Are you considering whether or not to hire a lawyer? Then read about the causes of auto crashes and why you should get a Boston car crash attorney after a wreck.
Car crashes are frequent in America. So, Massachusetts has its fair share of automobile accidents and deaths. For example, there were 334 traffic fatalities in 2019. This was lower than the 343 deaths recorded in 2020. Unfortunately, these traffic accidents also cause property damage and severe injuries.
Notably, though, Massachusetts is a no-fault state. This means that its personal injury law doesn’t immediately allow accident victims to sue the at-fault parties. Instead, you have to seek compensation from your insurance provider under your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance.
Furthermore, you can get financial compensation under other private health insurance policies. However, Massachusetts law allows car crash victims to sue the at-fault driver in some cases. In these types of cases, it may be a good idea to hire an experienced Boston car crash attorney in these scenarios. This way, you have someone on your side who will work hard to get you as much compensation as you are entitled to.
Causes of Boston Car Accidents
Several factors contribute to the high accident rate in Boston and around America. Furthermore, these include human and natural elements. Drivers owe other road users a duty to exercise reasonable care while driving. It’s usually the breach of this duty that results in collisions.
Common causes of Boston car accidents include:
- Reckless driving
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Aggressive driving
- Disobeying traffic rules
- Fatigued driving
- Wrong-way driving
- Improper lane changes
- Tailgaiting
- Improper turns
- Driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol
- Road rage
- Street racing
The accident factors above are all due to the driver’s negligence. However, some other issues can result in significant collisions. They include:
- Bad weather conditions, such as fog and flooding
- Bad roads
- Defective vehicles or defective parts
- Tire blowouts
- Animal crossings
Common Car Accident Injuries
Suppose car crash victims survive the collision. Then, they may sustain mild or catastrophic injuries. Furthermore, such wounds often need urgent medical care that may continue for a long time. Fortunately, you can recover your medical bills from your insurer or the fault party.
First, however, below are the prevalent injuries from vehicle collisions:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Other head and brain injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Burns and bruises
- Scrapes and cuts
- Broken bones, legs, ribs, and hands
- Skull fractures
- Physical pain in the back and neck
- Whiplash
- Spinal cord injuries
- Emotional injuries and mental anguish
- Internal injuries
- Disfigurement and facial wounds
- Loss of limb and amputation
- Crush injuries
- Psychological wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder
What To Do After a Boston Car Accident
Immediately after a collision, the next best step is to get medical attention. Seeing a doctor ensures that you recover quickly. In addition, a physician can also link your injuries to the crash. Consequently, you can rely on your medical records when claiming damages.
It’s best to visit a doctor after a crash, even if you feel fine. Furthermore, medical treatment is crucial even for minor car crashes. This is because minor injuries can become severe in the future. But if you treat them early you may save yourself from future pain.
Why Should I Get a Boston Car Crash Attorney After a Wreck?
Many Boston accident survivors are skeptical about hiring car crash attorneys. Several factors inform this skepticism. For example, some people are scared of paying hefty lawyer fees. In addition, people believe that lawyers complicate the compensation process.
The truth, though, is that hiring a car accident lawyer increases your chances of getting the maximum compensation. Your insurance provider already has legal counsel. Therefore, it can be difficult to get an excellent settlement without an attorney.
Below are some reasons you should consider hiring a Boston car crash attorney.
To Determine the Value of Your Losses
It’s one thing to know that you suffered significant losses because of a collision. However, understanding the actual value of these damages is a different issue. Notably, victims often focus on medical expenses. However, an excellent Boston car crash attorney will recover other types of compensation, such as emotional damages.
Furthermore, lawyers have techniques for calculating non-economic damages. These are the intangible losses that flow from the crash. Since they aren’t financial damages, attaching a dollar figure to them is usually challenging. However, a Boston car crash attorney will know the correct method for calculating these damages.
To Focus on Your Health
Some car crash victims cannot fund their medical expenses. Therefore, they need compensation from the fault driver or their insurance provider for quality medical care. However, running around with untreated auto accident injuries is dangerous.
You can worsen your condition or setback your recovery process. That’s why it’s best to let an experienced lawyer do the work for you. Such an attorney can initiate the legal process while you focus on recovery.
Steps your lawyer can take on your behalf include:
- Sending notification of the motor vehicle accident to your insurer
- Writing a demand letter to your insurer or the negligent party
- Filing a personal injury lawsuit
- Gathering and storing critical evidence
To Determine Liability for the Collision
The responsible party isn’t always apparent in every type of accident. Even in a rear-end collision, you may still have to prove fault. Insurance companies will do everything possible to blame you for the crash. If they’re successful, you could get a lower compensation or no money.
That’s another reason you may want to hire an experienced Boston car crash attorney. Such an attorney can investigate the collision. Then, they can accurately determine who’s responsible for the crash. This investigation often starts from the accident scene. So, it’ll help to engage an attorney early.
Legal Advice on Crucial Issues
Getting legal advice is the most vital advantage of hiring a Boston car crash attorney. You cannot win your claim without an excellent strategy. Lawyers provide this strategy for their clients and confirm whether you have a solid case. If you don’t have a legal background, you can’t provide this service for yourself.
Tricks Boston Auto Insurance Companies Use to Keep Accident Victims From Hiring Attorneys
If you’ve ever been in a crash, you’ll know that insurance companies don’t like accident lawyers. So, they try everything possible to ensure that crash survivors and their families don’t want to use attorneys. Insurance companies use several tactics to achieve this objective.
We explain some of them below.
Pretending to Be on Your Side
Insurance companies usually start out acting like they’re on your side. You can notice this behavior with the insurance representatives. The reality, though, is that such insurance adjusters are only on the company’s side. They ensure that the company only pays out little or no money.
When you work with a Boston car crash attorney, the legal profession’s ethical rules ensure that your lawyer only represents your interests. Therefore, you can trust your legal team.
Saying That Lawyers Complicate the Negotiation Process
Insurers also claim that car accident attorneys will delay and complicate the process. Suppose you fall for this trick. Then, the insurance company will persuade you to take lower settlements. Essentially, without a lawyer, nobody at that negotiation table is fighting for your rights.
Therefore, an insurance company can get you to do things that can potentially harm your case. For example, they could:
- Demand a recorded statement, which they can use against you
- Partly blame you for the accident so that the comparative negligence rule kicks in
- Make you accept a settlement before you complete your medical treatment
How Can I Pay My Boston Car Crash Attorney?
Filing a car accident claim often requires significant capital. Auto accident victims have to pay their lawyers and foot other bills. You may even have to cover expert witness bills such as accident reconstructionists.
Furthermore, a claim for damages against multiple fault parties will lead to more expenses. This is one reason crash survivors refuse to engage lawyers. Fortunately, you can hire an experienced car accident lawyer on a contingency fee basis. Working with accident lawyers on a contingency basis means that you only pay them if they win your case. Winning the personal injury claim here could be by accepting a settlement or getting a court judgment.
Suppose the auto accident lawyer cannot get you financial compensation. Then, you wouldn’t have to pay any legal fees. Pursuing a legal claim on a contingency basis motivates the lawyer. This is because they know that their fee is dependent on winning. Therefore, such attorneys will do everything possible to get fair compensation from the insurance companies.
How Much Will My Personal Injury Attorney Take From My Settlement?
Suppose your lawyer wins your claim, thus saving you from medical debt. The next issue is how much they get from your settlement or judgment. Notably, injury victims think that accident attorneys working on a contingency basis will take large parts of their financial damages.
However, the reality is that both parties have to agree on the lawyer’s fees before commencing the case. Usually, Boston car accident lawyers prefer calculating their fees in percentages. So, they can take 30% – 40% of the compensation.
However, this depends on several other factors. For example, the earlier auto accident attorneys resolve the case, the lower their fee. Where the cases drag to trial, though, their fees are often higher. Fortunately, a court can strike down an unjust contingency fee.
Litigation and Other Costs
Filing a lawsuit or negotiating a settlement involves other costs beyond the attorney’s fees. Usually, a lawyer working on a contingency arrangement doesn’t pay these bills. Instead, the client foots them. Examples of such other costs include:
- Court and filing fees
- Cost of expert witnesses
- Discovery costs
- Overhead and incidental costs
When searching for a Boston car crash attorney, make sure to ask about their costs and fees.
How Long Do I Have to Hire a Boston Car Accident Lawyer?
If you’ve decided to hire a Boston car crash attorney, the next issue would then be when you must hire one. The law doesn’t stipulate a particular period for hiring an attorney. Instead, you’re free to choose a lawyer whenever you want. However, the best time to hire an attorney is immediately after the crash.
You wouldn’t have taken any significant steps that could harm your claim at this stage. In addition, there’s still time to gather crucial evidence from the accident scene. Your witnesses can also quickly remember what happened during the collision. Therefore, your lawyer can quickly get their statements on the record.
What Is the Massachusetts Car Accident Statute of Limitations?
Another essential issue is the Massachusetts Statute of Limitations. Statutes of Limitations specify a time limit within which litigants must approach the court. In Boston, you have only three years to file your case. However, this doesn’t mean that the court must conclude your claim within this period.
Instead, you must commence the litigation process within three years. The clock starts ticking from the accident date. If you don’t file your claim within three years, then, the fault driver or insurance adjuster will inform the court. The court will then have to throw out your case.
This is another reason to work with an experienced car accident attorney. Such a lawyer will be familiar with this statutory deadline. Therefore, they’ll ensure to file your case early. Some collisions also lead to wrongful death. In such cases, the deceased’s family will also have three years to file a wrongful death claim.
Exceptions to the Massachusetts Statute of Limitations
Like most laws, there are exceptions to this statutory period. We mean that the court can still hear your case if you file it after three years under some conditions. These include where:
- The injured party was a minor at the accident date.
- The liable parties were outside the state.
- Other types of disability. For example, if mental incapacity prevented the wounded individual from filing a claim.
What of the Insurance Company’s Time Limit?
Insurance companies sometimes have deadlines for making insurance claims. However, this is different from the Massachusetts Statute of Limitations. Such insurance companies usually state that you must report a crash or file a claim within a specific period of time.
You can find this provision in your insurance contract. Disregarding this rule may affect your chances of getting fair compensation for your losses. So, it’ll be best to comply with your insurer’s conditions.
Contact a Boston Car Crash Attorney at Michael Kelly!
Have you or a loved one gotten injured in a Boston car crash? Or have you lost a relative in an accident? If so, you may be struggling with the financial cost of the crash. But, even if you can foot the bills, it would be unfair if you weren’t responsible for the collision.
That’s why it’s best to pursue compensation under your PIP insurance or against the fault party. Our Boston car crash attorneys will do everything they can to help you get the money you deserve. We’ve won countless accident claims in several decades. So call us today for a FREE consultation on your case!
