In Pennsylvania, defective auto product cases can range from tens of thousands of dollars to six- or seven-figure verdicts, depending on the injury, the recall history, and whether the part made a survivable crash much worse.

Before you know that, it feels like you have to pick one lane: use your own health insurance, file workers' comp, or go after the car company.

You usually do not have to pick just one.

If you were driving for work near Scranton in winter conditions and the crash happened in the course of your job, workers' compensation is still the first bucket for your medical care and wage-loss benefits, even if a defective airbag, seat belt, tire, or van equipment made the injuries worse. Your boss telling you to "just use your own insurance" does not change that. In Pennsylvania, you generally must give your employer notice within 120 days, and earlier is better.

After you know that, your situation changes: now you separate the claims.

• Workers' comp claim against the employer's insurance for benefits.
• Product liability claim against the manufacturer, and sometimes the seller or installer, if the part was defective.
• Possible vehicle crash claim against another driver, if someone else caused the wreck on black ice or in low visibility.

Pennsylvania allows strict liability for defective products. In plain English, you do not always have to prove the manufacturer was careless. You need to show the product was defective and that defect caused or worsened your injury. A recall helps, but you do not need a recall to have a case.

What to do now: keep the vehicle untouched if possible, save recall letters, take photos, keep the airbag module or damaged parts from being discarded, and report the crash. For recalls and vehicle defect records, the NHTSA matters. For workers' comp, Pennsylvania's Bureau of Workers' Compensation matters.

For most Pennsylvania injury lawsuits, the filing deadline is 2 years. The product evidence often disappears long before that.