Miss this term after a serious crash, and the worst outcome is assuming a lawsuit is barred when it is not - or waiting too long to file while injuries, bills, and proof keep piling up. A tort threshold is the legal line a person must cross before suing an at-fault driver for noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering. In states that use no-fault insurance, that line is usually defined either by a dollar amount of medical expenses or by injury severity, such as death, permanent disfigurement, or significant loss of bodily function.

Practically, a tort threshold controls whether an injured person is limited to personal injury protection (PIP) benefits or may bring a liability claim directly against the other driver. If the threshold is not met in a no-fault state, recovery may be restricted to economic losses like medical bills and wage loss. If it is met, a broader personal injury lawsuit may be allowed.

West Virginia does not use a no-fault tort-threshold system for auto crashes. It is a fault-based state, so an injured person generally may pursue a claim against the at-fault driver without first meeting a statutory injury threshold. The key deadline is the West Virginia two-year statute of limitations for personal injury, W. Va. Code § 55-2-12 (2024), measured from the date of the accident. On steep, low-visibility roads, that timing issue can matter more than any threshold label on insurance paperwork.