Hanover, PA Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Hanover, PA Motorcycle Accident Lawyer: The Short Answer

If you were hurt in a motorcycle crash in Hanover Borough or nearby Penn, West Manheim, Heidelberg or Conewago Township, Pennsylvania law generally gives you two years from the date of the crash to file an injury lawsuit. Pennsylvania's required $5,000 first-party medical benefit does not apply to motorcycle policies, and under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1714 the operator or occupant of a motorcycle cannot recover first-party benefits at all. Any optional medical coverage you bought on your motorcycle policy and your health insurance may matter more, and so does the at-fault driver's liability coverage and any uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage you bought. Quinlan Law Group, led by Sean P. Quinlan, a Pennsylvania attorney since 2001, can review your crash report, your policies and your injuries and explain your options. Call (717) 724-7503 to schedule a consultation.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Crash in Hanover

The first hours and days after a crash shape the claim that follows. If you are able, or if someone can help you:

• Call 911. A police response creates an official record, and an injured rider should be evaluated by EMS.
• Get medical care right away. Some injuries are not obvious at the scene. Records made close to the crash connect your injuries to it.
• Write down the investigating agency. Ask the officer which department is handling the crash and whether a report number is available. You will need it to request the report.
• Collect driver and insurance information. Get the other driver's name, license, plate and insurance company, plus names and phone numbers of witnesses.
• Photograph everything. Your bike, the other vehicle, the roadway, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, your gear and your visible injuries.
• Keep your gear. Do not throw away or repair your helmet, jacket, gloves or boots. They can be evidence of how the crash happened and what force was involved.
• Notify your own insurer, but be careful about recorded statements to the other driver's insurer until you understand your rights.
• Talk to a lawyer early, before evidence such as video footage is overwritten or vehicles are repaired.

Who Investigates Motorcycle Crashes in the Hanover Area

Which agency responds depends on exactly where the crash happened. The Hanover area includes a borough and several townships in two counties, each with its own police coverage.

Hanover Borough Police Department

Crashes inside Hanover Borough are generally handled by the Hanover Borough Police Department, 44 Frederick Street, Hanover, PA 17331 (phone 717-637-5575). The department states that reports for investigated crashes are available for a $15.00 fee (cash or check), and that they may be picked up in person Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or requested by mail with payment to the department's Frederick Street address. The department also notes that crashes settled between the parties and not investigated do not have reports available, which is one more reason to call police after any crash involving injury.

Penn Township Police Department (York County)

Penn Township surrounds Hanover Borough on the north, east and south. Its police department is located at 20 Wayne Avenue, Hanover, PA 17331, and lists (717) 637-8751 for incidents that are not in progress. Contact the department directly to ask how to request a crash report.

West Manheim Township Police Department

West Manheim Township Police Department is located at 2412 Baltimore Pike, Suite 300, Hanover, PA 17331. The department lists crash reports among its services; contact it for its current request procedure.

Heidelberg Township: Northern York County Regional Police

Heidelberg Township is a member municipality of the Northern York County Regional Police Department, which provides police service to the township.

Conewago Township (Adams County) Police Department

Conewago Township sits across the county line in Adams County. Its police department is at 541 Oxford Avenue, Hanover, PA 17331 (non-emergency (717) 624-2101), with records office hours Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Because Conewago Township is in Adams County, a crash there may involve Adams County courts rather than York County courts.

Pennsylvania State Police, Troop J, York Station

Some crashes are investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police. PSP Troop J covers Lancaster, Chester and York counties, and its York station is at 101 N Main St., York, PA 17403 (717-428-1011). For a crash the State Police investigated, a report can be requested online or by mail using Form SP 7-0015. PSP states that the fee is $22, that reports are available 15 days after the crash, and that reports may be obtained by any person involved in the crash, their attorney or insurer, and any government agencies involved. Mailed requests go with a money order or certified check payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to PA State Police, Crash Reports Unit, 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110.

Local Courts That May Handle Your Case

Magisterial District Courts in Hanover

Magisterial district courts handle matters such as traffic citations, and a citation issued to the other driver after a crash may be heard there. Two York County district courts sit in Hanover:

• District Court 19-1-03 – Magisterial District Judge Michael R. Gessner, 203 Dart Drive, Hanover, PA 17331 (717-632-4565). Under the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's reestablishment order for York County's magisterial districts, Hanover Borough is assigned to this district.
• District Court 19-3-05 – Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey A. Sneeringer, 20 Wayne Avenue, Suite 2, Hanover, PA 17331 (717-632-0618). The same order lists Heidelberg, Manheim, Penn and West Manheim townships in this district.

Conewago Township in Adams County is served by District Court 51-3-02, the Honorable Christopher A. Snyder, 45D West Hanover Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325 (717-334-7810).

York County Court of Common Pleas

A personal injury lawsuit from a Hanover-area crash in York County may be filed in the York County Court of Common Pleas, depending on venue rules. The court sits at the York County Judicial Center, 45 N George Street, York, PA 17401. The York County Prothonotary's office is at the same address (717-771-9611). For a crash in Conewago Township, the Adams County Prothonotary is located in the Adams County Courthouse, 117 Baltimore Street, Room 104, Gettysburg, PA 17325.

Hospitals and Trauma Care Near Hanover

• UPMC Hanover, 300 Highland Ave., Hanover, PA 17331, is a full-service acute care hospital located off Route 94 and Charles Street, with an emergency department.
• WellSpan York Hospital, 1001 South George Street, York, PA 17403, is accredited by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation as a Level I Adult Trauma Center.
• Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA 17033, is accredited by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation as a combined Adult Level I and Pediatric Level I Trauma Center.

Your medical records, from the ambulance run sheet through follow-up care, are central evidence in any injury claim. Ask for copies and keep a list of every provider you see.

Fatal crashes. The York County Coroner's Office is located at 3400 Concord Road, York, PA 17402 (717-840-7617). When a rider is killed, the family or estate may have claims arising from the death, and the same two-year limitations period in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2) covers actions for "the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another."

Main Roads Through Hanover

Three state routes run through downtown Hanover: Route 94 (Carlisle and Baltimore Streets), Route 116 (including Frederick Street, Broadway and York Street) and Route 194 (including Frederick Street and Broadway). If your crash happened on one of these routes, the exact location matters: it determines which police agency investigated, which magisterial district court hears any citation, and which county's courts may handle a lawsuit.

Pennsylvania's Motorcycle Helmet Law

Pennsylvania's helmet rule is in 75 Pa.C.S. § 3525. Subsection (a) provides that, except as provided in subsection (d), "no person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle or a motor-driven cycle (other than a motorized pedalcycle) unless he is wearing protective headgear which complies with standards established by the department."

Subsection (d) says the helmet requirement does not apply to:

• "A person 21 years of age or older who has been licensed to operate a motorcycle for not less than two full calendar years."
• "A person 21 years of age or older who has completed a motorcycle rider safety course approved by the department or the Motorcycle Safety Foundation."
• "The passenger of a person exempt under this subsection if the passenger is 21 years of age or older."
• The operator or any occupant of a three-wheeled motorcycle equipped with an enclosed cab.

Separately, subsection (b) requires an eye-protective device of a type approved by the department, with limited exceptions; the age and experience exceptions in subsection (d) apply only to the helmet requirement in subsection (a).

Does not wearing a helmet hurt my injury claim?

Section 3525 does not say anything about how helmet use affects a civil claim for damages. Pennsylvania's comparative negligence statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), provides that a plaintiff's own negligence "shall not bar a recovery" where it "was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants," but that damages "shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff." How, or whether, helmet use is considered in a particular case is a fact-specific legal question, and an attorney can confirm how this applies to your case.

Insurance Issues Specific to Pennsylvania Motorcyclists

First-party medical benefits

Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law defines "first party benefits" as "Medical benefits, income loss benefits, accidental death benefits and funeral benefits" (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702). The statute that requires a $5,000 medical benefit, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1711(a), applies to policies covering motor vehicles "except recreational vehicles not intended for highway use, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles or motorized pedalcycles or like type vehicles." In plain terms, the law does not require a motorcycle policy to include that medical benefit. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1714 adds that an "operator or occupant of a recreational vehicle not intended for highway use, motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, motorized pedalcycle or like type vehicle required to be registered under this title cannot recover first party benefits." That limit is written as a bar on the rider, not only on the motorcycle policy, so a rider should not assume a car insurance policy's first-party benefits will pay either. Any optional medical payments coverage on your motorcycle policy and your health insurance are the places to look, so the declarations page matters.

Limited tort and full tort

Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d), a person bound by the limited tort option can recover economic loss but, "Unless the injury sustained is a serious injury," is "precluded from maintaining an action for any noneconomic loss," subject to listed exceptions. A "serious injury" is "A personal injury resulting in death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement" (§ 1702). The tort election is tied to "private passenger motor vehicle" policies, and § 1702 defines a private passenger motor vehicle as "A four-wheel motor vehicle" meeting certain conditions. Section 1705(d)(3) also provides that a person otherwise bound by limited tort "shall retain full tort rights if injured while an occupant of a motor vehicle other than a private passenger motor vehicle." How these provisions apply to a rider who also owns a car insured under a limited tort policy depends on the facts and the policies involved, and an attorney can confirm how this applies to your case.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1731(a), insurers must offer uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage, but "Purchase of uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages is optional." UM coverage protects people injured by owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles; UIM coverage protects people injured by owners or operators of underinsured motor vehicles. When the at-fault driver has little or no insurance, whether you have these coverages can matter a great deal.

Compensation That May Be Available

Every case is different, and no outcome can be predicted. Depending on the facts, the insurance involved and your tort election, an injured rider may be able to seek:

• Medical expenses, past and future
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering and other noneconomic loss (subject to the tort option rules above)
• Property damage to the motorcycle and riding gear
• In fatal cases, claims on behalf of the family and the estate

Common Mistakes After a Motorcycle Crash

• Not calling police. Hanover Borough Police note that crashes settled between the parties and not investigated do not have reports available.
• Delaying treatment. Gaps in care give insurers room to argue your injuries came from something else.
• Giving a recorded statement too soon to the other driver's insurer.
• Repairing or disposing of the bike or gear before it has been documented.
• Assuming your motorcycle policy, or your car policy, will pay your medical bills the way car insurance pays after a car crash. As explained above, Pennsylvania law bars motorcycle riders from recovering first-party benefits.
• Posting about the crash on social media.
• Waiting too long. The two-year deadline runs whether or not settlement talks are underway.

Why Act Now: The Two-Year Deadline

Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, "The following actions and proceedings must be commenced within two years," including "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." If a lawsuit is not filed in time, the claim can be lost. Some claims have additional requirements. For example, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a) generally requires written notice to a government unit "Within six months from the date that any injury was sustained" before suing it. Do not assume you have the full two years. Evidence also fades: video can be overwritten, vehicles get repaired, and witnesses become harder to find.

What Happens Next

• Consultation. We talk through what happened, your injuries and your insurance.
• Investigation. We request the crash report from the investigating agency, gather medical records, and review every policy that may apply, including UM/UIM coverage.
• Claim presentation. Once your medical picture is clearer, we present the claim to the responsible insurers.
• Negotiation or litigation. If the claim does not resolve, a lawsuit may be filed in the appropriate Court of Common Pleas before the deadline.

Talk to a Hanover Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

A motorcycle crash can leave you with serious injuries, a damaged bike and insurance rules that do not work the way most people expect. Quinlan Law Group is based in Camp Hill, and attorney Sean P. Quinlan has been a Pennsylvania attorney since 2001. If you or a family member was hurt in a motorcycle crash in Hanover, Penn Township, West Manheim, Heidelberg or Conewago Township, call (717) 724-7503 to schedule a consultation. This page provides general information, not legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.