Personal Injury Lawyer in Boston, MA

How Much Does a Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

Boston personal injury lawyers work on contingency — you pay nothing upfront, and the attorney collects a percentage of the recovery only if you win. In Massachusetts, contingency fees in personal injury cases are typically one-third (33.3%) of the recovery, though the exact percentage and how costs are handled are set in the written fee agreement you sign at the start.

Watch the costs provision. Litigation costs — medical records, expert witnesses, court filing fees — can run $3,000–$20,000 on a contested Boston case, and your agreement determines whether those come out of your share or are billed separately. A standard Boston car accident case settles between $20,000 and $250,000 depending on injuries, liability, and policy limits; catastrophic cases with permanent injuries are worth substantially more. The consultation is always free.

Massachusetts' 3-Year Deadline & No-Fault Rules

Massachusetts gives you 3 years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit — one of the shorter statutes of limitations in the Northeast. Miss that deadline and the court dismisses your case no matter how strong the facts. Claims against the MBTA and other government entities have far tighter notice rules: you must file a presentment claim within 2 years, so government cases move on a different, faster clock.

Massachusetts is also a no-fault state for car accidents: your own PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage pays the first $8,000 of medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. You can only step outside the no-fault system and sue the at-fault driver if you meet a "threshold" — $2,000+ in medical bills or a serious injury such as fracture, significant scarring, or disfigurement. Massachusetts also uses modified comparative fault: you can't recover at all if you're found 51% or more at fault.

Boston Car Accidents & the MBTA: Common Claims

Boston's narrow, aging streets and aggressive driving make crashes constant. The Storrow Drive, I-93, and the maze of rotaries around the city are frequent accident sites, and Massachusetts averages over 100,000 crashes a year. Because so many Bostonians ride the T, MBTA injury claims — bus, subway, and commuter-rail accidents — are a distinct specialty most general firms don't handle well.

MBTA claims are procedurally different: they're governed by the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act, which caps damages against government entities at $100,000 and requires a written presentment within 2 years. The same cap applies to slip-and-falls on public sidewalks and injuries on public property. A lawyer who knows the difference between a private-defendant case (no cap, 3-year deadline) and an MBTA or municipal case (capped, 2-year notice) is worth their fee.

Winter Slip-and-Falls: Boston's Seasonal Hazard

Boston's winters turn every sidewalk, staircase, and parking lot into a slip-and-fall hazard. Ice and snow injuries peak from December through March, and Massachusetts law imposes duties on property owners to keep premises reasonably safe from snow and ice. The catch: a "natural accumulation" of snow and ice can defeat a claim unless the plaintiff shows the owner created or unreasonably failed to address a hazard.

Timing and documentation decide these cases. After a fall, photograph the ice or snow immediately, get names of witnesses, and seek medical care the same day — even if the injury feels minor, because a delay lets the defense argue the injury wasn't from the fall. A real Boston example: a woman who slipped on untreated ice outside a Brookline apartment building documented the icy walkway and her ER visit the same night; the claim settled for $85,000 when the landlord's failure to treat a known drainage freeze was established. Act fast — snow melts, evidence disappears, and the 3-year clock runs quietly.

Frequently Asked Questions