Massachusetts car accident settlement calculator

Massachusetts filing deadlines

Section 2A covers both personal injury and property damage torts. Wrongful death: within three years from date of death, or from when the executor/administrator knew or should have known of the factual basis for the claim. Tort Claims Act: presentment within two years; no suit more than three years after accrual.

If you were partly at fault

Massachusetts follows modified comparative negligence, 51% bar. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you recover nothing if you were more at fault than the other side (51% or more). At exactly 50% you still recover half.

• With $100,000 in damages and 30% of the fault, you would recover $70,000.
• With 55% of the fault, you would recover $0, because the rule bars your claim.

Plaintiff recovers if 50% or less at fault (compared with the combined negligence of all defendants); damages reduced by plaintiff's percentage.

Source: M.G.L. c. 231, sec. 85. Compare all states in the comparative negligence table.

No-fault state

Your own personal injury protection pays your medical bills and lost wages first, with a required minimum of $8,000. The threshold to claim pain and suffering from the at-fault driver: Pain and suffering suit allowed only if reasonable medical expenses exceed $2,000, or the injury causes death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture.

PIP per c. 90 Sec. 34A: 'to the amount or limit of at least eight thousand dollars on account of injury to or death of any one person'.

Minimum car insurance in Massachusetts

$25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries, $30,000 for property damage, effective July 1, 2025. Uninsured motorist coverage is required.

Many drivers carry only the minimum, so the bodily injury limit is often the most the at-fault driver's insurer will pay one person. Sec. 34O (July 1, 2025 version): 'subject to a limit of not less than $30,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.' Sec. 113L(1): no policy issued unless it provides UM coverage in the amounts prescribed for bodily injury liability.

Damage caps

Massachusetts does not cap pain and suffering in ordinary car accident cases. Punitive damages: Punitive damages only where a statute authorizes them (e.g. wrongful death, c. 229 Sec. 2); no general cap.

Dog bite law

Strict liability statute. Covers any damage (not only bites) to body or property. Exceptions: victim was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog. Child under 7 presumed not to be trespassing or teasing; burden on defendant.

Source: M.G.L. c. 140, sec. 155. Estimate a claim with the dog bite calculator.