Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawsuit FAQs

When we file a lawsuit on behalf of a victim of a motor vehicle collision or other personal injury, there are multiple steps our clients have to undertake to reach a settlement or positive jury verdict. The following is the answer to some of the typical questions our clients ask in explaining the steps that everyone should consider when deciding to file a lawsuit in Massachusetts courts.

When will my lawyer file suit?
Does filing a personal injury lawsuit mean I’ll have to go to court?
Will I be deposed? What’s the point of a deposition? How does it work?
Someone injured me, but I don’t want to ruin that person’s life filing a lawsuit against them. Should I file a claim or sue?
We file negligence lawsuits in Massachusetts. What is negligence?
What if my injuries are partly my fault?
What does “liable” mean?
Can a claim help me get compensation for my injuries?
How can I pick the best lawyer to prosecute my personal injury case?
I’d like to come in and meet with a lawyer. What will it cost?

When will my lawyer file suit?

Only if a claim with the insurance company does not yield a significant offer of settlement. And, only after consultation with you regarding what the requirements and ramifications are when we file a lawsuit.

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Does filing a personal injury lawsuit mean I’ll have to go to court?

No. In fact, you probably won’t need to go to court at all. We resolve most cases before trial. But if your case doesn’t settle and is not decided by a summary judgment motion or the like, then you may have to go to court and testify. Don’t worry, though - testifying is simply answering questions about what happened. It is rarely anything like the drama depicted on television or in the movies.

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Will I be deposed? What’s the point of a deposition? How does it work?

If we have to file a lawsuit, it is likely that you will be deposed. Depositions usually take place in a conference room, with a stenographer who records everything, word for word. An opposing lawyer will be asking you the questions. You answer the questions. A typical deposition lasts a few hours. A lawyer from our office always sits besides our client to object to improper questions and making sure you’re treated fairly.

Later, if the case goes to trial, the lawyer can use your deposition testimony to make sure that your testimony is consistent. More important, however, is that the insurance defense attorney gets to see and hear you. The defense gets its opportunity to see if you are presentable and prepared. Often cases settle after a deposition and before trial precisely because you are fully and properly prepared for your deposition.

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Someone injured me, but I don’t want to ruin that person’s life filing a lawsuit against them. Should I file a claim or sue?

If you’ve been injured, do not feel bad about filing a claim. Most claims are resolved without filing a lawsuit, or suing. The purpose of the insurance industry – and the legal system – is to make people in your position whole again. This is why people invented insurance more than 700 years ago. We all pay premiums to insurance companies so that if something goes wrong for one of us, the insurance company has the resources to make that person whole again. People in the insurance industry call this “spreading the risk.”

In almost all personal injury cases, the defendant is covered by insurance. Insurance covers the insurance defense lawyer and the payment for most claims. Odds are that whomever you sue won’t be paying out-of-pocket. And because a personal injury lawsuit is a civil case, not a criminal case, so generally there are no criminal ramifications for the actions we take in a civil case.

An insurance company lawyer will probably defend the lawsuit. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Neil Burns are very experienced in dealing with insurance company lawyers. Any money that the court awards you, as compensation for your injuries, will likely be paid by the insurance company. Accidents happen – but that doesn’t mean you need to get stuck with the bill for your pain and suffering. You’ve been through enough already. We can help.

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We file negligence lawsuits in Massachusetts. What is negligence?

Negligence basically means carelessness. Many personal injury lawsuits are based on the defendant’s negligence. If someone injured you because he or she wasn’t as careful as a reasonable person should have been in that situation, that person was negligent, and may be liable for your injuries. For example, an automobile driver has a duty to drive carefully. Let’s say you were crossing the street in a crosswalk, and a driver hit you with his car because he wasn’t paying enough attention and didn’t notice the crosswalk. That driver probably wasn’t as careful as a reasonable driver should be – in other words, he was negligent – and may be liable for your injuries.

Figuring out whether someone else is at fault can be tricky. Not, for example, if the person injured you intentionally, or was in a position where he owed you a duty to safeguard your well being; then the question is more straightforward. But often, figuring out fault will come down to the question of whether the person who injured you was negligent.

Negligence is a legal concept that courts have debated for centuries. For a little more detail on the concept, click here. But for now, you can think of it as being about the same as “failing to be reasonably careful.” So ask yourself, did the person who injured me fail to act with reasonable care? Was the person texting on his phone when his car crashed into yours? Did the supermarket fail to put up signs to let you know that the floors were wet? Did your motorcycle’s brakes fail because your mechanic let an unskilled trainee work on them? Does it seem like a reasonable person would have done differently?

Every case will be different, and we would need to discuss your particular case before drawing a conclusion about whether your claim is strong.

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What if my injuries are partly my fault?

How much you are compensated for your injuries may depend on whether your injury was caused in part by your own negligence. In the crosswalk example we described above, if a court finds that you were 25 percent to blame for the car hitting you because you were crossing outside of a crosswalk, your compensatory damages award would be reduced by 25 percent, leaving you with a 75 percent recovery. It’s actually a little more complicated than this in Massachusetts, because if the court finds that you are more than 50 percent responsible for your injuries, the court won’t award you any compensation. You can only win a damages award if you weren’t the main cause of your own injuries.

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What does “liable” mean?

Liable means responsible. If the court finds someone liable for your injuries that means that the person is responsible for them, and usually his insurance company has to compensate you for them. (Liable is not the same as guilty. A defendant can only be found guilty in a criminal case.)

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Can a claim help me get compensation for my injuries?

Yes. If you’ve been injured, you have the potential to receive “compensatory damages” –money in a lawsuit to compensate you for:

• Medical bills
• Lost earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Any resulting physical disability, disfigurement, or scarring
• Any resulting mental disability
• Emotional distress
• Loss of love and affection
• Mental disability
• Property damage
• Out of pocket expenses that stem directly from you being injured (transportation charges, house cleaning, and others).

In some cases, you might also be able to win “punitive damages” – money that a judge or jury requires a defendant to pay in addition to the compensatory damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish a defendant that acted especially badly. Whether you will be eligible to receive punitive damages depends on how egregiously the defendant acted toward you.

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How can I pick the best lawyer to prosecute my personal injury case?

Finding the right lawyer can be tough! Your lawyer should have experience with your type of case. Your lawyer should have a track record of success in personal injury lawsuits. Your lawyer should have the respect of his or her peers. Your lawyer should be willing and able to fight vigorously for your interests while acting with solid ethics and professionalism. Your lawyer should speak clearly with you, respond to your questions in a timely manner, and put you at ease.

If that sounds like the lawyer you want, we encourage you to meet with the lawyers at The Law Office of Neil Burns.

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I’d like to come in and meet with a lawyer. What will it cost?

At The Law Office of Neil Burns, www.neilburnslaw.com your initial consultation is always free. It will cost you nothing to speak with us regarding your potential claim. If you hire us, the fee is contingent on our successfully resolving your case. That is, for a typical motor vehicle case we charge one third (33%) of the settlement or judgment. You will not have to pay any fee or bills until the end of the case; at that time we will take our fee from the insurance company proceeds.

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