Beverly, MA Car Accident Lawyer
After being injured in a car accident, it may take a while to get back to normal – if that is possible. With serious injuries that keep you from returning to work, you may need ongoing help dealing with lost wages and day-to-day expenses and activities. Even with moderate injuries, you could face time off work and substantial medical debt.
For help with your car accident case, do not turn to your insurance company on your own. Instead, work with a Beverly, MA car accident lawyer. An injury attorney is legally and ethically required to have your best interests in mind, and you can turn to a lawyer for legal advice that your insurance company is unlikely to provide. Additionally, if your insurance company is refusing to pay what they owe you after a crash, your lawyer can help enforce your insurance policy against them.
For help with your car accident case, call the Beverly, MA car accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan today at (617) 925-6407. We offer free case reviews.
Dealing with Insurance After a Beverly, MA Car Accident
Car insurance is required for every driver in Massachusetts, and drivers often pick insurance companies and policies that they think they can trust to pay them when they need the money. Since Massachusetts is a no-fault insurance state, that means that your own insurance company is the one that pays for your injuries after a crash. While you usually still need to file a third-party claim against the other driver’s insurance, your own insurance policy’s PIP (personal injury protection) coverage will pay for your injuries regardless of who was at fault. But getting the payments you truly need is often far more complicated.
First, PIP coverage is limited in the scope of what it can cover. You are limited to compensation for medical bills and lost wages through your PIP coverage, and you typically only receive these damages at a percentage of their full cost. You may also have to pay deductibles, according to the specifics of your policy, which means out-of-pocket expenses even if you were not at fault. Additionally, this coverage does not pay for vehicle damage or pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering damages can actually only be claimed if your injuries total at least $2,000. To get these damages, you typically need to file a third-party claim like with vehicle damage.
All in all, your insurance policy might not pay what you need, and you should not be on the hook for any out-of-pocket expenses if you were not at fault for your crash. This is where a Beverly, MA car accident lawyer can help: we can file a lawsuit to help you get all of these damages paid for by the at-fault driver and their insurance company. Some limits certainly apply, but these claims are often able to more fully compensate victims, depending on the specifics of their case.
Time Limits for Filing a Car Accident Lawsuit in Beverly, MA
Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A is what is known as a “statute of limitations.” This statute creates a 3-year filing deadline for all personal injury cases in Massachusetts, which includes car accident cases from Beverly.
A statute of limitations is used to prevent cases from lingering indefinitely without being filed. This helps make sure that evidence is somewhat fresh and that witnesses are not trying to remember facts from a long time ago. If your injuries are serious enough that you need hospital care and damages for medical bills, it is likely you will file your case well before this 3-year deadline anyway.
By the 3-year deadline, your case only needs to be filed. That means there is no requirement that you finish the trial by this deadline; your case just needs to be properly filed and the defendant needs to be properly notified of the lawsuit.
Keep in mind that some car accidents have special deadlines a Beverly car accident lawyer can help you with. Specifically, § 4B of the same chapter cited above creates special deadlines for filing a hit and run case. Your lawyer can help make sure that your case is filed on time if the driver left the scene of the accident and has not been located yet.
Determining Fault in Common Types of Car Accidents in Beverly
Our Beverly car accident lawyers can help you with any type of Massachusetts car accident you might have been involved in. However, there are a few common types of car accidents that our lawyers deal with more often. If you were involved in one of the following types of crashes, the following information might help you understand who is at fault and what types of arguments will be made in your upcoming injury case:
- Rear-end accidents are typically the fault of the driver who was following too closely unless the driver in front intentionally hit the brakes to force the rear driver into a crash.
- A driver who runs a red light, runs a stop sign, or ignores a yield sign can typically be held at fault for an intersection accident.
- A driver who fails to yield to oncoming traffic while they are waiting to turn left can typically be held liable for the crash.
- Drivers who were speeding during an accident are often at fault.
- A drunk driver is almost always at fault for the accident they are involved in since drunk driving is a serious offense.
- Distracted and tired driving are also very dangerous, and these drivers can typically be found at fault.
If you were involved in another type of accident, our Beverly, MA car accident attorneys can investigate the crash and determine who was at fault.
Call Our Beverly Car Accident Attorneys Today
If you or a loved one was hurt in a car accident in Beverly, MA, call our Beverly car accident lawyers today at (617) 925-6407. At the Law Office of John J. Sheehan, we offer free case evaluations.
