Injuries can happen on Boston roads, properties, and workplaces. Larson Law assists people across Boston and Suffolk County in reviewing rights and considering the next steps after negligence.
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Boston is one of the most densely trafficked cities in New England and one of only three Massachusetts cities – alongside Cambridge and Somerville – to have adopted a Vision Zero commitment to eliminating traffic deaths. Despite that commitment, the city’s own data confirms the scale of the ongoing injury problem. Boston.gov’s Vision Zero program acknowledges more than 10 fatalities, hundreds of pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and thousands of driver injuries on city streets every year. Since January 2023 alone, the Vision Zero Boston public crash map recorded 240 pedestrian crashes with six fatalities and 2,349 motor vehicle crashes with three fatalities, confirmed from apps.boston.gov/vision-zero. A Boston Region MPO analysis of MassDOT IMPACT data from 2018 to 2022 found that nearly 1,000 people are killed or seriously injured in crashes in the Boston region every year. Car accidents are only one piece of a larger picture. Slip and fall injuries, medical malpractice, dog bites, construction accidents, and product defects each account for significant injury claims filed in Boston courts every year. When any of those injuries was caused by someone else’s negligence, Massachusetts law gives you specific rights and a defined process to pursue them.
Larson Law handles personal injury claims across all of Boston and Suffolk County. If you were injured and want to understand what your claim may support, a Boston personal injury attorney can review your situation at no cost.
Personal injury law in Massachusetts covers any situation where someone’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional conduct causes harm to another person. These are the most common personal injury scenarios for Boston residents and visitors.
Most personal injury claims in Massachusetts are built on negligence. To establish negligence, a claim must show that the defendant owed a duty of care to the injured person, that they breached that duty, that the breach caused the injury, and that the injury caused measurable damages. In Boston’s dense urban environment – where drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, property owners, businesses, and employers all interact daily – duty and breach are frequently well-established by the documented circumstances of the incident.
Massachusetts follows a modified comparative fault rule under MGL Ch. 231 Sec. 85. You may still be able to pursue compensation as long as your share of fault for the incident was less than 51 percent. If your fault is found to be 51 percent or more, recovery is barred. Below that threshold, compensation is reduced in proportion to your share of fault. Insurers in Boston routinely attempt to assign a higher share of fault to injured parties to reduce their exposure. Having legal representation means any fault determination reflects the actual evidence rather than the insurer’s preferred outcome.
Under MGL Ch. 260 Sec. 2A, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Massachusetts is three years from the date of the injury. Missing this deadline means losing the right to pursue compensation in court regardless of how clear the evidence is. For wrongful death claims, the three-year period runs from the date of death under MGL Ch. 229 Sec. 2. If a government entity – an MBTA bus, a city vehicle, or a state agency — was involved, the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act under MGL Ch. 258 Sec. 4 requires a separate written presentment within two years after the cause of action arose. Contacting a lawyer promptly after an injury protects both the legal deadline and the evidence.
Personal injury claims in Massachusetts may support recovery for medical bills and future treatment costs, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. In wrongful death cases, recovery may also include funeral and burial costs, the financial value of the deceased’s services and support, and in cases of malicious or grossly negligent conduct, punitive damages. The specific categories available depend on the type of injury, the severity, and the circumstances of the negligence.
The scope of what your claim may support depends on your injuries, the circumstances of the negligence, and the insurance or assets available to the responsible party. We work through every applicable category so nothing is overlooked.
Go to Massachusetts General, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women's, or the nearest emergency facility. Get treatment and describe exactly how and where the injury happened - that connection in your medical record is essential. Photograph the scene and your injuries while details are fresh. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer before speaking with a lawyer.
Crash footage, surveillance video, incident reports, and witness accounts all have short windows before they are overwritten or lost. Call us or fill in the form. An attorney will review what happened, explain which area of Massachusetts personal injury law applies, and tell you what to preserve and what to do next. No cost, no obligation.
If you move forward, we deal with all insurer and defendant communications, gather and preserve evidence, manage every legal deadline, and keep you updated throughout. Every case type - car accident, slip and fall, truck crash, wrongful death - follows a different evidence and deadline path, and we manage all of it. You focus on your recovery.
Personal injury claims in Boston involve evidence that disappears fast, insurers who move quickly to limit claims, and legal deadlines that are shorter than most people realize. Tell us what happened and we will explain what Massachusetts law allows and what your next steps are.
Larson Law handles the full range of personal injury cases across Boston and Massachusetts. For specific practice area pages, see the links below or visit our Massachusetts car accident lawyer page for car accident claims across the state.
A personal injury claim is available when someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional conduct caused you measurable harm. The four elements that must be established are: duty (the defendant owed you a duty of care), breach (they failed to meet that duty), causation (their breach caused your injury), and damages (you suffered real harm as a result). In Boston’s dense urban environment – where car accidents, pedestrian crashes, slip and falls, and construction incidents happen daily – these elements are frequently present. The best way to assess whether your specific situation supports a claim is a free consultation with an attorney who can review the actual facts.
Under MGL Ch. 260 Sec. 2A, the general statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Massachusetts is three years from the date of the injury. There are important exceptions. For wrongful death, the three-year period runs from the date of death under MGL Ch. 229 Sec. 2. For claims against government entities – MBTA buses, city vehicles, state agencies – the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act under MGL Ch. 258 Sec. 4 requires a formal written presentment within two years after the cause of action arose, which is a separate and shorter deadline from the general limitation. For minors, the statute typically does not begin running until they turn 18. Contacting a lawyer promptly after an injury protects all of these deadlines.
Massachusetts follows a modified comparative fault rule under MGL Ch. 231 Sec. 85. You may still pursue compensation as long as your share of fault was less than 51 percent. If your fault reaches 51 percent or more, recovery is barred. Below that threshold, compensation is reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. Boston insurers routinely try to inflate the injured party’s share of fault to reduce their exposure. Having legal representation means any fault finding reflects the actual evidence rather than the insurer’s initial position.
Massachusetts is a no-fault state for car accidents. Under MGL Ch. 90 Sec. 34M, your own Personal Injury Protection coverage pays for initial medical expenses and a portion of lost wages after a car accident regardless of who caused it. PIP is the starting point for car accident claims. You can pursue a pain and suffering claim against the at-fault driver only if your injuries cross the statutory threshold under MGL Ch. 231 Sec. 6D. Other personal injury claims – slip and falls, dog bites, medical malpractice, construction accidents – are not subject to the no-fault system. They go directly to a fault-based negligence analysis from the start, which means your own insurance is not the first step.
It can matter for identifying what evidence exists and where to file the case. Boston has distinct neighborhoods – Dorchester, South Boston, Back Bay, East Boston, Fenway, Roxbury, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, and others – each with their own police district response, MBTA presence, and documented crash or hazard history. The Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston and the various divisions of the Boston Municipal Court both handle civil personal injury claims from Suffolk County, depending on the amount in dispute. An attorney familiar with Boston’s court system and neighborhood-specific evidence sources can identify what applies to your specific situation.
Claims against government entities in Massachusetts are governed by the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act under MGL Ch. 258. Section 4 requires a formal written presentment to the relevant government entity within two years after the date the cause of action arose. This is a separate and shorter deadline from the general three-year statute of limitations. The government entity also benefits from certain immunity provisions and damages limitations under the Tort Claims Act. An attorney needs to assess whether and how those provisions apply to your specific situation, and the presentment letter must be sent promptly.
Personal injury lawyers in Massachusetts typically work on a contingency fee basis. That means the attorney’s fee is a percentage of the recovery – you pay nothing upfront and nothing at all if the case does not result in a recovery. The specific percentage varies by case type and when the case resolves. All terms are set out in a written retainer agreement before any representation begins. A free consultation – like the one Larson Law offers – is separate from engagement and carries no commitment.
The answer depends on the type of injury. For car accidents: photographs of the vehicles and crash site, the police report, witness contact information, and medical records linking the injury to the crash. For slip and falls: photographs of the hazard before it is repaired, a written incident report from the property owner, and surveillance footage before it is overwritten. For truck accidents: ELD records and black box data, which can be overwritten once the truck returns to service. For all cases: prompt medical treatment is critical – a medical record that links your injuries to the incident is the foundation of any claim. Do not give recorded statements to any insurer or defendant before speaking with a lawyer.
Yes. Larson Law handles personal injury cases across Boston and all of greater Massachusetts. Whether the injury happened in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Quincy, Brockton, Lowell, Worcester, or anywhere else in the state, we can help. The specific facts of where the injury happened shape which courts, which statutes, and which evidence sources apply – all of which we assess in the initial free consultation.
Boston personal injury cases are filed based on the amount in dispute and the type of claim. The Boston Municipal Court handles smaller civil claims across Boston’s neighborhoods. The Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston, which serves Boston, Winthrop, Chelsea, and Revere, handles larger personal injury claims where the amount in dispute exceeds the BMC’s civil limit. Both courts are confirmed from mass.gov. An attorney can assess which court is appropriate for your specific claim.
Potentially yes, but with important differences from a standard car accident claim. The MBTA is a government entity, and claims against it are governed by the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act under MGL Ch. 258. A formal written presentment must be filed within two years after the cause of action arose — which is a separate and shorter deadline from the general three-year personal injury statute of limitations. The MBTA also benefits from certain immunity provisions and damages limitations under the Tort Claims Act. An attorney needs to assess how those provisions apply to your specific situation as early as possible.
Larson Law handles car accidents, truck accidents, rideshare accidents, pedestrian accidents, slip and fall and premises liability claims, wrongful death, dog bite injuries, and construction and workplace accident third-party claims across Boston and all of Massachusetts. Each case type involves a distinct legal framework and different evidence requirements. A free initial consultation covers what applies to your specific situation and what your claim may support.
