Philadelphia taxis live under a regulatory structure most passengers never think about — the Philadelphia Parking Authority regulates the city’s cabs, medallions, and required insurance — and that structure shapes crash claims: identified coverage, documented vehicles and drivers, and a common carrier’s heightened duty to everyone in the back seat.
What Shapes Taxi Cases
- Common carrier duty. Paying passengers are owed heightened care — sudden maneuvers, unsafe pickups and drop-offs (the door into the bike lane), and aggressive driving are judged against it.
- The PPA layer. Philadelphia taxi regulation — vehicle standards, driver requirements, mandated coverage — runs through the Parking Authority, and compliance records become case evidence.
- Medallion and dispatch structures. Owner, operator, and dispatch entities layer like trucking cases — smaller vehicles, same corporate-defendant mapping.
- Everyone involved has claims: passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists struck by cabs. Rideshare crashes run different insurance mechanics — see our Uber practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a passenger, do I claim against my own cab driver?
Against whichever driver caused the crash — often the cab’s commercial coverage, sometimes the other vehicle’s, sometimes both. Passengers are the cleanest claimants in any crash: someone else’s negligence, never yours.
The cab door hit me as I cycled past. Whose fault?
Dooring is on the door-opener — passenger or driver — and taxi drop-off procedures make the cab side’s duties concrete. Bike-lane doorings are among Philadelphia’s most recurrent taxi claims.
The driver says the medallion company handles everything and won’t give me information.
Get the cab number and medallion from photos or your receipt — the regulatory records fill in the rest, which is precisely why the PPA layer helps victims. Then let us do the corporate mapping.
How long do I have to file?
Generally two years under Pennsylvania law — with a six-month written-notice requirement for claims against government entities and special rules for minors and late-discovered injuries.
What does hiring you cost?
No attorney’s fee unless we recover for you; the contingency percentage and case-cost handling are in the written fee agreement you review before signing. Consultations are free.
Ready to talk about your case? Call (215) 464-4600 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation — contingency fee, no attorney’s fee unless we recover, costs explained in the written fee agreement.