Court Allows Allegation that Plaintiff Suffered "Other Injuries, The Extent of Which is Not Yet Known" To Stand

In the case of Brooks v. Shandor, No. 2024-CV-5771 (C.P. Wash. Co. July 2, 2025 Lucas, J.), the court addressed Preliminary Objections in a motor vehicle accident case in which the Defendant objected to a paragraph in the Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint in which the Plaintiff claimed to have suffered “other injuries, the extent of which is not yet known.”

The Defendant filed Preliminary Objections to that allegation under Pa. R.C.P. 1028(a)(3), asserting that the allegation lacked the requisite specificity required by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court noted that, to determine if an allegation in a pleading contains the appropriate specificity, the court is required to look not only at the particular allegation at issue, but also that allegation in the context of the other allegations of the Complaint.

Here, the court ruled that, considering the Amended Complaint in its entirety, the Plaintiff was found to have adequately complied with the pleading rules.

More specifically, the court noted that the Plaintiff had detailed specific allegations of negligence and also alleged that the Defendant’s negligence caused multiple physical injuries to several identified body parts. The Plaintiff additionally detailed subjective symptoms of those injuries along with objective signs of those injuries.

The court otherwise noted that, under Pa. R.C.P. 1019(a), a Plaintiff need not plead evidentiary facts. The court also noted that Pa. R.C.P. 1019 does not require that injuries be pled specifically. Rather, claims for physical injuries, medical expenses, and lost wages are permitted to be pled generally.

The trial court otherwise noted that discovery and pre-trial statement requirements will protect the Defendant from being ambushed by any claims of a new injury at the time of trial. The Defendant was noted to have the right to inquire as to the specific nature and extent of the Plaintiff’s alleged injuries during the course of the discovery in the case. The court also noted that, in her eventual pre-trial statement, the Plaintiff will be required, under the local rules of court, to provide a “specific description of her damages” along with a copy of all medical expert reports.

The court otherwise noted that, to the extent the Plaintiff fails to comply with these requirements, the Defendant may, at that point, seek to preclude the presentation of any non-disclosed evidence of an injury at trial.

For these reasons, the trial court overruled the Defendant’s Preliminary Objections.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.


I send thanks to Attorney Danielle M. Deklewa of the Pittsburgh, PA law firm of Ainsman Levine, LLC, for bringing this case to my attention.