If you have suffered a personal injury in Philadelphia, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. We are currently helping clients virtually by phone or video chat.
Are courts open?
Most personal injury cases in Philadelphia are settled with insurers.
In Pennsylvania, all courts of common pleas have been closed to the public by the Supreme Court of Philadelphia. The purpose is to comply with the state and nation-wide effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania’s website, as of today, April 16, 2020, the shutdown is in effect at least until May 1st except for some essential and emergency services. The website gives a “non-exhaustive” list of essential functions that outlines certain procedures for filing necessary documents to stop the tolling of a statute of limitation deadlines for certain matters.
This is an unprecedented time in the history of both Pennsylvania and the nation. Courts in the judicial districts in the state will have some minimal staff for those essential and emergency services but will remain closed to the general public.
Only the courts are shut down and many attorneys and law firms are still conducting business by having client meetings over the phone or by video conference. In this way, if you have an important legal matter that needs to be started, the attorney can begin working on the case during the shutdown, and then when the courts reopen, any filings or court hearing can take place then.
We understand that just because the courts are shut down, it doesn’t mean that your case is not important. We can take care of filings and court hearings later, but for right now, we can get started working on your case so you can get some peace of mind.