Statute of Limitations for Filing Car Accident Claim in Massachusetts

Proving a Car Accident Claim

Massachusetts Car Accident Laws – Proving a Car Accident Claim

If you were injured in a car accident, you may wish to pursue a car accident claim. Here you will find some useful information about car accident claims.

Car Insurance

Every person who registers a car in Massachusetts must have four kinds of insurance including Bodily Injury (BI), Uninsured Motor Vehicle Coverage (UM), Personal Injury Protection (PIP or No Fault), and Property Damage (PD). This is called compulsory insurance.

There are also seven kinds of optional insurance available such as Optional Bodily Injury (OBI), Med Pay, Collision, Limited Collision, Theft and Fire, Rental coverage, Towing, and Underinsurance (UIM).

Types of Car Accident Claims

As you can see, there are a number of different types of car accident claims you may pursue following a car accident. Here we will discuss car accident claims which are typically handled by experienced Massachusetts motor vehicle accident attorneys.

Bodily Injury: You may pursue a bodily injury claim against the insurance company of the car that caused your injury.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This is known as no fault insurance and covers medical bills, lost wages and replacement services regardless of who was at fault. PIP is NOT available for people injured in motorcycle accidents. PIP is available through your own car insurance or, in the case of a pedestrian, the insurance of the car that caused your injury.

Uninsured: Uninsured coverage is available for people who are injured in a car accident caused by the driver of an uninsured car. An Uninsured claim may arise when the car causing the accident is either stolen, a hit and run, or does not have any insurance. You may pursue an uninsured claim against the insurance policy of the car you were riding in or your own car insurance if you were a pedestrian.

Underinsurance Claim: Sometimes the car causing the accident does not have sufficient bodily injury coverage to cover your damages. If the car in which you were traveling and/or your own car has Underinsurance coverage in excess of the available bodily injury coverage, you may pursue an Underinsurance claim.

If you are pursuing a PIP claim, uninsured claim or underinsurance claim, you have a duty to cooperate with the insurance company.

Proving a Car Accident Claim

In order to pursue a bodily injury claim, uninsured claim, or underinsured claim in Massachusetts, your personal injury attorney must prove the following by a preponderance of the evidence (or in other words, after all the evidence is weighed the matter is more probably true than not):

You must incur medical expenses in excess of $2,000.00; or
Sustain a fracture; or
Suffer a hearing impairment; or
Suffer a sight impairment.

Negligence: That the operator of an automobile failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances (i.e. speeding, taking a left hand turn into oncoming traffic, failing to stop at a red light or stop sign, and rear-end car accidents).

Damages: That you suffered injury or harm AND you meet one of the following statutory requirements:

Proximate Cause: That the defendant’s negligence was a cause of your injury or harm.

Statute of Limitations

There are time limitations within which you may pursue car accident claims such as:

Bodily Injury Claim: If you are pursuing a bodily injury claim, you must settle your claim or file a lawsuit within three years of the date of the accident.
Uninsured/Underinsurance Claims: In uninsured and underinsurance claims, you have six years within which to file a claim.

Get the legal help you need. Call Robert Allison at 978-740-9433 or send us an e-mail.

More Information About Motor Vehicle Accidents and Injuries

We help car accident victims and their families recover the compensation they are entitled to for their car accident injuries. We handle all types of motor vehicle accident claims, including:

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Posted in Accident Lawsuits, Arbitration & Mediation, Accidents Involving Vehicles, Insurance Claims Information, Personal Injury Law