In Massachusetts, victims of car accidents and similar accidents may have to file their claim for compensation through personal injury protection (PIP). However, victims don’t have to file their claim on their own, and they can choose to file a lawsuit instead. In your case, a lawsuit may be the better option, or you can get help with your claim from a lawyer at our firm.
We can review your case and advise you during a free consultation. We’ll also tell you more about how a Massachusetts personal injury protection (PIP) lawyer from our firm will help you in the pursuit of your due compensation.
How does PIP Coverage Work in Massachusetts?
In Massachusetts, personal injury protection is required insurance for vehicle drivers. It helps drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists recover compensation for their damages after an accident. You can receive a percentage of your damage amounts and up to $8,000 in coverage.
PIP is very helpful in many situations, like those involving minor injuries. However, PIP doesn’t cover certain damages and any damage amounts beyond the policy limits. These issues limit the amount of compensation you can receive.
Filing a lawsuit may be the better option than filing a PIP claim since a lawsuit can let you recover compensation beyond the limits of a claim. A PIP lawyer from our firm can help you decide between a claim and a lawsuit and then help you through the filing process or just file the claim for you.
What does Personal Injury Protection Cover in Massachusetts?
Generally, PIP in Massachusetts covers only the financial damages related to your injuries and only a portion of the damage amounts. Here’s a breakdown of what PIP typically covers:
- Medical bills: If you have health insurance, PIP covers medical expenses up to a certain amount, and then your health insurance covers the rest. If you do not have health insurance (or if you rely on Medicare or Medicaid), you will receive up to $8,000 for your medical expenses.
- Lost wages: PIP can cover a certain percentage of your lost work earnings during your recovery.
- Replacement services: You may need to hire people outside of your family to take over certain services or tasks you would normally perform. PIP can cover the costs of hiring these people.
Can You Sue for Pain and Suffering in Massachusetts?
Non-financial, intangible damages, like pain and suffering, aren’t covered by PIP. This can be a problem for you, especially if you suffered a lot after your accident and may still be struggling today. You may deserve some recompense for your suffering. Instead of filing a PIP claim, you can file a lawsuit to sue the other party.
In a lawsuit, you could demand compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and related damages you have. If you lost a family member in an accident, with a wrongful death suit, specifically, you could sue for damages your family members have experienced. These damages could include pain and suffering as well as loss of companionship, loss of family support, and unresolved medical bills.
In Massachusetts, How do You Recover Compensation for Vehicle Damage?
PIP doesn’t cover property damage, including damage to your vehicle. Property damage insurance is what covers such damage. In Massachusetts, people must have a minimum limit of $5,000 for their property damage insurance, but that amount often isn’t enough coverage for repairs. If you’re the bill for your vehicle exceeds $5,000, you should consider filing a lawsuit over a claim. This may be your best course of action.
How Will a Massachusetts Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Lawyer Help Me?
Filing a personal injury protection claim and a Property Damage insurance claim by yourself may not be your best option. You may want to consider the following:
We Can Help You Demand Fair Compensation or Sue
An insurance company’s primary goal is to protect its profits. Your insurers may try to protect their profits and might not cover the damages or the damage amounts you believe they should. They’ll ignore your non-financial damages and cover only a percentage of your financial ones. Our firm can help you determine what fair compensation in your case may be and then demand it from the insurers.
Your damages and damage amounts may exceed policy limits. In this case, our lawyer can file a lawsuit for additional damages and greater damage amounts.
Additionally, if multiple parties are involved in your case (such as a driver and a vehicle parts manufacturer), our lawyer can demand compensation from each of them.
We Can Help You Meet the Deadline for Your Suit
Massachusetts has filing deadlines for lawsuits. If you’d like to file one or if you’d like to keep the option open, you and your personal injury protection lawyer in Massachusetts will have to consider the deadline for your particular kind of lawsuit.
Massachusetts’ filing deadline for a personal injury suit is 3 years from the date of an accident, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260 § 2A. The filing deadline for a wrongful death suit is 3 years from the date of the deceased person’s loss of life, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 229 § 2.
We Can Help You With a Denial of Your Claim or Benefits
If you’ve already filed a claim for compensation and either the claim itself or some of your benefits were denied, an attorney from our firm may be able to appeal the decision. Your attorney can also gather evidence of your damages for your appeal.
Contact GED Lawyers Today for a Massachusetts Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Attorney
You don’t have to file any claims on your own, and a claim might not even be your best option. We can discuss your options with you during a free initial consultation. We’ll also tell you whether you may have a strong case in which a lawsuit would be appropriate.
After your consultation and case review, if you decide to hire one of our personal injury protection lawyers in Massachusetts, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing our attorney will have personal injury experience that’s very relevant to your case. Also, our attorney can work for you on contingency, meaning you won’t pay us anything unless they recover compensation for you. For your free consultation, call GED Lawyers today at 844-4GEDLAW (844-443-3529).
