You didn’t ask to get hurt. Whether a distracted driver rear-ended you on the highway, you slipped on an icy sidewalk outside a store, or a dog bite left you with stitches and a permanent scar, someone else’s carelessness turned your life upside down. Now you’re facing mounting medical bills, missed paychecks, and pain that follows you through every hour of the day. The question that eventually comes to every injured person is the same: What am I actually entitled to recover?
The answer depends on the facts of your case and the type of injury you suffered. Massachusetts law, however, gives injured people real tools to pursue fair compensation. Here is what you should know before you make any decisions.
Two Broad Categories – Economic and Non-Economic Damages
Every personal injury claim in Massachusetts involves some combination of two types of compensatory damages. The goal is to put you back, as closely as money can, in the position you were in before the injury. Courts and insurance companies refer to these as economic damages (also called “special damages”) and non-economic damages (also called “general damages”).
Economic Damages (The Losses You Can Document)
Economic damages are the ones that come with receipts, pay stubs, and bills. They are the starting point for valuing any claim.
Medical expenses are usually the largest piece. You can recover the reasonable and necessary costs of treatment connected to your injury — emergency room visits, surgeries, hospitalization, physical therapy, prescription medications, diagnostic imaging, prosthetic devices, and ambulance fees. Future medical costs are also recoverable, including surgeries your doctor has already recommended or long-term therapy for a permanent injury. Keep every bill and every explanation of benefits you receive. Documentation is everything in these cases.
Lost wages and lost earning capacity are another major category. If your injury forced you off the job, you can recover what you would have earned during that time. For more serious injuries, a back injury that keeps a construction worker off job sites, or a traumatic brain injury that ends someone’s career entirely — you can pursue damages for your diminished future earning capacity. Calculating those future losses typically involves testimony from an economist or vocational professional who can project what you would have made over the remainder of your working life.
Out-of-pocket expenses also count. This covers hiring someone to help around the house during your recovery, transportation costs to and from medical appointments, home modifications made necessary by a permanent disability, and any other direct expenses that flow from the injury itself.
One thing to keep in mind: Massachusetts common law requires injured people to mitigate their damages. You are expected to seek reasonable medical treatment promptly and avoid steps that would unnecessarily worsen your condition or inflate your losses. Skipping treatment or ignoring your doctor’s advice can hurt your claim.
Non-Economic Damages (What No Bill Can Capture)
Some losses do not come with a price tag, but they are no less real. Non-economic damages compensate for the human side of what you have been through.
Pain and suffering is the most familiar category. Massachusetts law allows an injured person to recover for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by someone else’s negligence. There is no fixed formula. A jury uses its judgment to assign a dollar figure that fairly reflects what the injured person has endured. The severity and duration of the injury, the nature of the treatment required, and the lasting effects on daily life all play a role in how this gets valued.
Loss of enjoyment of life covers the activities and pleasures you can no longer take part in because of your injury. If you coached your kid’s Little League team and can no longer do it, or you ran half-marathons every fall and that chapter is now closed, those losses are real and compensable under Massachusetts law.
Permanent disfigurement and scarring carries its own category. Visible scars, burns, and disfigurement — particularly on the face or other prominent areas of the body — can be compensated separately from pain and suffering.
Loss of consortium belongs to the spouse of an injured person. Under Massachusetts law, a spouse can bring a claim for the loss of companionship, affection, society, and support that results from a partner’s serious injury. Massachusetts also recognizes that this relationship goes in both directions. Minor children can bring claims for loss of parental society when a parent is seriously injured, and under M.G.L. c. 231, § 85X, parents of injured minor children have their own consortium claims for the loss of their child’s society and companionship.
The Motor Vehicle Tort Threshold
If your injury happened in a car accident, there is an important rule you need to be aware of. Massachusetts is a no-fault state for auto insurance, which means your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays your initial medical bills and some lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. PIP provides up to $8,000 in benefits under M.G.L. c. 90, § 34M.
To step outside the no-fault system and sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, you must clear the “tort threshold” under M.G.L. c. 231, § 6D. That means your reasonable and necessary medical expenses must exceed $2,000, OR your injury must fall into one of the following four categories that the statute explicitly recognizes:
- Death
- Loss of a body member (amputation)
- Permanent and serious disfigurement
- Significant loss of sight or hearing
It is also worth noting that Massachusetts case law has long treated bone fractures as qualifying threshold injuries. In practice, a broken bone will generally allow you to pursue a pain and suffering claim regardless of the dollar amount of your medical bills, even though fractures are not one of the four categories listed in the statute itself.
If you do not meet the threshold, you are generally limited to recovering economic damages through your PIP benefits. The tort threshold applies only to motor vehicle accident cases, not to slip and falls, dog bites, or other types of personal injury claim
Punitive Damages in Massachusetts
Massachusetts takes a narrower approach to punitive damages than most states. In the vast majority of personal injury cases, only compensatory damages are available. Punitive damages can be awarded only in wrongful death cases where the defendant’s conduct was malicious, willful, wanton, reckless, or grossly negligent, as set out in M.G.L. c. 229, § 2. The minimum punitive award in qualifying wrongful death cases is $5,000, with no statutory ceiling, though courts may reduce constitutionally disproportionate awards.
What Happens If You Were Partly at Fault?
Insurance companies frequently argue that an injured person shares some of the blame for what happened. Under Massachusetts’ modified comparative negligence rule, M.G.L. c. 231, § 85, you can still recover damages as long as your share of fault does not exceed 50%. Your total award is reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. If a jury finds you were 25% responsible and your total damages are $100,000, you would recover $75,000.
Once your fault exceeds 50%, however, you are completely barred from recovering anything. Insurance adjusters use this rule aggressively to chip away at claims, which is exactly why having attorneys on your side who know how to push back on unfair fault allocations matters.
The Three-Year Deadline You Cannot Afford to Miss
In Massachusetts, most personal injury claims must be filed within three years of the injury date under M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A. Miss that deadline and your right to compensation is gone permanently, regardless of how strong your case might be.
There are limited exceptions — when an injury does not become apparent right away, when the injured person is a minor, or when a claim involves a government entity (which requires following the specific notice procedures of the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act, M.G.L. c. 258). Three years can pass faster than people expect while they focus on healing. Talking to attorneys sooner rather than later preserves your options and your rights.
Key Takeaways
- Massachusetts injury victims can recover both economic damages (medical costs, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, disfigurement, loss of consortium).
- Car accident claims require meeting the tort threshold under M.G.L. c. 231, § 6D, either $2,000 or more in medical expenses, or a qualifying injury type, before a pain and suffering claim is available.
- Bone fractures are consistently recognized in Massachusetts practice as qualifying threshold injuries for car accident claims.
- Punitive damages in Massachusetts are only available in wrongful death cases involving malicious, willful, wanton, reckless, or grossly negligent conduct under M.G.L. c. 229, § 2.
- Modified comparative negligence under M.G.L. c. 231, § 85 reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault. If your fault exceeds 50%, you cannot recover anything.
- Both spouses and parents of injured minor children have consortium claims under Massachusetts law. Minor children also have claims when a parent is seriously injured.
- The statute of limitations for most personal injury cases in Massachusetts is three years from the date of injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between special and general damages?
Special damages (economic damages) are the documented financial losses, medical bills, lost income, and out-of-pocket costs. General damages (non-economic damages) cover the harder-to-quantify losses like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. Both are available in Massachusetts personal injury cases.
Can I still recover damages if I was partly at fault?
Yes, as long as your share of fault does not exceed 50%. Your recovery is reduced in proportion to your fault percentage. At 30% fault on a $100,000 claim, you would recover $70,000.
What if my car accident medical bills are under $2,000?
If your bills do not exceed $2,000 and your injury does not fall into a qualifying category such as death, loss of a body member, serious disfigurement, significant loss of sight or hearing, or a bone fracture, you generally cannot pursue a pain and suffering claim against the at-fault driver. You may still recover economic damages through your PIP benefits, but you would not be able to seek non-economic damages unless you meet the threshold.
How are future damages calculated?
Medical professionals and economic or vocational professionals typically provide testimony projecting your future costs and income losses based on your age, occupation, prognosis, and life expectancy.
How long does a Massachusetts personal injury case typically take?
It varies. Cases with clearer liability and moderate injuries often settle within several months to a year. Cases involving severe injuries, contested liability, or multiple parties can take considerably longer.
Can family members bring their own claims?
Yes. Spouses can bring loss of consortium claims. Minor children can bring claims for loss of parental society when a parent is seriously hurt. Under M.G.L. c. 231, § 85X, parents of injured minor children also have their own claims for loss of the child’s society and companionship.
What does it mean to mitigate damages?
Mitigating damages means you are legally expected under Massachusetts common law to take reasonable steps to limit your losses, including seeking timely medical care, following your doctors’ recommendations, and avoiding actions that would unnecessarily increase your damages. Failure to do so can reduce your recovery.
Talk to Our Attorneys — Your First Consultation Is Free
You have been through enough. The attorneys at The Law Offices of Barry Feinstein & Affiliates P.C. have helped injured people throughout Massachusetts, from Boston and Salem to Peabody, Lynn, Swampscott, Lynnfield, Wakefield, Saugus, Melrose, Stoneham, Reading, North Reading, and beyond, hold negligent parties accountable and recover the compensation they deserve.
We know that every injury is personal, and your case is not a number on a spreadsheet to our lawyers. When you come to us, we take the time to listen to what happened, build a thorough picture of your damages, and put together the strongest possible case on your behalf. The consultation is completely free, and you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
If you or someone you love has been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, do not let time work against you. Reach out to our office today and take the first step toward getting your life back.
