Elizabeth M. Tarasi Personal Injury Law Blog on Lawyers.com

If you select 'full tort” coverage, you are preserving your family is full legal rights in case of an accident or injury. If you select 'limited tort” coverage, you may save some money, but you are signing away your and your family is rights in case of an accident or injury - rights you may later deeply regret forfeiting.

An individual who chooses "full" tort pays a higher premium (anywhere from 12% - 20% more) for coverage than if the "limited" tort option had been selected. If you have full tort, you can bring a claim (and ultimately a law suit) for any injury you suffer as a result of an automobile accident. An individual who chose the limited tort option can only recover very limited sums for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, but cannot collect at all unless the injuries are considered to be 'serious". The law defines "serious" injury very narrowly.

Serious injury is defined as a personal injury resulting in death, serious impairment of a bodily function or permanent serious disfigurement. Although the law has defined "serious injury", you can see from the definition that it is not altogether clear. Case after case has been litigated trying to further define just what the law means by serious impairment of a bodily function.

The recent trend of the courts has been to view most "soft tissue" injuries (neck and back sprains and strains) as insufficient to satisfy the serious impairment requirement. In many cases even broken bones and head injuries have been considered not to meet the law's definition of "serious", although they were certainly serious to the injured party. More and more, courts are finding against individuals who have selected the limited tort option. Some judges are looking at the injury and asking whether or not it resolved. Injuries that have healed and no longer cause pain are not considered serious. One plaintiff had a fractured elbow and missed three months of work. The injury healed and the court found against the limited tort plaintiff.

Although it is not impossible to win a claim if you select the "limited tort" option, it has become increasingly difficult. This means that the insurers are able to collect premium dollars on policies to which, they have greatly reduced their risk of loss. In fact, the insurers risk of paying on claims has been reduced at a much higher rate than the small rate reduction passed on to the consumer who selects the limited tort option. Unfortunately, the only way for an individual to protect him/herself is to pay the higher rates for full tort coverage.