Bourne, MA Personal Injury Lawyer

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While we might try, it is difficult to completely avoid being injured in Bourne. If another person is responsible for the accident, our lawyers can help you explore the legal options available.

Our team files personal injury claims for many different reasons. Many lawsuits are filed for injuries sustained in car and truck accidents, while many others are against property owners for accidents that happen on their premises. No matter the accident you were harmed in, our team can assess your damages and file your claim. We will guide you along the way so that you are fully informed throughout the litigation process. Our goal is to get the evidence you need so that your case can be resolved as quickly as possible.

For a free case assessment with our Plymouth, MA personal injury lawyers, contact the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.

Lawsuits Our Personal Injury Attorneys Handle in Bourne, MA

People in Bourne need to file personal injury claims for many different reasons. However, no matter the type of incident, negligence is at the root of most cases. Determining how your accident was caused will allow our personal injury attorneys to develop the best strategies to recover compensation and who the likely defendants should be in the case. Each case is unique, and yours deserves to be handled by a skilled and experienced legal team. The following is a sampling of the personal injury lawsuits we commonly file in Bourne:

Car Accident Lawsuits

car accidents account for a majority of the claims filed for personal injuries. Car accidents happen every day, so our team has a great deal of experience litigating these cases and can help you determine whether you were hit by a single driver, or multiple drivers were involved in your accident. If multiple drivers are involved, we can gather evidence that shows how each one individually contributed to causing your injuries.

The biggest issue to determine in any car accident claim is whether the victim has the right to file a lawsuit. Massachusetts is a “no-fault” state for insurance purposes. A victim’s personal insurance will compensate them for certain financial losses, but only those who suffered “serious” injuries or over $2,000 in medical damages are permitted to file a lawsuit for pain and suffering damages from a car accident under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch.231, § 6D.

Our team has also been helping victims with the increasing number of car accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers. These cases present challenges all their own since the insurance you can claim in the crash will be different depending on whether the driver was on duty when the accident occurred. If you were hit by an on-duty Lyft or Uber driver or the passenger when they crashed, you would typically have access to those companies’ respective insurance policies with coverage of up to $1,000,000. However, you usually cannot file a lawsuit against rideshare companies because their drivers are actually “independent contractors.”

Truck Accident Lawsuits

Vehicle accident claims can get much more complicated when a commercial truck is involved. Truck accidents can happen for different reasons than average car crashes. While many are still caused by ordinary driver negligence, like speeding and distracted driving, many other truck accidents happen because a truck part malfunctions or the cargo was improperly loaded.

Fortunately, we can usually sue the trucker for their negligence and the trucking company that employs them since most are vicariously liable for their drivers. Essentially, the law treats them as one defendant and equally responsible for the damages the driver caused.

Premises Liability Lawsuits

Another common claim our team helps victims file is for accidents on other people’s property. In a “premises liability” lawsuit, you can pursue compensation from a property owner or manager for failing to keep their premises safe. For instance, slip and fall accidents are the cause of many premises liability claims.

Most property owners have a duty to repair or warn of dangerous conditions on their premises. However, property owners do not have this duty to those who do not have permission to be on the premises unless the trespasser is a child, according to § 85Y.

Understanding the Personal Injury Claims Process in Bourne, MA

Many people have an idea from television and movies about what fighting a lawsuit is like. Unfortunately, the reality of legal work is that it is typically far less exciting than what TV depicts, as most of the work is done behind the scenes. Most cases are actually settled long before trial since the civil system promotes transparency, meaning that both sides will have the same evidence to use in a case. Ideally, you will receive a settlement offer that covers all the damages we are demanding, saving both sides the costs of a trial.

Gathering Evidence

The first step in any lawsuit is to get to know you and review your case. When we do, our lawyers will identify likely sources from which to collect evidence. For instance, if you were injured in a car accident, we could go back out to the scene of the crash to determine if any surveillance or traffic cameras were close enough to capture the accident.

We will also gather evidence from the defendant during “discovery.” Discovery is a formal process whereby the attorneys in a case turn over evidence in their possession not protected by the attorney-client privilege to the other side. This is intended to reduce surprises and level the playing field for settlement negotiations.

After obtaining and reviewing the evidence, we can schedule “depositions.” These are formal interviews with the parties of a lawsuit, including the plaintiff, defendant, witnesses, experts, and anyone relevant to the case. The questions are made under oath, so the answers given can be used in court. For example, if the defendant said one thing during depositions and then another thing at trial, we could use the depositions to attack their credibility.

Settlement Negotiations and Trial

Once the depositions have concluded and compared with the other evidence collected thus far, settlement negotiations can begin in earnest. If the process just discussed goes according to plan, you might not have to wait long before receiving an offer you find satisfactory.

Remember, winning a case means getting compensation for all the damages caused by your accident. If the defendant is unwilling to pay what you deserve, we will be ready to take all the work we have prepared into court. At that point, our theory and arguments for your case have been fully formed and are ready for a jury to decide the matter.