Medford Car Accident Lawyer
After a car accident, you might be left scrambling to put the pieces of your life back together. The person who caused the accident should be held accountable and made to pay for your injuries and damages.
An attorney can help you get compensation after a car accident through several legal means. You can file an insurance claim or lawsuit or reach a private settlement with the other driver. Often, injured drivers go through some combination of these options before getting fair compensation. Your case must meet certain criteria for filing a lawsuit after a car crash. Generally, your injuries must cost at least $2,000 or be considered “serious injuries” as defined by law. Damages in car accident cases often exceed this limit. Medical bills, property damage, and damages for pain and suffering are known to be significant. You should speak to a lawyer about getting fair compensation after an accident as soon as possible.
If you were recently involved in an auto accident, call our Medford car accident lawyers at (617) 925-6407 to arrange a free, private case review with our team at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan.
How to Get Compensation for Damages After a Medford Car Accident
Talk to your attorney about how you should go about getting fair compensation for your injuries after a car collision. No two cases are alike, and different approaches might be required for different plaintiffs. Some common tactics include insurance claims, lawsuits, and private settlements.
Many injured drivers explore legal options involving insurance claims first. In many cases, a person’s injuries and damages might be completely covered by insurance, and there is no need to escalate the case further. In many other cases, insurance is insufficient or unavailable, and injured drivers must look into other options with their attorneys.
Filing a lawsuit is a good idea in cases where damages are especially high or insurance companies refuse to pay a fair settlement. Often, the cost of injuries and other damages exceeds the limits of an insurance policy, and a lawsuit helps the injured party recover additional compensation. A lawsuit might also help you recover damages normally unavailable in insurance claims. For example, insurance often does not pay for emotional distress or trauma related to an accident. A lawsuit may provide such damages and more.
A settlement is a private agreement between the parties regarding damages and compensation. Generally, defendants agree to pay a sum of money for damages, and the plaintiff agrees to drop their lawsuit. How much your settlement is worth depends on how you negotiate. Strong evidence might give you more leverage in the negotiation process. If negotiations fail, a lawsuit might be the next step.
Criteria for Filing a Medford Car Accident Claim
Not everyone can file a lawsuit after a car accident in Massachusetts. The law imposes certain restrictions based on injuries and damages. According to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231 § 6D, a potential plaintiff may file a lawsuit related to a car accident only if their damages meet a specific monetary threshold or their injuries are considered serious enough under the law.
The monetary threshold is $2,000. You can file a lawsuit if your medical treatment costs at least $2,000. If your injuries do not meet this limit, you might be limited to filing an insurance claim. However, even if you do not spend at least $2,000 on medical care, you may be able to sue if your injuries are serious enough.
The law describes serious injuries as involving death, the loss of body parts, serious disfigurement, the loss of vision or hearing, or fractures. While many of these injuries might meet the monetary threshold, some do not. Even so, the serious nature of the injuries should allow you to sue. Talk to our car accident lawyers about your injuries if your case is on the borderline.
What Are My Damages Worth in a Medford Car Accident Case?
Your damages should reflect the losses, injuries, and costs of your car accident. While many damages are rooted in monetary costs of injuries and property damage, others are based on more subjective personal experiences that do not necessarily come with a price tag.
Economic Damages
Damages related to money are often called economic damages. Medical bills are among the biggest sources of economic damages in car accident cases. Even minor injuries might be very expensive to treat. People who are more severely injured might encounter very high hospital bills. Even worse, many people require ongoing care for long-term complications, and they can expect more bills to come.
Your injuries might hinder your ability to work and earn a living. While many people take time off from their jobs to recover after an accident, some people need a more extended leave of absence. If your employer does not cover your time off, you might lose a lot of income. Your lost income should be accounted for in your damages.
Property damage is another significant area of economic damages. You might need to replace your vehicle and various personal belongings that were inside it when the accident happened. You might lose expensive devices like phones or laptops. You might have lost valuable personal items like jewelry or watches. Go over everything you lost with your lawyer to add up these damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Your non-economic damages are more subjective and often unrelated to any specific sum of money, but they may still be worth valuable compensation. Non-economic damages are often collectively referred to as “pain and suffering,” but the true extent of these damages includes much more.
Physical pain from your injuries is a major factor. Even after treatment is complete, you might be living with serious pain. For some, the pain is chronic and lasts for a long time. You should be compensated for having to live with such pain.
You should also be compensated for emotional and mental distress. Being in a car accident is frightening. Many people have trouble emotionally coming to terms with the accident and how their injuries have changed their lives.
Non-economic damages are inherently subjective and ultimately decided by the jury. You must present the jury with evidence of how these damages have impacted your life so they award you greater compensation.
Contact Our Medford Car Accident Lawyers to Discuss Your Accident and Legal Claims
Call our Medford car accident attorneys at (617) 925-6407 to set up a free, confidential case review with our team at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan.
