Dedham, MA Car Accident Lawyer

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While you focus on your physical health after an accident, our lawyers can focus on preparing and bringing a case against the negligent driver.

After a crash in Dedham, our lawyers can help file your lawsuit only after we know the full scope of your damages and injuries. Victims who file any sooner might not have enough evidence to support their claims. Also, before filing your case, we will collect all records and information related to the accident, such as incident reports from police, eyewitness statements, and photos. As we do this, you should focus solely on your medical care and building medical evidence. Settlement negotiations typically follow case filings, and it is important to evaluate settlement offers before accepting them. If necessary, we can also take victims’ claims to court, where we will seek to prove at-fault drivers’ negligence in Dedham.

For a free case review from the Dedham, MA car accident lawyers of the Law Office of John J. Sheehan, call us today at (617) 925-6407.

Deciding When to File Your Dedham, MA Car Accident Case

Timing is a critical factor in car accident cases, and our experienced lawyers can help you determine the optimal time to file your lawsuit, ensuring compliance with the statute of limitations in Massachusetts.

First of all, the final date to file your lawsuit will be three years from the crash date, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A. Unless a rare exception applies, victims cannot sue any later than that date in Dedham.

In addition to minding the statute of limitations, strategically choosing a filing date is important. For example, right after a crash, victims may not know their final diagnoses, medical damages, missed wages, or pain and suffering. When you file a lawsuit, you also request compensation. If you have yet to incur close to all the damages you expect to in your case, it might be too soon to file.

Our car accident lawyers can help you strike that all-important balance of filing not too soon but not too late. Once we learn the scope of your injuries, we can estimate your medical damages, including future medical costs. This will also help us calculate your future lost wages, especially if your medical records prove you sustained permanent or long-lasting injuries in the accident.

We can start preparing your case immediately after the accident so that you can file as soon as possible while also being confident in your claim’s success in Dedham. This might involve enlisting experts, like medical experts, who can shed light on anticipated future damages from the accident.

What to Do Before Filing Your Dedham, MA Car Accident Lawsuit

Before filing your case in Dedham, give our lawyers any information, images, or records you have about the accident, your injuries, or your damages. We will help you source additional documents and use them in your case as necessary.

Whenever you get bills or charges related to the accident, forward them to our lawyers for our records. We can also help victims obtain relevant documents, like hospital medical records or accident reports from the Dedham Police Department. If you took any pictures of the accident’s aftermath, give them to our lawyers. Before investigating further, we may ask you detailed questions about the accident to gain a foundational understanding of what happened.

As we prepare your case, you can focus on your physical health by continuing medical treatment. This also helps claims since continuing treatment means victims keep generating medical records. Medical records are important evidence in all injury cases, including auto accident lawsuits. Even after we file your lawsuit in Dedham, you should continue your treatment. Keep getting medical care until you are fully healed, as failing to do so might jeopardize your case.

What to Expect After You File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Dedham, MA

After we file your complaint with the court, the defendant may wish to negotiate a settlement to avoid a trial. To ensure the settlement agreement is favorable to you, we will carefully evaluate it and compare it to our calculation of your total losses in Dedham.

Negligent drivers often want to avoid trials, especially if a jury is likely to find them liable. This means victims often have the upper hand when entering settlement talks and can use that to their advantage when negotiating an agreement. Because of this, accepting the defendant’s first proposal is often unnecessary. That first offer does not always reflect what the other side is willing to pay.

When responding to low offers, our lawyers will point out evidence in our favor, such as proof of your catastrophic injuries or eyewitness statements confirming your version of events. Enlisting experts for accident reconstruction, even if your case does not go to trial, can help quicken negotiations, convincing the defendant to settle fairly and out of court.

Compensatory damages for non-economic damages in car accident cases are not guaranteed and typically depend on the severity of a victim’s injuries, their effect on victims’ lives, and victims’ anticipated recovery timelines or the permanent nature of their injuries. Getting non-economic damages through settlements typically requires aggressive negotiations.

Even with clear evidence of their negligence, defendants might refuse to properly compensate victims in Dedham, leading to trials. Preparing for the possibility of a trial from the beginning of your case is crucial so that we have the necessary evidence to prove liability to a jury.

If the jury decides liability or you settle out of court, you could recover damages in a lump sum payment or across structured payments. Our lawyers can represent your interests when the payment plan is structured so that it ultimately favors you as the victim.