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Melrose, Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawyers

Obtaining Compensation for Individuals Who Have Been Wrongfully Injured

If you or a family member has been harmed by the negligent or careless actions of another, you most likely are experiencing a great deal of stress and anxiety as you deal with injuries and mounting medical bills. These types of personal injuries occur when one party causes another individual to sustain harm through negligent or careless actions.

Massachusetts law allows you to file a personal injury claim against the party you believe is responsible for your personal injuries. Often, the only way to ensure that a party is held accountable for their negligent actions is to file a financial compensation claim.

The Martino Law Group, LLC has a proven history of obtaining results for our clients. Our personal injury attorneys understand that financial compensation cannot restore your life to what it was before your injury occurred. Nonetheless, financial compensation can assist you in paying medical treatment, recovering lost wages, and helping make amends for the pain and suffering you have had to endure.

What Factors Must be Present in Order to Have a Personal Injury Case?

In order to prove a personal injury case, there are several elements that must be met. These factors are essential, in that they establish legal cause for an individual to pursue a financial compensation claim.

Those elements are:

Duty to Exercise Reasonable Care

The first element of a personal injury claim that must be established is that the party that you believe is responsible for your accident failed to exercise reasonable care. This can apply to auto accidents, slip and fall accidents, premises liability accidents, and other various situations in which a person can become injured. This duty to exercise reasonable care can apply to a driver, property owner, or manager.

Failure Exercise Reasonable Care

Second, this element would be considered to be present when the responsible party fails to meet their duties in regard to reasonable care. In the case of a property owner, it could be a failure to fix a broken handle railing that results in a fall and a person being injured, for example. Even if the responsible party did actually mean to cause harm to another person, they could still be held liable for not exercising the proper precautions.

Causation

Third, causation refers to the responsible party’s failure to exercise reasonable care, and as a result, an injury occurred. It must be proven that the carelessness or negligent action of the responsible party directly contributed to the accident in question.

The Injury Victim Suffered Actual Damages

The final element of a personal injury claim involves damages. In order to recover financial compensation, the injured victim must have sustained actual damages as a result of the negligent or careless actions of the responsible party. If there are no injuries to an individual or their property, then there is nothing to compensate in the eyes of the law.

What Kinds of Damages Can I Recover in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts state law allows for injury victims to collect two different types of damages, compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages have two distinct categories, economic and non-economic.

Economic damages: These types of damages are awarded with the idea of reimbursing the injury victim for any out-of-pocket expenses they may have had to pay as a result of their injury. They can include, among other things:

  • Lost wages/loss of future wages
  • Medical bills
  • Medical expenses related to rehabilitation, physical therapy, or necessary medical equipment.

Non-economic damages: These types of damages are considered to be more subjective in nature and can include, for example:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Disfigurement
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium (relationship)

Of course, the amount and types of damages that an individual may be awarded largely depend on the circumstances that surround each personal injury case.

What is the Statute of Limitations in Massachusetts for Personal Injury Claims?

Massachusetts law stipulates that an individual only has three years from the date that the injury occurred to file a personal injury claim. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as in the case of medical malpractice lawsuits. In medical malpractice claims, the claim actually begins on the date the injury was discovered or should have reasonably been discovered. Additionally, if a minor has sustained personal injuries, that countdown actually begins on the individual’s 18th birthday.

How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take?

Most individuals would like assurance as to how long their case will take. Unfortunately, there is no set way to determine how long a case may take from start to finish. All personal injury cases are unique due to the individual factors and circumstances that are involved.

One of the most important aspects regarding your case will hinge on the insurance company (if applicable) and whether they decide to accept liability for the claim that you have submitted. If the insurance company is not willing to accept liability, then your case will take significantly longer to work its way through the legal system. It should be noted that most personal injury cases actually settle out of court without the need to go to trial.

This is when an experienced Massachusetts personal injury lawyer will prove to be invaluable to your case. Even when attempting to settle out of court, many insurance companies will attempt to undervalue your claim or try to diminish the extent of your injuries in order to avoid a big payout. A skilled personal injury attorney can stand up to the insurance companies and counteract all of their deceitful tactics.

The personal injury attorneys of the Martino Law Group, LLC have the knowledge and experience to handle all types of personal injury claims. If you have been injured by the negligence of another individual, you may be entitled to file a personal injury claim in order to recover financial compensation for your injuries.

Contact our law group by calling (781) 531-8673 and schedule a free consultation with a qualified personal injury lawyer from our legal team. We look forward to serving you.