If you were involved in an auto accident, our lawyers can help you get compensation for your injuries. Cases involving injury are automatically more complicated than accidents involving property damage alone, and you should never try to resolve your case or accept an insurance settlement before talking to a lawyer.
No matter what type of vehicle you were driving, and no matter what type of vehicle hit you, our lawyers can fight the responsible parties and their insurance companies for full compensation. If that ultimately means going to court, we can take your case before a jury if needed.
For your free case review, call our car, truck, and motorcycle accident lawyers today at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.
What to Do After an Auto Accident in Newburyport
If you were involved in a car crash or you were hit by a truck or hurt while riding your motorcycle, the process for what to do next should be somewhat the same:
- Report the accident to the police and ask for an ambulance
- Exchange contact info and insurance info with the other drivers
- Get any witness contact info
- Note the make, model, color, and license plate number of all vehicles involved
- Take photos of the scene, if you are able to
- Note any other weather, lighting, or road conditions that might be important
- Note any traffic signals or signs for your roadway
- Note if any of the cars had a dash cam or whether any nearby security cameras might have caught the accident
- Note the nearest cross street or mile marker.
Some of this info could be vital later, but if you are too injured to stay at the accident scene, focus first on your injuries. Go to the hospital and get any treatment you need. If you are able to collect some evidence and information at the scene, get medical treatment immediately after.
From there, you should call our car, truck, and motorcycle accident lawyers. Do not worry about tracking down security camera footage or collecting your medical records; we can take care of that for you if you call soon enough. If you missed the opportunity to get contact info at the scene of the crash because your injuries were too severe, we can find a lot of that info in the police report, too.
How Do Trucks Affect Auto Accidents?
When your crash involves a truck or other commercial vehicle, that can change how you get compensated. Most car accident cases would just be filed against the other driver, but when the trucker who hit you was working for a trucking company, the company might be liable in their place.
These cases involve a principle called “respondeat superior” that allows us to sue a worker’s boss if they caused your accident while working as an employee. Some truckers are independent contractors, which blocks this opportunity, so it is important to always check with a lawyer for help.
When you sue trucking companies this way, they can also be held liable for negligent hiring and retention, maintenance issues, and trucking regulatory violations, such as allowing drivers to stay on the road beyond hours of service limits.
How Motorcycle Accidents Are Different from Car Accidents
If you were hurt while riding a motorcycle, your case should work the same way. One major difference is that your insurance is not a no-fault policy, so there are no restrictions on your ability to sue. You can always go after the at-fault driver for full damages if they caused your crash.
However, the other major difference is that other drivers tend to blame motorcycle riders for their own injuries. You might face accusations that you were driving unsafely or that simply being on a motorcycle put you at a higher risk of injury. This is absurd because motorcycles are perfectly legal in Massachusetts, but our lawyers might have to defend against additional attacks.
Do I Use Insurance or File a Lawsuit for a Vehicle Crash in Newburyport?
Massachusetts uses a no-fault system for car insurance, but it does not apply to motorcycle accidents. This means motorcycle accidents can always go straight to a lawsuit for full damages if you want, but you need to meet certain thresholds before a car accident can get full damages.
In a car accident claim, you must have serious injuries or more than $2,000 in medical bills to get pain and suffering. This is often met, but our attorneys can investigate your case and help you determine whether you can proceed with a lawsuit.
Although you can go to court, it does not mean you have to. Your no-fault insurance will cover a portion of your damages, and we can claim the rest from the at-fault driver. If their insurance is willing to pay in full and settle the case, we might be able to end the case quickly for a fair value.
If they refuse, we can take them to court.
What is Needed to Prove Fault in Car Crash Lawsuits?
Whether you are going through insurance or a lawsuit, the elements of fault in a negligence case are the same:
- The defendant owed you a duty
- They breached that duty
- That breach caused your accident
- You suffered injuries and damages.
If all of these are met, you can pin the accident on the defendant, and they pay their full share of the damages they caused. If multiple parties are at fault, they each pay their fair share of your total damages.
Car accident cases do not need one clear “at-fault party” and one clear “innocent victim.” In reality, cases are often less clear, and victims might share a portion of the blame, too. As long as your share of fault is 50% max, you can still get damages. However, they will be reduced by your share of the blame.
Evidence Needed
Your case will need as much evidence as we can get our hands on. Some evidence, like your testimony and other witness testimony, goes to how the accident happened and who was at fault. Other evidence, like medical bills and records, go to what injuries you suffered, how severe they are, and how much they are worth.
Our lawyers can investigate your case, collect evidence, get additional evidence and depositions from the defense, and build a strong case.
Call Our Auto Accident Lawyers in Newburyport Today
For your free case review, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s car, truck, and motorcycle lawyers at (617) 925-6407.