Guide to Massachusetts Car Accident Injury Laws

Massachusetts car accident insurance laws

Before you hit the road, it's crucial that you make sure your auto insurance meets Massachusetts legal requirements.

Your vehicle must have the following minimum insurance coverage:

• $20,000 per person / $40,000 per accident bodily injury liability coverage
• $5,000 property damage coverage
• $20,000 per person / $40,000 per accident uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage
• $8,000 personal injury protection

There are additional options for comprehensive and collision coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is also required in Massachusetts but underinsured motorist coverage is optional.

Massachusetts car accident liability

Massachusetts follows a modified comparative negligence standard of law. If you have to file a lawsuit (for any personal injury in Massachusetts), you can recover for your injuries only if you're less than 51% at fault. If your allocation of fault is 51% or higher, then you can't recover any damages.

If you're 50% or less at fault, the amount of your damages would be reduced by your percentage of fault.

How to establish negligence for a car accident claim

If you need to file a lawsuit, there are 5 elements that must exist in order to make a valid claim:

1. Duty. You must show that the defendant owed you a duty. We all have a duty to someone, and that changes based on circumstances. You don't have to know someone or have a relationship with them in order to owe them a duty. Every driver has a duty not to cause harm to any other road user, whether it's other motorists, pedestrians, or bicyclists. Therefore, the fact that the other person was sharing the road with you can be enough to establish a duty.
2. Breach. The second element to a personal injury claim is proving that the defendant breached their duty. In a car accident situation, this means the driver was negligent through action or inaction. They might have been following road rules and driving cautiously, but still made an error (like misjudging speed, for example) that was negligent.
3. Causation. Once it's proven that the defendant acted negligently, did that negligence cause the accident? A driver might have rolled through a stop sign, but if that wasn't the cause of the accident, then they might not be legally negligent in a way that resulted in your injuries.
4. Injury. In order to have a valid claim, you must have suffered an injury. If you were in a minor accident like a slow-speed rear-ender, you might be annoyed but otherwise unharmed. You can't claim damages unless you suffered an actual injury, financial costs or property loss.
5. Damages. As discussed above, damages are the money you can recover for your losses. Economic damages are the value you can claim for objective expenses, and non-economic losses could be for subjective claims and are based on the severity of your injuries.

10 most common causes of car accidents

1. Distracted driving. Distracted driving is a serious problem. As people become increasingly dependent on cell phones for maps, podcasts, music, traffic reports, and other functions, there is a stronger pull to check their phones. But you should never, ever handle your phone or any electronic device while driving. Also, distraction can include eating, passenger behavior, personal grooming, or any other behavior that takes your mind, eyes or hands off driving.
2. Drunk driving. You're not allowed to drive if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08% or higher. Being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some medications can severely affect your driving and raises your risk of causing an accident.
3. Aggressive driving. You've likely heard of "road rage," which is when a person becomes so angry at another person that they might bully or physically harm someone on purpose because they're annoyed. But there are other kinds of aggressive driving that don't necessarily involve anger at a specific individual. Some drivers might be impatient and speed or swerve around cyclists or cars they think are going too slowly, make unsafe lane changes, or behave recklessly in some other way that could result in an accident.
4. Speeding. Sometimes speeding is aggressive, and sometimes it is just carelessness. You might speed because you're in a hurry or running late, but you shouldn't. Speeding doesn't get you to your destination any faster if you crash or get a ticket. And when you speed, you have less time to react to a traffic situation in front of you and less time to stop if necessary.
5. Reckless driving. Similar to aggressive driving, reckless driving is any kind of action behind the wheel that's unsafe. It might be speeding, weaving, dodging other cars, failure to stop at lights or stop signs, or any other number of reckless driving practices that break road rules or are unsafe.
6. Inexperienced drivers. Your teenager might be the most responsible kid around, and they might care a lot about following road rules, driving at the correct speed, heeding stop lights and signs, and doing everything "right." But younger drivers are inexperienced. That lack of experience could cause even the most careful driver to misjudge the speed of an oncoming car, poorly execute a turn, or make another mistake that results in an accident. And, some teenagers are more likely to take risks than an older driver would. Statistically, younger male drivers are most likely to make risky driving decisions.
7. Tailgating. Tailgating is when a driver follows too closely behind the driver in front of them. Some tailgating is aggressive, but sometimes it happens because someone isn't paying attention or simply doesn't see the practice as dangerous. When traveling 55 mph, you should leave 16 car lengths (which is about 243 feet) between your vehicle and the car in front of you. Tailgating is dangerous because when you're too close to another vehicle, you don't have enough time to stop if you need to do so quickly. No car can stop on a dime, even if you react quickly. And, even if you stop very fast, there's no guarantee that the driver behind you will be able to do so. As a result, tailgating can result in chain-reaction accidents.
8. Weather conditions. Massachusetts is no stranger to severe weather — ice, snow, wind, and other conditions are a regular part of our life. When the weather is extreme, it's best to stay off the roads when you can. But when that's not practical or realistic, exercise caution and drive slowly.
9. Failure to obey traffic laws. Traffic laws are more than just stopping at red lights. Following the speed limit, staying in your lane, passing bicyclists safely, and yielding to pedestrians are just a few of the many necessary aspects to driving responsibly. Be familiar with the traffic laws in your local area and state, and obey them at all times to reduce your risk of a collision.
10. Failure to stop at a red light or stop sign. Although stopping for stop signs and traffic lights are part of following traffic rules, they're also among the ones drivers break most often. Even if you think you're driving through a "quiet" intersection, you must stop completely at stop signs and lights.