort election remains eligible to seek compensation for noneconomic loss claimed and economic loss sustained in a motor vehicle accident as the consequence of the fault of another person pursuant to applicable tort law.

Under § 1705(d), a person with limited tort:

Each person who elects the limited tort alternative remains eligible to seek compensation for economic loss sustained in a motor vehicle accident as the consequence of the fault of another person pursuant to applicable tort law. Unless the injury sustained is a serious injury, each person who is bound by the limited tort election shall be precluded from maintaining an action for any noneconomic loss, except that:

“Serious injury” is defined in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702:

"Serious injury." A personal injury resulting in death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement.

The other driver's lack of a license is not one of the limited-tort exceptions. § 1705(d)(1) restores full-tort rights if the driver at fault was convicted of or accepted ARD for DUI in that accident, was driving a car registered in another state, intended to injure, or “has not maintained financial responsibility.” Being unlicensed is not on that list. If the other driver was uninsured, though, that last exception may apply.

One more statute may matter: who owned the car. If the unlicensed driver was driving someone else's car with permission, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1574 may reach the owner:

No person shall authorize or permit a motor vehicle owned by him or under his control to be driven upon any highway by any person who is not authorized under this chapter or who is not licensed for the type or class of vehicle to be driven. (b) Penalty.-- Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) is guilty of a summary offense and shall be jointly and severally liable with the driver for any damages caused by the negligence of such driver in operating the vehicle.

Before you sign anything with the insurer, read what it releases. A release given in exchange for the car payment may be limited to property damage, or it may be written broadly enough to end an injury claim too. The difference is in the document's wording.

What you can do

1. Find your tort option on your policy's declarations page.

2. List every loss the insurance payments have not covered, with receipts.

3. Before signing any release, read whether it covers only the car or “all claims.”

4. Ask a local lawyer whether filing in small claims would limit a larger claim you might have, before you file.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for injuries must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, which covers “An action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another.” A claim for property is subject to the same two years under § 5524(3).