FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PERSONAL INJURY
Personal injuries are unexpected and can create unexpected costly fees. Our experienced attorneys will work diligently to uncover every relevant fact in your case to use during trial. We strongly believe that injured victims deserve to be compensated for their losses. Our goal is to help you move forward with your life following your injury. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about personal injury.
Personal injury is any physical, mental or emotional injury to a person due to someone’s negligence or harmful act. If you can prove liability and damages, you will be awarded compensation for your loss.
It may be hard to tell if you have a personal injury case, but protect yourself and get a professional opinion. Call a lawyer – we do not charge for an initial consultation of a personal injury case.
The timeframe that you have to file a lawsuit is known as the statute of limitations. You must file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, in Massachusetts you have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit.
We are located in Springfield, MA and serve clients throughout the Western, MA area.
At Facchini & Facchini, no case is too small or large for us to handle. Our experienced attorneys are equipped to handle all personal injury cases resulting from negligence. We are happy to provide a free consultation to you or your family.
Auto accidents are one of the most common types of personal injury cases. There are also boat accidents, airplane accidents, malpractice and many others.
Damages are any losses or expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident.
This varies depending on the case and the damages sustained. Damages you may be entitled to include past and future medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, emotional trauma and more.
You should bring anything in your possession that is related to your injury, so we can make photocopies. This may include a copy of medical records, a police or incident report, photographs of your injuries, photographs of your automobile, correspondence from the insurance companies or any documents you may have.
Our attorneys have extensive experience handling cases including car accidents, distracted driving, dog bite injuries, medical negligence, DUI, workplace injuries and more.
Most of our clients want to avoid going to court if possible, so we try our best to come to a settlement before filing a lawsuit.
In automobile cases, or any of the other types of personal injury cases such as those listed above, the injured party, also known as a plaintiff, bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence (or more likely than not) that the at fault party: (a) owed the plaintiff a duty of care; (b) they breached that duty; (c) the plaintiff was injured; and (d) the at fault party’s breach of their duty was the proximate cause of the Plaintiff’s injuries. In other words, the at fault party was negligent.
“Negligence, without qualification and in its ordinary sense, is the failure of a responsible person, either by omission or by action, to exercise that degree of care, vigilance and aforethought which, the discharge of the duty then resting upon him, the person of ordinary caution and prudence ought to exercise under the particular circumstances. It is a want of diligence commensurate with the requirements of the duty at the moment imposed by the law.” Altman v. Aronson, 231 Mass. 588, 591, 121 N.E. 505, 506 (1919).
While everyone has the right to represent themselves, both attorneys and people who represent themselves (pro se litigants) are held to the same legal standards and must follow the same court rules. The court is not allowed to provide any legal assistance. The at fault party’s insurance company is also contractually obligated under the Massachusetts Standard Automobile Insurance Policy to defend the at fault party so your opponent will have an attorney.
The attorneys at Facchini & Facchini, P.C., have the specialized knowledge and training to handle your case. Attorney Anthony Facchini has over 29 years’ experience, Attorney Richard Facchini, Jr. has over 32 years of experience; Attorney Robert Rzeszutek has over 20 years’ experience; and Attorney Alexander S. Nee has over 5 years’ experience representing clients with cases just like yours.
While I wish this were true, unfortunately it is not. Every case is unique just like every client and their injuries are unique. While there are exceptions to every rule, as noted above a case’s value depends largely on how severely a person is injured and how long they are injured for.
B.) Personal injury cases take a long time before I get paid.
Typically, most cases settle within 3-6 months after the completion of medical treatment. Some severe injury cases, where who was at fault for causing the injuries is in dispute, can take a year or more to settle.
C.) I should not need an attorney since I was not at fault for the accident.
It would be nice if this were true. Most often insurance companies take advantage of people without attorneys and do not offer them what they fairly deserve. Insurance companies save millions of dollars by not paying injured people fair compensation. Even with an attorney, there are a small number of insurance companies what are notorious for failing to offer a fair and reasonable settlement as required by law and as such often must be taken to court to force them to pay what they owe.
D.) I should not need an attorney since I have insurance.
If you were at fault for the accident, your insurance is contractually obligated to defend you against any lawsuit, however if you do not believe you were at fault or at least not completely at fault your insurance company will not assist you in filing a claim against the other driver’s insurance company. You would need an attorney for those efforts.
E.) I can take as much time as I need to file a claim against the other person’s insurance.
Most personal injury claims have what is called a 3-year Statute of Limitation in Massachusetts. That means, an injured person has 3 years from the date of their injury to file a lawsuit against the inured party. However, this has exceptions, and the insurance company can deny your claim if they were not placed on notice of your claim within a reasonable time following your injury and that delay resulted in them being prejudiced. For example, if evidence was lost or destroyed or a witness can no longer be located the insurance company may use prejudice as a defense to your claim. Exceptions include (1) a minor would have until their 21st birthday to file a lawsuit; and (2) an uninsured or underinsured claim would have a 6-year statute of limitation.
F.) Many insurance claims are frivolous resulting in higher insurance rates.
Insurance companies are for profit corporations who promote falsehoods such as this, in addition to donating to the campaigns of politicians, in an effort to save millions of dollars each year by escaping paying good people fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries.
G.) If I wait to settle my case will result in a higher settlement amount.
Insurance companies use a set formula to calculate how much they are going to pay for every injury. A widely known formula was a program named Colossus that Allstate Insurance Company began using in the 1990s with most if not all insurance companies following suit and using their own similar type of program. These programs are used by inputting various variables to pay as little amount of money as possible resulting in the insurance company saving money at the expense of injured people. They certainly didn’t spend the time and effort to create the program to ensure injured people get more money, that’s for sure.
- Lost Wages. You will be entitled to receive compensation for any time you missed work due to your injuries so long as you have a doctor’s disability note keeping you out of work.
- Property damage. If your car was damaged, you would be entitled to have the damage to your motor vehicle repaired up to the value of the vehicle at which time the damage would be capped for a total loss at the market value of the vehicle.
- Rental Vehicle or alternative transportation. You would be entitled to a comparable rental vehicle while your vehicle is being repaired.
- Medical Bills. You are entitled to have your reasonable and necessary medical bill paid for any treatment you received from the accident.
- Pain and Suffering. You would be entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering you suffered in the accident. This is usually calculated by the severity of the injury and the length of time you are injured.