Who Really Pays If NOTWH O ne of the most common reasons people give for not exercising their right to sue an at-fault party for injuries sustained in an accident is that they’re not the “suing type.” They don’t like the idea of financially hurting someone else, even if that person is responsible for injuries that have cost them thousands of dollars in medical care. This idea is understandable but completely unfounded.
Can You Sue for an Accident Even if You Are at Fault? Comparative Negligence Laws in Massachusetts I’ve had a lot of people ask me if they can collect damages from a car accident, even if they were partly at fault for the accident. Now, the answer to this question might seem straightforward: If it’s your fault, you can’t recover damages. However, the real answer is much longer and more nuanced. Massachusetts is a comparative negligence state, meaning that if you’re 50% or less responsible for the accident, then you can collect damages. However, before you try to determine just how much you’re at fault for the accident, sometimes you’ll have to first determine whether you were at fault at all — regardless of what the insurance companies might claim. This is difficult enough. Insurance companies do not have the final word on how much at fault you were for the accident. I’ve represented several clients who had insurance companies tell them that they were largely at fault and therefore couldn’t collect damages. You don’t have to take the insurance company’s word for it when you have an attorney to professionally examine the facts of the case. For example, I once represented a very nice woman who rear-ended a commercial truck and sustained serious injuries. The fact that she rear-ended the truck might make it seem like she was at fault, but upon further investigation, we found that the truck driver had stopped suddenly on the highway, hoping to make an illegal U-turn because he had missed his exit! Those findings placed much of the blame squarely on the truck driver, and I was able to secure a six- figure settlement for my client. Juries determine the percentage of fault assigned to each driver in an accident, and the courts will decide how that affects the amount of compensation, if any, each driver receives. For example, say the jury finds you 20% at fault for an accident and determines the full value of your damages to be $100,000. The judge, at the end of the trial, will deduct $20,000 (20% of $100,000) from that award, leaving you with an $80,000 net verdict. Whatever you do, do not accept an insurance adjustor's determination of fault before you talk to an experienced injury lawyer. Better yet, give our team at Spada Law Group a call today at 617.889.5000.
In the vast majority of cases, when someone sues someone else in a personal injury case, they’re not actually suing the other party directly — they’re suing that person’s insurance company. The insurance company is the one that will pay
you if you win a lawsuit or negotiate a settlement. The at-fault party will most likely never have to pay you a dime of their own money. To illustrate what I mean, let me share an example. One time, I represented a woman who was suing her
Review of the Month
"Attorney Leonard Spada has made one of my most difficult times as painless and seamless as possible. He has been my biggest advocate for the past two years, handling two of my injury cases, and has been able to obtain maximum benefits. He and his team are outstanding. I couldn’t be more pleased with the team that I chose to represent me." —Diamante Hernandez
2 • SPADALAWGROUP.COM
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online