Personal Injury FAQs
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- What Does Personal Injury Law Entail?
- What Type of Compensation Can Be Claimed in Boston Personal Injury Cases?
- How Can I Determine if I Have a Valid Personal Injury Case?
- What Could Be the Potential Value of My Case?
- When Should I Engage the Services of an Attorney?
- How Do I Establish Liability in My Boston Personal Injury Case?
- What Does PIP Mean?
- How Can I Claim Lost Wages?
- Why is it Important to Hire a Lawyer if I've Suffered an Injury?
- Is it Possible to Have a Case Even If I Didn't Feel Pain Immediately After the Accident?
- What is the Time Limit for Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
- What Are Common Personal Injury Case Types?
- Is Income from Settlements Subject to Taxation?
- Is it Possible to Switch Lawyers if I'm Dissatisfied with My Current One?
- How Can I Manage the Cost of Legal Representation?
- Is My Medical Treatment Covered?
What Does Personal Injury Law Entail?
Personal injury law, also known as "tort law," enables an individual to lodge a civil lawsuit against another entity following an accident or injury. If you've sustained harm due to an accident or deliberate misconduct, personal injury law provides a legal avenue for you to hold the culpable party financially responsible for your monetary losses arising from the incident.
The journey of a personal injury case often commences with filing an insurance claim, either with your personal insurance provider or that of the party at fault. If an amicable resolution to your claim cannot be reached via settlement negotiations, you have the option to kick-start a personal injury lawsuit against the offending party. Some instances might necessitate heading straight to court with a lawsuit.
It's vital to note that personal injury law operates separately from criminal law. Although some personal injury cases might involve criminal activities, these cases are adjudicated in a civil court. A personal injury claim does not necessitate criminal charges, though a conviction can indeed fortify a civil case.
Personal injury cases broadly fall into two categories:
- Unintentional tort: These cases generally hinge on negligence.
- Intentional tort: These cases transpire when an individual purposefully inflicts harm on another.
Here at Bellotti Law Group, P.C., we are proficient in handling a wide range of personal injury cases in Boston.
These include:
- Automobile accidents
- Incidents involving pedestrians
- Motorcycle mishaps
- Truck accidents
- Bus collisions
- Bicycle accidents
- Workplace incidents, such as accidents at construction sites
- Slip and fall mishaps
- Dog attacks
- Defective products and faulty medical devices
- Cases of medical malpractice
- Instances of nursing home abuse and neglect
- Sexual assault
- Wrongful death
You may be eligible to file a personal injury claim if your accident was precipitated by another person's actions or negligence.
What Type of Compensation Can Be Claimed in Boston Personal Injury Cases?
Victims of personal injury are entitled to claim two kinds of compensatory damages: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages pertain to the financial impact resulting from your accident.
Potential economic losses can encompass:
- Damage to property
- Loss of income
- Medical expenses and the projected cost of future medical care
- Diminished earning potential
- Therapeutic counseling
- Home healthcare and domestic assistance
- Rehabilitation costs
- Expenses for mobility aids and medical equipment
- Modifications to homes and vehicles
- Expenses for medical transportation
On the other hand, non-economic losses are not inherently monetary; these immeasurable losses can include:
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Psychological trauma
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement
- Decreased quality of life
Like most states, Massachusetts imposes a limit on non-economic damages in cases of medical malpractice. Your mental anguish, suffering, and other non-economic losses in a case of medical negligence are restricted to $500,000. Exceptions exist if you endured (1) significant or permanent disability; or (2) loss of a bodily function or substantial disfigurement.
In addition to compensatory damages, you may be eligible to seek punitive damages. These damages aim to penalize the defendant for egregious misconduct. However, in Massachusetts, punitive damages are only granted in wrongful death cases that result from deliberate, wanton, or reckless conduct or gross negligence.
How Can I Determine if I Have a Valid Personal Injury Case?
What Could Be the Potential Value of My Case?
When Should I Engage the Services of an Attorney?
How Do I Establish Liability in My Boston Personal Injury Case?
Establishing liability involves presenting substantiating evidence like witness accounts, expert opinions, and tangible evidence. Usually, you need to illustrate that the defendant was negligent to win your case. Nevertheless, some instances involve strict liability.
Negligence
A person is deemed negligent when their behavior deviates from that of a reasonable person under similar circumstances.
Negligence consists of four components:
- The defendant was bound by a duty of care towards you.
- The defendant violated their duty.
- Their breach resulted in your accident or injuries.
- You sustained damages as a consequence.
Proving causation is often the most challenging component of negligence.
In Massachusetts, you need to prove:
The 'cause-in-fact' or 'but-for cause.' Would your injuries have transpired if not for the defendant’s actions?
Proximate cause. This implies that you were a foreseeable victim of the defendant’s conduct and suffered foreseeable injuries.
Massachusetts does not automatically presume negligence even when safety laws are broken. Such violations are treated as evidence of negligence. You still need to prove the other components of negligence.
Gross Negligence
Gross negligence occurs when a person behaves recklessly and exhibits a disregard for the safety of others. This is more severe than regular negligence, which might be defined as carelessness or irresponsibility.
Proving gross negligence in Massachusetts is generally pertinent only in wrongful death cases. If you can demonstrate that the defendant exhibited gross negligence, you might be entitled to punitive damages.
Strict Liability
In most scenarios, you need to illustrate that the defendant was negligent to hold them accountable for the injuries you incurred. However, some cases involve strict liability.
Dog bite cases are a prevalent example. Massachusetts law holds dog owners strictly liable for injuries inflicted by their dog. There are exceptions, like when injuries are sustained by someone trespassing or tormenting the dog. Massachusetts does not adhere to a "one bite" rule.
Product liability law also entails strict liability. If a defective or dangerous product injures you, you don't need to demonstrate negligence. Instead, you have to show that the product was defective due to manufacturing, design, or warning/marketing issues.
What Does PIP Mean?
How Can I Claim Lost Wages?
If the case pertains to a car accident, lost wages can be claimed via PIP coverage. For other types of accident cases, lost wages are typically compensated to the victim from the final settlement amount. If the claim is based on Workers' Compensation, then Workers' Compensation will cover the lost wages of the injured worker.
Under Massachusetts Workers' Compensation law, if an employee is entirely incapacitated and unable to work, they are entitled to receive 60% of their average weekly wage. If the employee is partially incapacitated, they are eligible to receive 75% of their total disability rate. It's important to note that Workers' Compensation Law differs significantly from Massachusetts Personal Injury Law. It is explicitly defined under the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 152.
Why is it Important to Hire a Lawyer if I've Suffered an Injury?
Is it Possible to Have a Case Even If I Didn't Feel Pain Immediately After the Accident?
What is the Time Limit for Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
What Are Common Personal Injury Case Types?
Vehicle Accidents: This is perhaps the most common type of personal injury case and it involves accidents involving cars, motorcycles, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians, or any other kind of road mishap.
Slip and Fall Cases: These are common types of injury cases and usually arise from a property owner's negligence in maintaining safe conditions on their premises.
Medical Malpractice: This involves injuries sustained due to negligent medical care, such as a doctor's failure to diagnose a condition, surgical errors, incorrect prescriptions, or improper treatment.
Product Liability: In these cases, a manufacturer or seller is held liable for placing a defective product into the hands of a consumer. Defective products might include anything from faulty vehicle parts to dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.
Workplace Accidents: These can occur in various forms such as construction accidents, chemical exposures, repetitive stress injuries, or any other harm caused in the course of performing work-related tasks.
Dog Bites: In many states, the owners of a dog can be held financially responsible for bites and other injuries caused by their pets.
Assault, Battery, and other Intentional Torts: Unlike other personal injury claims which are mostly based on negligence, these claims involve intentional harm caused by one person to another.
Wrongful Death: These cases involve any situation where a person dies due to the legal fault of another person or entity, often resulting from any of the types of harm listed above.
Defamation: Personal injury laws apply when one person's defamatory statement causes harm to another person's reputation.
Premises Liability: This can involve injuries that occur on another person's property, including slip and falls, swimming pool accidents, inadequate maintenance of the property, or inadequate security.
Is Income from Settlements Subject to Taxation?
Is it Possible to Switch Lawyers if I'm Dissatisfied with My Current One?
How Can I Manage the Cost of Legal Representation?
Is My Medical Treatment Covered?
In case of an automobile accident injury, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) covers $8,000 of your medical expenses. If you have health insurance, PIP handles the initial $2,000, and your health insurance covers the remaining costs. Should your medical expenses exceed $8,000, the outstanding amount may be deducted from your settlement. We often succeed in negotiating a reduction of the leftover medical bills that PIP does not cover.
For injuries resulting from a general liability accident such as a slip and fall, medical costs are usually recoverable only after a settlement is concluded. However, some insurance policies may include a medical pay provision that can cover your medical expenses. It's important to note that the specifics of each accident and policy coverage can vary.
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Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawyers
- Car Accidents
- Premises Liability
- Drowning Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Bus Accidents
- Bike Accidents
- Pedestrian Accident Lawyers MA
- MBTA (Subway, Bus, Commuter Rail, Ferry) Accidents
- Boating Accidents
- Aviation Accidents
- Fire & Explosion Accidents
- Snow and Ice Accidents
- Construction Accidents
- Bad Faith Insurance Claims (Chapter 93A/176D)
- Catastrophic Injuries
- Defective Products
- Medical Malpractice
- Slip & Fall Accidents
- Wrongful Death
- Dog Bites & Animal Attacks
- Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
- Asbestos & Mesothelioma
- Food Poisoning
- Lead Paint Poisoning
- Toxic Torts
- Domestic Violence Victims
- Personal Injury FAQs
- Mass Torts
- Gas Explosions
- Civil Litigation
- Criminal Law
- Workers' Compensation
- Social Security Disability
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