The driver says I stepped out in front of them. Do I still have a case?

Usually yes. Pennsylvania is explicit at 75 Pa. C.S. § 3542(e) that the crosswalk right-of-way rules do not relieve a driver of the duty to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian on the roadway. Even where a pedestrian shares some fault for where or when they crossed, a driver who was speeding, distracted, or never braked carries the larger share. Event data recorder speed, the absence of pre-impact braking, and sight-line measurements typically reshape the initial account substantially.

Do cyclists have to ride in the bike lane or on the shoulder in Pennsylvania?

No. Under 75 Pa. C.S. § 3501 a rider has the rights and duties of the driver of a vehicle, and 75 Pa. C.S. § 3505 requires riding as near to the right as practicable only when traveling below the normal speed of traffic — with express exceptions for overtaking, preparing to turn left, and avoiding hazards including parked and moving vehicles, surface hazards, and substandard-width lanes. The statute also states that a rider is not required to use a shoulder. Taking the lane where it is too narrow to share safely is lawful.

What is Pennsylvania's four-foot passing law?

75 Pa. C.S. § 3303(a)(3) requires a driver overtaking a bicycle traveling in the same direction to pass at a careful and prudent reduced speed and at a distance of not less than four feet, and the Code permits crossing the center line to do it when safe. Because four feet is a specific measurable distance, it converts a vague dispute about carefulness into a concrete standard in sideswipe, buzz, and mirror-strike cases.

I wasn't wearing a helmet. Does that ruin my bicycle claim?

For an adult, no. Pennsylvania requires helmets only for riders under 12 under 75 Pa. C.S. § 3510, so there is no violation to hold against you. Carriers still raise it, framing it as a causation argument about the extent of head injury, and it is irrelevant entirely where your injuries were not to the head. It does not affect the driver's liability for causing the crash.

Can I recover if I was crossing outside a crosswalk?

Often yes, at a reduced amount. Crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk requires yielding to vehicles under 75 Pa. C.S. § 3543, so it can support a share of comparative fault. Under 42 Pa. C.S. § 7102 your recovery is reduced by your percentage and barred only if your share exceeds the defendants' combined share. Insurers routinely assign a percentage far higher than the facts justify, especially where the driver was speeding or distracted.

The driver fled. What happens now?

The claim moves to uninsured motorist coverage, which is designed for hit-and-run and unidentified drivers. Because you were not in a vehicle, the coverage usually comes from your own auto policy, a resident relative's policy in your household, or a stacked layer across multiple vehicles. At the same time I run the identification investigation — camera canvass, debris and part-number analysis, and body-shop inquiries. Camera footage is typically overwritten within one to four weeks, so this work has to start immediately.

I don't own a car. Is there any insurance for me?

Possibly, and it is worth checking carefully. Beyond the driver's liability policy and any commercial or delivery policy behind it, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under a resident relative's policy in your household can apply to you as a struck pedestrian or cyclist even though you own no vehicle. First-party medical benefits may also be available to pay treatment while the liability claim develops. This is the single most commonly missed source of recovery in these cases.

I tripped on a broken sidewalk or hit a pothole on my bike. Who is responsible?

It depends on who controlled the surface. Many Pennsylvania municipalities shift sidewalk maintenance to the abutting property owner by ordinance, which produces a private, uncapped defendant; the analysis then follows ordinary premises liability principles. Where a government entity is responsible for the sidewalk, crosswalk, signal, or roadway, the claim must fit a statutory immunity exception, written notice is generally required within six months under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5522, and damages are capped at $500,000 in the aggregate against a local agency under 42 Pa. C.S. § 8553(b) and at $250,000 per plaintiff against the Commonwealth under 42 Pa. C.S. § 8528(b).

How long do I have to file a pedestrian or bicycle accident claim?

Generally two years from the date of the crash under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524, with a minor's claim tolled until age 18. If a municipality, authority, or the Commonwealth may be responsible for a defect that contributed, the practical deadline is the six-month written notice requirement of 42 Pa. C.S. § 5522. Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims also carry their own contractual notice requirements, so waiting is never safe.

What does it cost to hire you?

Nothing up front. I handle pedestrian and bicycle cases on a contingency fee and advance the litigation costs, including reconstruction, human-factors, medical, and life-care experts. There is no fee unless I recover for you, and the first consultation is free and confidential.

Where would my Lehigh County pedestrian or bicycle crash case be filed?

Suit is ordinarily filed in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in Allentown, where venue is proper under Pa. R.C.P. 1006 if the crash or incident happened in Lehigh County or a defendant regularly conducts business there. Cases valued below the arbitration threshold are first heard by a board of arbitrators before any appeal to a judge and jury. Sean Quinlan litigates in county courts across Pennsylvania from the firm's Camp Hill office.

Which Lehigh County roads produce the most serious pedestrian or bicycle crashs?

The heaviest crash volume in Lehigh County tracks I-78, US-22, and Route 309, along with the local arterials feeding Allentown. Corridor matters: a high-speed limited-access crash, an intersection collision on a signalized arterial, and a rural two-lane roadway each generate different evidence — different reporting agencies, different camera availability, and different roadway-design questions. We investigate a Lehigh County case around where it actually happened.

What happens in the first two weeks of a Lehigh County pedestrian or bicycle crash claim?

The first two weeks decide most cases. In a Lehigh County matter, we secure intersection and business camera footage, confirm signal timing, and establish that limited tort does not restrict your claim because you were not occupying a private passenger motor vehicle. We also handle the insurer's contact so you are not giving a recorded statement while you are still being treated.

How long do I have to file a pedestrian or bicycle crash claim in Lehigh County?

Most Pennsylvania injury claims carry a two-year limitations period under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524, and that deadline is the same in Lehigh County as anywhere in the Commonwealth. Shorter deadlines apply when a government entity is involved: written notice within six months under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5522 for claims against a Lehigh County municipality, borough, or PennDOT. Call before you assume you still have time.

Does being partly at fault stop my Lehigh County claim?

No, unless your share of the fault exceeds that of everyone you are suing. Pennsylvania follows modified comparative negligence under 42 Pa. C.S. § 7102: you can recover as long as you are not more than 50% responsible, and your award is reduced by your percentage. A Lehigh County jury decides those percentages, and insurers routinely assign more fault than the evidence supports as an opening position.

Do I have to travel to meet a lawyer about a Lehigh County case?

No. We handle intake by phone and video for Lehigh County clients and travel to you when meeting in person matters. The consultation is free, the case is handled on a contingency fee, and there is no fee unless we recover money for you. Call (717) 724-7503.

Local Representation

Lehigh County, PA Personal Injury Lawyer

Name: Quinlan Law Group
Address: 3425 Simpson Ferry Rd #100, Camp Hill, PA, 17011, US
Telephone: (717) 724-7503
Price range: Contingency Fee — No Fee Unless We Win

Lehigh County is the heart of the Lehigh Valley, where I-78, US-22, and Route 309 carry one of the densest concentrations of warehouse and tractor-trailer traffic in Pennsylvania.

We accept cases throughout Lehigh County including Allentown, Bethlehem (Lehigh side), Emmaus, Macungie, Whitehall, and the surrounding townships.

Reviewed by Sean Quinlan, Esq. — attorney licensed in Pennsylvania (PA Attorney ID 86858)

Lehigh County content on this page is written and reviewed by Sean Quinlan, who handles injury and wrongful-death claims across Pennsylvania. About the attorney · Verify PA license

Lehigh County is warehouse country now, and that has changed the kind of injury cases I see out of Allentown, Whitehall, and Emmaus over the past decade. Tractor-trailers moving in and out of distribution centers off I-78 and Route 22 share the road with commuters who never chose to live next to a logistics hub. When a client calls me after a crash near one of these interchanges, I already know the defendant is likely to be a fleet operator with its own investigators and its own insurance playbook, so I move to lock down black box data and dashcam footage before it can be overwritten. Allentown's older city streets add a second layer of cases involving pedestrians and cyclists navigating narrow rowhome blocks never designed for today's traffic volume.

Where crashes happen in Lehigh County

I-78 and US-22 both run through Lehigh County carrying enormous volumes of interstate freight, and the interchange where the two roads meet near Allentown is one of the most congested and crash-prone points in the region. Route 309 running north-south through Whitehall and up toward the Trexlertown area combines commercial and commuter traffic with limited-access ramps that catch drivers off guard during sudden slowdowns. Tilghman Street and Hamilton Street in Allentown see frequent intersection collisions tied to dense city traffic and pedestrian crossings. Chestnut Street and Route 100 through Macungie and Emmaus carry warehouse-adjacent truck traffic into otherwise residential and small-town corridors, and I regularly handle cases from crashes at intersections along these roads where turning trucks fail to account for smaller vehicles in their blind spots.

Filing suit: venue and jurisdiction for Lehigh County claims

Lehigh County injury suits are filed in the Court of Common Pleas, 31st Judicial District, at the Lehigh County Courthouse on Hamilton Street in Allentown. Venue under Pa.R.C.P. 1006 and 2179 keeps most local crash claims in Lehigh County, since the wreck occurred here or the trucking company and its driver can typically be served within the county. Cases under the compulsory arbitration ceiling set by 42 Pa. C.S. § 7361 proceed to an arbitration panel before any trial listing, which often moves a smaller claim to resolution faster. Whatever track the case follows, the two-year statute of limitations in 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524 remains the hard deadline for filing suit, and warehouse and trucking litigation in particular benefits from starting well before that date approaches, given how much evidence a large carrier controls.

Emergency care and medical records in Lehigh County

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, operated by Lehigh Valley Health Network, is the region's major trauma center and typically receives the most severely injured patients from crashes throughout Lehigh County. I request the hospital's trauma activation records alongside the EMS run sheet as early as possible, since trucking defendants routinely dispute the severity or cause of an injury, and a clean, contemporaneous medical timeline makes that argument far harder for them to sustain.

Talk with a lawyer about your Lehigh County case

Warehouse traffic has made Lehigh County roads more dangerous, and the companies behind that traffic have lawyers ready the moment a crash is reported. You should have someone in your corner just as fast. The consultation is free, and there's no fee unless we win.

Where your case is filed

Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County

Lehigh County Courthouse
455 Hamilton Street
Allentown, PA 18101
31st Judicial District
610-782-3393

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Cities & county seat

Municipalities we serve in Lehigh County

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Lehigh County Practice Areas

Statewide practice-area guides

Broader Pennsylvania guides on each type of case we handle in Lehigh County.

Corridors, courts & trauma centers in Lehigh County

Deep-local guides for the highways, courthouse, and trauma care that matter to Lehigh County injury claims.

Neighboring counties we serve

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