If you have been in an accident, you have probably been to multiple doctors and physical therapy appointments. You are likely to have missed hours from work and you may need ongoing help with chores that you were once able to perform yourself.
Whenever someone else causes you injury, it is natural for you to want them to acknowledge what they did, apologize, and compensate you. However, oftentimes an accident is not only one person’s fault. If you are partially responsible for an accident, there are some circumstances where you may be able to receive insurance compensation.
Auto Insurance Laws in Massachusetts
There are two different kinds of insurance rules in the United States; fault and no-fault. If you live in a no-fault state, your own insurance will pay for your bills no matter who caused the accident. In a fault state, the insurance company of the person who caused the accident is responsible for paying its associated bills. There are only 12 no-fault states in the country.
According to https://realjustice.com/, Massachusetts is a no-fault state. The good news is that you can file a claim if the accident was entirely your fault. The bad news is, you are unlikely to get money for pain and suffering.
Unlike some other no-fault states, the Bay State does allow people to file property damage claims against at-fault drivers. You may have some problems collecting money for damages to your car if you were responsible for a collision.
Slip and Fall
If you take a spill at a business, the owner of the property or the manager of the business may be responsible for your injuries. If the property owner was derelict in their duty of care and had an unsafe building, their insurance would pay for it. If a retails store failed to clean up spilled liquid or broken glass in a reasonable amount of time and you fell on it and injured yourself, they would be liable.
However, if the business put up warning signs and you ignored them, you may be considered partially responsible if you fall. The insurance company may only be willing to pay a portion of your bill or try to get out of paying the bill altogether.
Accidents at Work
If you have been injured on the job, worker’s compensation should pay for your injuries. However, there are some cases where your claim may be denied. If there were illegal drugs in your system at the time of the accident, you may be considered partially responsible, and they may try to deny your claim.
Why You Need an Attorney
If you were partially responsible for an accident in which you were involved, it is a good idea to find a personal injury attorney to represent you. A trained attorney will have years of experience in negotiating with insurance companies. They will know what arguments to use to get you the money you need to recover from your injuries.
We wouldn’t need insurance if people did not make mistakes. If you get the appropriate treatment and compensation, you can proceed in your life with caution.
