If you were injured in a car accident in Somerville, you may already be hearing from insurance companies while you are still trying to understand your injuries. What you say to an adjuster, how your medical bills are handled, and whether fault is disputed can all affect your claim.
Earley Law Group Injury Lawyers has represented injured people in Massachusetts since 2006. If you have questions about your rights after a crash, our car accident lawyers in Somerville can review what happened and explain your rights.
Contact us for a free consultation and speak with a Somerville personal injury lawyer today.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident?
Get medical care if you are hurt. You should not assume an injury is minor simply because you were able to leave the scene on your own. Neck pain, back pain, and concussion symptoms can become more noticeable later.
If you are physically able to do so, get the other driver’s insurance information and photograph the vehicles before they are moved. Photos of the roadway, traffic signals, debris, or damage can also help if there is later a disagreement about how the collision occurred.
Keep the paperwork you receive after the crash. Medical bills, discharge instructions, repair estimates, and wage records may become part of your claim.
How Does Car Insurance Work After a Massachusetts Accident?
Massachusetts has a no–fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system. In many cases, PIP through your own auto policy is the first source of payment for covered medical expenses and lost earnings, even when another driver caused the crash.
PIP generally provides up to $8,000 in benefits per person, although the way medical expenses are paid can depend on whether you have health insurance. Lost wage benefits are generally paid at 75% of lost earnings, subject to the available PIP benefit.
A claim against the at-fault driver is separate. Massachusetts also places limits on when pain and suffering damages can be recovered in a motor vehicle injury case. We review how those rules apply to your injuries rather than assuming every accident claim will be handled the same way.
How Our Somerville Car Accident Lawyers Determine Fault
Fault is based on the facts of the crash and the evidence that supports them. In some cases, responsibility is fairly clear. In others, the drivers give different accounts, or the insurance company disputes what happened.
We look at the evidence that can establish how the collision occurred, including:
- The police crash report.
- Photographs from the scene.
- Witness statements.
- Available surveillance or traffic footage.
- Vehicle damage and electronic data, when available.
Massachusetts also follows a comparative negligence rule. If you were partly at fault, you may still be able to recover compensation as long as your negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the parties you are seeking recovery from. Any recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Common Car Accidents We See in Somerville
Not every collision happens on a highway or at high speed. Serious injuries can result from crashes on neighborhood streets and at intersections where vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians are close together.
We handle claims involving:
- Rear-end collisions.
- Intersection crashes.
- Left-turn accidents.
- Sideswipe collisions.
- Distracted drivers.
- Hit-and-run drivers.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorists.
- Accidents involving pedestrians or cyclists.
How the collision happened can affect the insurance issues we need to address. Our Somerville car accident attorneys can review the circumstances before deciding how to proceed with the claim.
What Compensation Can a Car Accident Claim Include?
The amount available depends on your injuries, the losses you can prove, the insurance coverage, and the facts surrounding the crash.
Compensation may include:
- Medical expenses related to the accident.
- Lost income.
- Loss of future earning capacity.
- Future treatment expenses.
- Pain and suffering, when recoverable under Massachusetts law.
- Damage to your vehicle and other property.
- Other reasonable accident-related expenses.
We do not evaluate an injury claim based only on bills that have already arrived. If your doctor expects continued treatment or your injury has changed your ability to earn a living, that should be considered before the claim is resolved.
Should You Accept an Insurance Settlement?
You should not accept a settlement until you understand whether it fairly accounts for your injuries and financial losses. That can be difficult to judge while you are still receiving treatment or do not yet know whether your injuries will affect you long term.
Most bodily injury settlements require you to sign a release ending the claim against the parties covered by the agreement. Once that release is signed, you generally cannot seek additional compensation from those parties if your condition worsens or new expenses arise.
As your car accident attorneys in Somerville, we can review the offer, explain what the release means, and advise you on whether the proposed amount reasonably reflects the value of your claim.
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts generally gives you three years to file a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident. Some circumstances can affect the applicable deadline, so you should not assume the general three-year period applies without exception.
There are also practical reasons not to wait. Video may be overwritten, and witnesses can become harder to find. If liability is disputed, losing evidence can make it more difficult to establish what happened.
How We Work With You
When we represent you, we keep communication direct. You should understand where your claim stands, what information we still need, and what decisions may come up as the case moves forward.
We also look beyond the diagnosis itself. We want to understand how the injury has affected your work, your mobility, your family responsibilities, and the activities you were able to do before the crash. That information helps us present the full extent of your losses.
We handle personal injury cases on a contingency–fee basis, so you don’t pay attorney fees upfront. If your injuries make it difficult for you to come to us, we can arrange to meet with you elsewhere as needed.
Speak With a Somerville Car Accident Attorney
If you were injured because of another driver’s negligence, contact Earley Law Group for a free consultation with a Somerville car accident lawyer.
Tell us what happened, and we can explain what Massachusetts law may allow you to do next.