Personal injury claims for injuries sustained in a car accident are more complicated than they look from the outside. If you are a victim, you have the burden to prove the other party’s fault for the crash and the injuries you sustained. Sometimes, fault and liability in car accidents are not obvious. Because of this, a lot of injury claims can take time to resolve. You need a Boston personal injury lawyer to help you establish liability and ensure you get compensated for all the losses you suffered because of your injuries.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
In Boston, filing a lawsuit for injuries suffered in a car accident can be difficult. This is due to the no-fault insurance law in the state that restricts how much and when you can recover compensation for bodily injuries. Particularly, those involved in a car accident must look to their insurance provider to get compensation for their damages including lost wages and medical bills under their policy’s Personal Injury Protection or PIP benefits.
This rule lets car accident victims get reimbursement for all the expenses they incur without proving fault for the accident. However, this system prevents other injured parties from filing a lawsuit for fair compensation. Also, the system does not account for pain and suffering damages. You can only sue for crash injuries if you suffered very serious injuries by showing that your medical bills for reasonable and necessary treatment are more than $2, 000, you suffered severe or permanent disfigurement, and you have broken bones. Also, suing is possible in the case of death, loss of body parts, and hearing or vision loss.
Proving Fault
If one of the circumstances above is present, you can prove the other party involved in the accident was at fault. In personal injury claims, you must prove the extent of injury caused and the responsibility of the other driver.
Fault is especially vital as the state adopts a modified comparative fault system. This rule controls when you can recover from the defendant. Under this rule, you can only recover compensation if you are less than 51% at fault for the accident. Having strong evidence of the other driver’s fault is essential to winning your personal injury case. Common evidence you must collect include the official police report, accident scene photos, witness statements, cited traffic law violations, and violations of car condition requirements such as lights, tire, and brakes.
