General Information About Car Accidents
Car accidents are almost always bad stories. Damaged property, various injuries, and stress are common accompaniments of car accidents. There is not always the desire, time, or opportunity to deal with them on your own. It’s better to leave this to the professionals. Seeking help from Boston car accident lawyers will be the right decision in such a situation. You can focus on your recovery while they work on settling your case.
How Can Boston Car Accident Lawyers Help Me?
Conducting an investigation
The investigation is an important part of a car accident case. A well-conducted investigation helps determine the exact degree of guilt of each participant. And this will affect the level of compensation in the future.
Preparation of claims
To successfully settle a case, it is not enough to simply file a claim. It is advisable to support it with medical bills, reports from medical professionals, and other materials. Experienced Boston car accident lawyers will help in preparing a package of necessary documents and will show the cause-and-effect relationship of the expenses incurred with the accident.
Legal representation
The case may be settled quickly or may end up in court. Your best option is to hire car accident lawyers in Boston at the very beginning. Then you can be sure that all stages of the case from negotiations to trial are carried out by a professional and all possible nuances will be taken into account.
What Qualifications Should Boston Car Accident Lawyers Meet?
| Education | Pay attention to the educational institution from which the lawyer graduated. This is not a key factor, but generally, well-known law schools value their reputation and provide an excellent knowledge base to their graduates. With a strong foundation and methodology, a lawyer will be able to delve into the nitty gritty of local personal injury law. |
| Communication | This quality is difficult to overestimate in Boston car accident lawyers. A lawyer with good communication skills will quickly and clearly explain the prospects of his case to a client, negotiate brilliantly with the insurance company, and be able to convincingly present your case to a jury. |
| Compassion | Good car accident lawyers in Boston seek more than just financial compensation for their clients. They know how to support clients throughout the entire process. By delving into the needs of clients and giving positive feedback, lawyers create in clients a sense of security and concern for their interests. |
| Reputation | Reputation is not a separate quality, but a synergy. Experience of won cases, positive reviews from satisfied clients, recognition among the legal community – all this forms the reputation of a car accident lawyer in Boston. |
Tips for Finding Boston Car Accident Lawyers
To facilitate the search process, it is enough to answer three questions: who to look for, where to look, and how to look.
Look for a Boston car accident lawyer who specializes in personal injury law. Particular attention to lawyers who handle car accident cases. Good candidates will be lawyers licensed to practice in your region.
You can look for Boston car accident lawyers in local firms, specialized legal directories, or bar associations. Internet searches can also yield good results.
The most reliable way to look for car accident lawyers in Boston is through recommendations from relatives, friends, and acquaintances. This way you can get recommendations you can trust.
Review local legal advertisements, local law firm websites, and individual lawyer websites. This will enable you to prepare a list of potential candidates for hiring.
Attend initial consultations with selected lawyers. Most lawyers do them for free. There you can discuss your case, and get acquainted with the lawyer’s experience, fee structure, and other issues of interest.
Next, all that remains is to choose the Boston car accident lawyer who best suits your needs.
If I Got into a Car Accident
A car accident is almost always a stressful situation. Despite this, you should calm down and start taking the necessary actions:
- Seek medical attention. This is important for two reasons: you will take care of your health and will be able to link your injuries to the accident to receive compensation.
- Move to a safe place. This will eliminate the possibility of getting into another accident.
- Report the incident to the police. Obtain a police report of the accident, this may be important in proving the extent of fault.
- Record all possible information about the accident. Photo/video of vehicles involved in an accident, road signs, and brake marks. Contact information for participants and witnesses.
- Inform your insurance company about the accident. This will make it possible to receive PIP payments and file a personal injury claim in the future.
- Contact Boston car accident lawyers. They will be able to start helping you from the very beginning of the incident. This will make it possible to correctly collect the necessary information to form an evidence base.
What Not to Do After a Car Accident
In addition to recommended actions after a car accident, there is a list of actions to avoid. Namely:
- Admission of guilt. The outcome of a case settlement depends on the degree of fault of each party involved in the accident. Therefore, you should not give trump cards to the other side and admit your guilt, at least partially or simply by discussing it with the police, insurance company, and other participants.
- Quick settlement of the case. Often, a quick settlement of a case benefits the insurance company, but not the victim. Don’t rush to sign any settlement papers. Consult with experienced Boston car accident lawyers. They will be able to estimate the cost of the settlement and give advice on further actions.
- Don’t call the police. By law in Massachusetts, you are required to report a car accident to the police if the accident results in injury or death, or damage exceeds $1,000. Ignoring a call to the police could result in legal consequences in the future.
Typical Car Accident Compensations
With PIP, you receive compensation for medical bills up to 75% of lost wages up to $8,000.
If your medical expenses exceed $2,000 and you are seriously injured, you may be able to file a claim against the other driver. If successful, you will receive compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering.
Responsible Driving Can Prevent Car Accidents
Responsible driving is the best way to prevent accidents. Follow these tips to improve your responsible driving:
- follow the traffic rules
- eliminate distractions while driving
- do not drive aggressively
- pay close attention to the road conditions
- consider weather conditions
- keep your car in good condition
- keep a safe distance
How Many Car Accidents Happen in Boston
There were 6,001 car accidents in Boston in 2023, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 19 crashes resulted in death, 127 crashes resulted in serious injuries and 1,051 crashes resulted in minor injuries.
According to statistics for 2023, 547 accidents are the fault of young drivers and 723 are the fault of older drivers.
In Boston, Drivers are More Likely to Get into Such Car Accidents
There are dozens of accidents every day in Boston. Let’s highlight the main types of accidents:
Accidents at the intersection
Most often, such accidents occur when a traffic light turns red or when you brake suddenly at a stop sign. Also, reluctance to yield when turning or lack of understanding of the priority of crossing intersections leads to accidents.
Head-on collisions
These types of accidents often result in serious injuries and even death due to the high speed of the vehicles. Overtaking in the wrong place, driving into the oncoming lane due to distracted attention, and, less commonly, brake failure can lead to head-on collisions.
Car accidents from behind
Classic situations when the driver of a vehicle driving behind has not chosen a safe distance or has not calculated the permissible speed. Aggressive or distracted driving can also cause these types of accidents.
Changing lanes
Failure to understand blind spots, ignoring the use of turn signals, and unwillingness to yield are all the reasons for such accidents.
Parking lot accidents
The vehicles perform maneuvers in limited areas. These maneuvers do not always end successfully. Collisions with pedestrians while driving in parking lots are also common.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Many types of injuries can result from car accidents. The most common ones can be identified:
Whiplash occurs when the head is suddenly jerked as a result of a rapid change in speed during an accident. The severity depends on the speed and direction of the collision. Concomitant symptoms may include damage to the upper spine and pinched nerves.
Traumatic brain injuries range from mild concussions, such as being hit by an airbag, to severe forms such as skull fractures and brain injuries.
Limb injuries are also not uncommon in car accidents. The majority of cases are bone fractures and joint dislocations, loss of a limb occurs less frequently.
As a result of an accident, some parts and components of cars break into pieces or become deformed, forming sharp surfaces. For example, glass fragments, plastic fragments of interior trim, and even deformation of metal structures. Contact with such objects can cause lacerations.
Degree of Fault and Insurance in Boston
Massachusetts is a no-fault auto insurance state. After a car accident, you need to file a claim with your insurance company. All drivers in Massachusetts are required to carry personal injury protection (PIP) worth $8,000. The insurance company is required to cover your medical bills and part of your lost wages up to $8,000 per person, regardless of who is at fault in the accident.
If your medical expenses exceed $2,000 and your injury is serious, you may be able to file a claim against the other driver to receive compensation.
Massachusetts uses a “modified comparative negligence” system. A car accident victim can seek damages from the other party as long as they are not more than 51 percent at fault. The amount of compensation is reduced by the percentage of her fault.
In addition to personal injury protection (PIP), the driver must have an insurance policy with the following minimum limits:
bodily injury to others – $20,000 per person
bodily injury to others – $40,000 per accident
damage to someone else’s property – $5,000
$20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident for uninsured motorists
FAQs
Passengers may receive compensation from the at-fault driver’s car insurance.
Many car accident lawyers in Boston work on a contingency fee basis. If the case is successfully settled, they will receive a percentage of the compensation.
Massachusetts follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This allows you to receive compensation even if the accident participants are partially at fault if the degree of fault does not exceed 51%. The amount of compensation is reduced by the percentage of fault.