Not every accident involves just two cars. When three or more vehicles collide, figuring out who’s at fault—and who’s responsible for damages—can get messy fast. In Pennsylvania, multi-vehicle crashes, or pileups, often raise serious questions about legal accountability. That’s where we come in.
What Causes Multi-Vehicle Crashes?
Pileups are often tied to bad weather: heavy fog, snow, black ice, and sudden downpours. But poor road conditions don’t cause accidents on their own. Negligence plays a part more often than not—like drivers going too fast for conditions or failing to leave enough space to stop.
In March 2022, a snow squall caused a massive pileup on Interstate 81 in Mercer County. Six people lost their lives. The crash involved 41 passenger vehicles and 39 commercial trucks. In Fort Worth, Texas, a similar crash happened in February 2021—133 vehicles, three fatalities. In that case, investigators found the road wasn’t properly treated for ice.
Whether it’s poor maintenance, speeding, or both, most pileups could have been prevented.
The Unique Challenge of Multi-Vehicle Accidents
If you've been in a multi-car crash—even if it wasn’t as massive as those above—you may already know: the recovery process is anything but simple. Multiple drivers. Multiple insurance companies. Multiple points of impact.
It’s not just about who hit who. It’s about what each person did—or didn’t do—to contribute to the pileup. That’s why these cases are among the most complex we handle.
Common Injuries in Multi-Vehicle Accidents
The forces in a multi-vehicle crash are chaotic and compounded. Victims are often hit more than once, from multiple angles. The result? Serious, sometimes permanent, injuries.
We often see:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Internal bleeding or organ damage
- Crushed or broken limbs
- Burns from fires or explosions
These injuries can upend a person’s life. Our job is to ensure insurance companies don’t ignore that reality. For more information on delayed symptoms and their impact, read our blog on What If Pain After a Car Accident Was Delayed?.
Pennsylvania’s Comparative Negligence System
In Pennsylvania, more than one person can share the blame for a crash. That’s because we follow a modified comparative negligence rule. In a multi-vehicle accident, each party’s share of fault is assigned as a percentage.
If you’re found to be less than 51% at fault, you can still recover compensation. That amount will just be reduced by your percentage of fault. So, if you're 20% at fault and your damages total $100,000, you’d still be eligible to recover $80,000. For a deeper understanding of this system, check out our article on What Is Modified Comparative Negligence in Pennsylvania?.
How Insurance Companies Handle Multi-Vehicle Claims
The more vehicles involved, the more insurance companies show up to point fingers. Every insurer wants to reduce what they owe. That means it’s not uncommon for blame to be passed around—and for victims to be shortchanged.
Insurance companies may:
- Delay their decision on your claim
- Downplay the severity of your injuries
- Blame you to avoid paying out
Without an attorney, it’s easy to get buried in that red tape. If you've faced such challenges, our blog on Was Your Insurance Claim Denied? Here's How to Fight It offers valuable guidance.
Can You Still Recover Compensation if You Were Partially at Fault?
Yes—and this is where many people give up too soon. Even if you made a mistake, you could still be entitled to compensation.
Our job is to:
- Make sure your role is accurately represented
- Push back on exaggerated fault assignments
- Highlight what others did to cause the crash
You shouldn’t have to bear more than your share of the blame—or the burden of your recovery.
Why Legal Help Makes a Difference
Multi-vehicle crashes are a legal maze. We help you find your way through by bringing in the tools and experts needed to reconstruct what happened.
At Handler, Henning & Rosenberg, we:
- Launch independent investigations
- Work with crash reconstruction experts
- Gather physical and digital evidence
- Deal directly with insurers on your behalf
- Prepare for court if that’s what your case needs
With the right evidence, we make it harder for insurers to deny your claim or downplay your injuries. And we don’t back down. If we believe you deserve more, we fight until you get it.
Talk to a Skilled Auto Accident Lawyer
You don’t need to take on a pileup case alone. We’ve spent over 100 years helping Pennsylvania crash victims get the compensation they need to move forward. At Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC, we’ve handled complex multi-car cases across the state. Our car accident attorneys understand how high the stakes are after a serious crash—and we fight like it.
If you or a loved one was hurt in a multi-vehicle accident, call us today at (888) 498-3023. We’ll review your case for free, explain your rights, and help you take the next step.