Archive for the ‘John P. Finnerty’ Category

Pennsylvania personal injury attorney John Finnerty serves as a lector at Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Church, Minooka, PA

As an Officer of the Minooka Babe Ruth Association, personal injury attorney, John Finnerty of DLP Law, recently led the effort to secure an adjacent parcel of land from a generous donor for future expansion of the Association’s athletic complex.

Attorney John Finnerty is a 2009 and 2010 Recipient of the Equal Access to Justice Award from Lackawanna Pro Bono, Inc. for volunteer efforts in representing indigent clients.

As President of the Minooka Neighborhood Association, personal injury Attorney John Finnerty of DLP Law has been working with the City of Scranton in designing and implementing over $100,000 in repairs and improvements to the Billy Barrett Playground.

Pennsylvania personal injury Attorney, John Finnerty of DLP Law, is past Chairman of St. Joseph’s Church’s Annual Picnic

Pennsylvania personal injury attorney John Finnerty, of DLP Law, is active in coaching youth baseball and basketball. Stop down to the Minooka Baseball fields or Minooka Basketball courts to catch him in action.

You may not often worry about it, but you should be aware that there are thousands of uninsured and underinsured drivers traveling on Pennsylvania roadways.  An uninsured motorist is a person who has no auto insurance to cover damages he causes in a motor vehicle accident.  An underinsured motorist is a person who has limited auto insurance coverage, but the amount of such coverage is not sufficient to cover all the damages he caused in a motor vehicle accident.

The only way to insure that you will be fairly compensated for all injuries and damages you may suffer in a motor vehicle accident caused by an uninsured driver or underinsured driver is to purchase a sufficient amount of uninsured motorist (UM) insurance coverage and underinsured motorist (UIM) insurance coverage on your own auto insurance policy.  Remember, UM and UIM coverage protects you.  Therefore, you should make sure you have it.  Your auto insurance carrier must allow you to purchase these coverages in an amount up to the amount of your liability coverage (liability coverage is coverage which protects you for damages you cause to others).  UM/UIM coverage is relatively inexpensive.  In order to adequately protect yourself, you should purchase UM/UIM coverage in an amount equal to you liability limits.  Indeed, there is no reason for you to purchase a higher amount of coverage to cover damages suffered by others than to cover damages suffered by you.

Another term you should be aware of when purchasing UM/UIM coverage is stacking.  Stacking allows you to exponentially increase your UM/UIM coverage by multiplying the number of vehicles insured on your policy by the stated UM/UIM policy limit amount.  In contrast, if you waive stacking, your UM/UIM policy limit is limited to the stated UM/UIM policy limit amount.  For example, if you have three vehicles insured on your policy, your stated UM/UIM per person limit is $100,000 and stacking applies, your UM/UIM coverage is $300,000 per person.  However, using this same example, had you waived stacking, your UM/UIM coverage would be limited to $100,000 per person.  The cost to stack UM/UIM benefits is relatively cheap so you should definitely purchase this coverage in order to adequately protect yourself.

You should periodically check your auto insurance coverage to make sure your coverages are adequate for your current situation in life.  If you have any questions regarding what various coverages are or what various coverage amounts should be considered, feel free to contact DLP for a free no obligation consultation.

John P. Finnerty, Esquire

When purchasing auto insurance, many consumers do not know what different coverages they need to protect themselves nor do they understand what benefits their policy can provide to them if they are injured in an accident.  At a minimum, all drivers should be aware of the difference between “full tort” coverage and “limited tort” coverage.

A motorist who selects ”full tort” coverage retains the right to recover economic (reimbursement for medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering) for injuries suffered in an accident against the driver who caused an accident (or his insurance company).  In contrast, subject to some exceptions that are beyond the scope of this article, a person who chooses “limited tort” coverage waives his/her right to recover non-economic damages (pain and suffering) for injuries suffered in an accident.

Most people do not think about the tort option they have selected on their auto insurance policy until after an accident occurs.  However, by that time it is too late.  You can not retroactively change your tort selection on your auto policy.  If you are injured in an auto accident and you have “limited tort” coverage in effect, you will not be able to recover any damages for the pain and suffering you endure against the driver who is at fault for causing the accident (or his insurance company).

The cost difference in policy premiums between “full tort” and “limited tort” is usually not very substantial.  Based on statistics regarding auto accidents, all drivers are exposed to a very real risk of being involved in and injured in a car accident.  Therefore, in order to protect yourself to ensure that you can recover damages for all of the injuries you may suffer in an auto accident, you should check your auto policy coverages today. If you do not currently have “full tort” coverage, call your insurance agent and instruct him/her to switch your coverage to “full tort” immediately.  It may be the smartest money you ever spent.

By: John P. Finnerty, Esq.