Philadelphia Legal Newspaper Features Dan Siegel’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court Auto Law Case

Today’s Legal Intelligencer, the daily newspaper for Philadelphia’s legal community featured the case of Erie Insurance v. Bristol, for which Attorney Daniel J. Siegel serves as counsel for Mr. Bristol. The article focuses on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case and the court’s ruling will impact virtually every uninsured and underinsured motorist claim in Pennsylvania. The Court will decide whether a person seeking uninsured motorist benefits from his or her insurance company must file a Petition or lawsuit to toll the statute of limitations, or whether there is no need for such a filing when an insurance company agrees to arbitrate, or takes other actions demonstrating its agreement to arbitrate.

An uninsured motorist claim arises when a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident and the negligent/responsible party either has no auto insurance or left the scene of the accident and cannot be identified. In those cases, persons purchasing uninsured motorist coverage receive benefits from their own insurance company.

An underinsured motorist claim arises when a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident and the negligent/responsible party does not have enough insurance coverage to compensate the victim fully. In those cases, persons purchasing underinsured motorist coverage receive benefits from their own insurance company for the excess amount they are entitled to for their injuries.

The article quoted attorney Dan Siegel, who summarized the case by stating that “The issue is, if there’s an agreement, why would you have to file a petition to compel a party to agree to do something they already agreed to do?” Siegel also noted that “The Supreme Court saw the argument and accepted it on broader terms than we even asked them to.”

Siegel is the founder of the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC, which assists lawyers throughout Pennsylvania with trial and appellate writing and other matters. The firm regularly appears before Pennsylvania’s appeals court and is a go-to firm for lawyers throughout the Commonwealth who need advice on how to handle their cases, including personal injury, workers’ compensation, motor vehicle accidents, and other civil litigation matters. The firm also regularly represents individuals with personal injury, workers’ compensation and other claims. Siegel is the author of numerous books, including Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Law: The Basics: A Primer for Lawyers, Workers, Medical Professionals & Others, an up-to-date and easy-to-understand guide to Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law, practice and procedure. The book is designed to be used as a desk reference by injured workers, employers, attorneys, paralegals, claims adjusters, self-insured employers and vocational rehabilitation workers. important guidance for litigants and courts.T