Santorella v. Donegal Mutual Insurance
Jul 31, 2006OUTCOME: The medical bills of our client were made part of the claim against the at-fault driver.
Our client in this case was injured while a passenger in an insured vehicle but was also the owner of an uninsured vehicle which was registered in California. This raised a question as to the client's ... ability to receive payment of medical benefits from his family's insurance carrier when the client was injured in an accident in Pennsylvania. This was a unique case in that the uninsured vehicle was in no way involved in the collision where he was injured. The Common Pleas Court of Westmoreland County found in favor of our client but the insurance carrier appealed the case to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, in a reported decision, reversed the Common Pleas Court and determined that since our client did not maintain "financial responsibility," he could not collect first-party medical benefits. Santorella v. Donegal Mutual Insurance Company, 905 A.2d 534, 2006 Pa.Super. 202 (2006)
