Thursday, November 3, 2016

Personal Injury Accidents in Boston: Do I Need a Lawyer?

If you were recently in a car crash, slip-and-fall accident, or other event that caused a personal injury, you may be wondering if someone else should be paying for your medical bills or if your injuries don't warrant a lawyer's help. Here are three questions to ask yourself to know whether or not you need a Boston Personal Injury Lawyer.

Is Your Injury a Result of Negligence?

According to the Cornell's Legal Information Institute, negligence occurs when a person fails to have the level of care that a prudent person would. While there are negligent actions—like texting while driving—there are also negligent omissions—like knowing about a broken stair-rail, but not bothering to put warnings or fix it.

Negligence can be difficult to prove sometimes; for example, an apartment complex may have an unsafe sidewalk, but if the landlord regularly maintains the premises and honestly didn't know about the problem, he or she may not be culpable. However, if you have witness statements, pictures of the accident, and other evidence that can implicate a third-party's negligent act, then you may need to hire a lawyer in Boston.

Is Your Injury Causing Daily Suffering or Emotional Distress?


The extent of your injuries may be difficult to figure out at first. For instance, you may think you just have whiplash, but then weeks, months, or years later, you may develop severe headaches or radiating arm pain. However, if you do develop symptoms later on, all hope is not lost: according to lawyers.com, Massachusetts's statute of limitations for personal injury cases is three years. However, if you are currently experiencing daily suffering or distress from your accident, you should seek a lawyer's help. Suffering doesn't just include physical injuries, emotional distress can make you entitled to compensation for “pain and suffering” damages.

Is the Other Party Avoiding a Settlement?

If your injury was caused by an accident, your insurance can most likely pay most of your medical bills regardless of negligence since Massachusetts is a No-Fault State. However, if your injuries were extreme or you suffered damages from a different type of accident, you may want to write a demand letter to the party that caused the accident. In this letter you can be very clear about how much compensation you believe is reasonable. If the other party balks at your demands, you have every right to contact a lawyer to help take your case to court.

As you can see, if you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions, you may need to call a personal injury lawyer in Boston at 844-311-7900.