Who Pays for Car Accident Compensation in Massachusetts?
Know Your Rights for Getting Compensated from Your Car Accident in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a No-Fault State
Massachusetts is a "no-fault state" with regards to car accidents. This means that your own Massachusetts car accident insurance company pays up to $8,000 of your medical bills, regardless of who was at fault. These benefits are called First-Party Benefits.
First-Party Benefits
The Massachusetts law defining First-Party Benefits states:
First-party benefits are payable to anyone who suffers an injury arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle.
Massachusetts First-Party Order of Priority
Although your own car insurance will be the first to pay in a Massachusetts automobile accident, there are times when an uninsured individual is an innocent passenger in a motor vehicle. In these circumstances, determining who is responsible to pay Massachusetts No-Fault Benefits can be complicated.
Driver or Passenger Order of Priority
- 1st priority is your own insurance policy. If you are not insured, then:
- 2nd priority is to the insurance company of a resident relative (i.e. spouse, parent, or sibling). If there are no relatives, then:
- 3rd priority is to the insurer of the owner of the vehicle occupied. If the owner of the vehicle is not insured, then:
- 4th priority is to the insurer of the driver of the vehicle occupied. If the driver of the vehicle is not insured, then:
- 5th priority is to the State of Massachusetts Assigned Claims Facility
Third-Party Benefits
There are other, related benefits known as Third-Party Benefits. These usually cover non-financial losses, which include damages for pain and suffering, scarring or disfigurement, death, and wage loss in excess of three years. In Massachusetts, a Third-Party legal claim is filed against the driver is at fault in the car accident.
To be awarded third-party benefits in Massachusetts, you must show that you suffered a "threshold injury," which is a serious impairment of an important body function, serious disfigurement or scarring, or death.
It is very common for insurance company adjusters to assert that an injury is not a "serious impairment of a body function." However, if you have an objectively documented injury to an important part of your body, and this affects your life, then you should talk with an experienced Massachusetts auto accident lawyer such as the personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone.
Contact a Car and Truck Accident Lawyer with Our Firm
If you or a loved one has been involved in a motor vehicle accident in Boston, Springfield, Worcester, or elsewhere in Massachusetts, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone. A car and truck accident lawyer with our firm can help you obtain the compensation you need and deserve.
Remember, your initial consultation is free, and you don't pay us unless you win.