A City sanitation truck, a Commonwealth vehicle or another government unit’s car changes the timetable of a Philadelphia crash claim. You still have the two-year period in section 5524 to start a lawsuit. You may also have to give a written statement much sooner, and damages may be capped even if you do everything right.
The notice rule is section 5522 of Title 42. The immunity exceptions and the caps live in Chapter 85 of the same title. Read them together. A late notice can end a claim that would otherwise have been timely under the two-year statute.
What has to be filed, and where
Section 5522(a) says that within six months from the date that any injury was sustained or any cause of action accrued, any person who is about to commence a civil action against a government unit for damages on account of any injury to person or property shall file a statement in writing, signed by or in his behalf, in the office of the government unit. If the action is against a Commonwealth agency for damages, the statement shall also be filed in the office of the Attorney General.
The statement must set forth five items. The name and residence address of the person to whom the cause of action has accrued. The name and residence address of the person injured. The date and hour of the accident. The approximate location where the accident occurred. The name and residence or office address of any attending physician.
If that statement is not filed, any civil action commenced against the government unit more than six months after the date of injury shall be dismissed, and the person to whom the cause of action accrued cannot proceed further in this Commonwealth or elsewhere. The court shall excuse a failure to comply upon a showing of reasonable excuse for failure to file the statement.
Softening rules for local agencies, not a reason to wait
When the civil action is against a government unit other than the Commonwealth government, three additional rules in section 5522(a)(3) apply. The time for giving written notice does not include time, not exceeding 90 days, during which an injured individual is unable, due to incapacitation or disability from the injury, to give notice. If the injuries result in death, the time for giving notice commences with that death. Failure to comply does not end the claim if the government unit had actual or constructive notice of the incident or condition giving rise to the claim.
Those provisions can save a claim in the right facts. They are a poor plan. If a City or Commonwealth vehicle was involved, put the six-month date on a calendar the week of the crash and prepare the statement with the five items the statute names.
Immunity, and the vehicle exception
Even a perfect notice does not automatically create a claim. Pennsylvania retains immunity for government units, then waives it only in stated exceptions. For a Commonwealth party, section 8522 says the defense of sovereign immunity shall not be raised to claims for damages caused by, among other things, the operation of any motor vehicle in the possession or control of a Commonwealth party. “Motor vehicle” in that paragraph means any vehicle which is self-propelled and any attachment thereto, including vehicles operated by rail, through water or in the air.
For a local agency, which section 8501 defines as a government unit other than the Commonwealth government, section 8542 allows liability for the operation of any motor vehicle in the possession or control of the local agency, using the same motor-vehicle definition. The local agency is not liable to a plaintiff who, during the course of the alleged negligence, was in flight or fleeing apprehension or resisting arrest by a police officer, or who knowingly aided a group engaged in that conduct.
The City of Philadelphia is a local agency under that definition. A Commonwealth department is a Commonwealth party. Which box a particular vehicle falls into is a question to confirm with a lawyer, because the notice path and the caps differ.
The damages caps
Claims against a Commonwealth party are limited by section 8528. Damages arising from the same cause of action or transaction or occurrence, or series of them, shall not exceed $250,000 in favor of any plaintiff or $1,000,000 in the aggregate. Recoverable damages are limited to the types named in the section, including past and future loss of earnings and earning capacity, pain and suffering, medical and dental expenses of the kind described there, loss of consortium and, with a stated exception, property losses.
Claims against a local agency are limited by section 8553. Damages arising from the same cause of action or transaction or occurrence, or series of them, shall not exceed $500,000 in the aggregate. Pain and suffering is recoverable only in the case of death, or in cases of permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent disfigurement or permanent dismemberment where the medical and dental expenses described in the section are in excess of $1,500. If a claimant receives or is entitled to receive benefits under a policy of insurance other than a life insurance policy as a result of losses for which damages are recoverable, the amount of those benefits shall be deducted.
How this fits the rest of the claim
The six-month statement does not replace the two-year period to commence the action under section 5524. It also does not replace the limited-tort rules in section 1705 or the fault rules in section 7102, to the extent they apply. Our deadline guide keeps the two clocks side by side.
If you think a public vehicle was involved, treat the written statement as urgent work, not as paperwork to get to after the insurance claim settles. A Pennsylvania lawyer who handles these claims can confirm the right office, the right addressee and whether the vehicle is a local or Commonwealth one, and can prepare a statement that tracks the statute.