Can I Get Compensation for a Bicycle Accident Injury in Massachusetts?

Bicycle accidents are often serious, resulting in severe injuries that require compensation. If you need help recovering damages after an accident, contact our attorneys for assistance.

After a bicycle accident in Massachusetts, victims may be able to file a lawsuit against a negligent driver or file a claim with their personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. There is a tort threshold for bike accident lawsuits in Massachusetts, meaning victims have to meet certain criteria to be able to sue. Typically, victims can recover some form of economic damages when they file a lawsuit or a claim with their PIP insurance. However, greater compensation may be available when victims can sue negligent drivers. While compensation is never guaranteed, our lawyers can work hard to improve your chances of recovery in Massachusetts.

Our attorneys are here to help bicycle accident victims in Massachusetts recover the compensation they need to heal from their injuries. For a free case evaluation with the Boston bicycle accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan, call today at (617) 925-6407.

How Can I Get Compensation for a Bicycle Accident Injury in Massachusetts?

If you were injured in a bicycle accident in Massachusetts and require compensation for your losses, our attorneys can help. Depending on the severity of your injuries and the financial losses you incurred, your options for recovery may differ. Our Cambridge bicycle accident lawyers can explain your potential paths to recovery so that you can begin to heal from your injuries.

PIP Claim

Massachusetts is a no-fault state, meaning all drivers must purchase personal injury protection insurance. This coverage extends to bicyclists injured in an accident. So, if you have PIP for your car and are struck by a vehicle while riding your bike, you may have to file a claim with your personal injury protection insurance, regardless of who is at fault for your injuries. For a bike accident that results in less than $2,000 in medical expenses or certain non-serious injuries, filing a claim with your PIP coverage may be the only option for recovery in Massachusetts.

Lawsuit

In some cases, bicycle accident victims in Massachusetts can pursue compensation via a lawsuit against a negligent driver. Suppose a victim’s medical expenses from an accident exceed $2,000 or they sustained injuries that resulted in death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, loss of sight or hearing, or certain fractures. In that case, they may be able to file a lawsuit to recover non-economic damages against an at-fault party, despite Massachusetts being a no-fault state, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231, § 6D.

Our attorneys can assess your medical records and expected cost of care to determine if you meet the tort threshold for bicycle accident cases in Massachusetts to recover the compensation you deserve against a negligent driver in a lawsuit.

What Compensation Can I Get for a Bicycle Accident Injury in Massachusetts?

Depending on the circumstances of a bicycle accident lawsuit and the damages you have incurred, you may be able to recover significant compensation. If you are permitted to file a lawsuit against a negligent driver, you may recover economic and non-economic damages after a bicycle accident in Massachusetts.

Economic Damages

Victims who sustain injuries in a bicycle accident resulting in financial losses can recover economic damages. If you can only file a claim with your PIP insurance, you may recover up to the limits of your policy for medical expenses and lost wages. If you meet the tort threshold in Massachusetts, you can recover compensation for all medical expenses, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses due to a collision. Our Massachusetts personal injury lawyers can gather all records of your financial losses to estimate the economic damages you deserve.

Non-Economic Damages

Generally, non-economic damages are unavailable when bicycle accident victims file a claim with their personal injury protection insurance in Massachusetts. However, if you meet the tort threshold for bike accident cases, you may be able to recover non-economic damages in a lawsuit against a negligent driver. Bicycle accident injuries can be severe, forever altering a victim’s quality of life. Non-economic damages can compensate you for emotional difficulties following an accident, such as pain and suffering, so you can move forward.

Is Compensation Guaranteed for Bicycle Accident Victims in Massachusetts?

While victims understandably feel entitled to compensation after being injured in a bicycle accident in Massachusetts, compensation is never guaranteed. Certain issues might jeopardize your access to compensatory damages following a collision, which is why seeking guidance from our Boston personal injury lawyers is wise.

You might think that some form of compensation is always available to bicycle accident victims through their personal injury protection insurance. Although PIP insurance is meant to protect you in the event of an accident resulting in injury, claims might be denied for various reasons. Some bicyclists do not have PIP coverage and are left having to file a claim with their own medical insurance or a negligent driver’s liability insurance.

Simply filing a lawsuit does not guarantee compensation. Success often requires help from our skilled attorneys, who can investigate your accident, uncover evidence, and build a strong case against a negligent driver. Our attorneys are also familiar with Massachusetts’s modified comparative fault laws, which bar victims from recovery if their level of liability is higher than a defendant’s.

While compensation is not guaranteed for bicycle accident victims in Massachusetts, our experienced lawyers can greatly improve your chances of recovery. Our attorneys will advise you to report your injuries to the police, seek medical attention, and create other helpful evidence that ultimately allows you to recover the compensatory damages you deserve after a bicycle accident in Massachusetts.

Call Our Massachusetts Lawyers About Your Bicycle Accident Case Today

If you need compensation for injuries sustained in a bicycle accident, our attorneys can help. For a free case evaluation with the Wakefield personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan, call today at (617) 925-6407.