The Personal Injury Law Center is Dunn & Phillips' injury office for Westfield and the towns west of the Connecticut River. It is at 56 Washington Street, Westfield, MA 01085, a short walk from the District Court on Elm Street, and it is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call (413) 562-8300 during business hours. If you have just been hurt, the firm's injury line at (413) 426-8657 is answered by a live person 24 hours a day, by call or text.
Attorney Wayne H. Peereboom works from this office. He has practiced personal injury and civil litigation in Massachusetts since 1994 and evaluates every injury case that comes through the door. Stephen L. Thomas, Senior Litigation Paralegal, builds the file: records requests, medical bill reconciliation, demand packages and the calls to adjusters that keep a claim moving. Sydney Greenberg, Legal Assistant, supports the injury practice in English and Chinese. Paralegals and legal assistants are not lawyers and do not give legal advice; Attorney Peereboom supervises every matter in the office.
The firm has kept an office here since the injuries west of the river started looking different from the ones in Springfield. Route 20 crashes, Mass Pike interchange pile-ups, falls on factory floors and rural roads with no shoulder produce a different kind of case, and the people hurt in them should not have to drive to Belmont Avenue to get help. The first conversation is free, and in an injury case you pay no fee unless we recover money for you.
Car accidents in Westfield
Most of the cases that come into this office start on a road people here drive every day. Route 20 runs through the city and west along the Westfield River, where it becomes the Jacob's Ladder Scenic Byway: two lanes, blind curves, logging trucks and motorcycles in season, with the grade between Russell and Chester turning into a problem each winter before the plows arrive. Routes 10 and 202 carry the north-south traffic through the city center, and the Western Avenue corridor past Westfield State University fills at the start and end of every semester. Mass Pike Exit 41, the old Exit 3, is where the turnpike meets Routes 10 and 202, and its ramps carry tractor-trailers headed for the industrial parks along with everyone coming off the highway for Westfield, Southwick and the hilltowns.
A crash here often involves an out-of-state driver, a commercial vehicle or both, which changes who pays and how much coverage exists. Massachusetts no-fault coverage pays your first medical bills and part of your lost wages whoever caused the crash, and the at-fault driver's insurer is where the injury itself is compensated. The State Police barracks in Russell handles many of the reports on the byway, and the nearest emergency room is Baystate Noble in Westfield. Our car accident page explains how the no-fault system, the fault rules and the filing deadlines work in a claim like yours.
Motorcycle accidents
The byway and the hilltown roads draw riders from across New England from spring through fall, and a motorcycle crash is handled differently from a car crash. Massachusetts excludes motorcyclists from no-fault personal injury protection, so there is no automatic medical coverage after a crash, and the claim runs against the driver who caused it from the start. A police report that blames the rider is not the end of the matter; the comparative-fault rule decides these cases, and riding without a helmet matters only for injuries a helmet would have prevented. Our motorcycle accident page covers the coverage gap and how we build these claims.
Dog bites
Massachusetts holds a dog's owner or keeper strictly liable for the damage the dog does. There is no "one free bite," and you do not have to prove the owner was careless. The exceptions are narrow: a person who was trespassing, committing another wrong, or teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog. Strict liability is not limited to bites. A large dog that knocks an elderly visitor down or chases a cyclist into traffic creates the same responsibility. The claim is usually paid by the owner's homeowner's or renter's insurance, not by your neighbor. Our dog bite page explains how these claims work, including when the dog belongs to someone you know.
Slip and fall
Ice sits on walkways in Westfield for a third of the year, and a fall on an uncleared step or an unlit parking lot can put someone in the hospital. When a property owner's neglect caused the fall, we pursue the owner and the owner's insurer. One rule catches people by surprise: a snow-and-ice claim carries a 30-day written notice requirement, and missing it hands the owner a defense. If you fell on ice, call early. Our slip and fall page explains the notice rule and what a premises claim has to show.
Truck accidents
The interchange at Exit 41 and the industrial parks on Turnpike Industrial Road and North Elm Street keep tractor-trailers on Westfield's roads all day. A crash with a commercial truck is not a bigger car crash. The trucking company, its insurer and often a lawyer on retainer are involved from the first hours, the evidence lives in logbooks and onboard data that can be overwritten, and federal rules govern the driver and the equipment. Our truck accident page covers who can be responsible and why the investigation has to start immediately.
Workers' compensation
Westfield is still a manufacturing city. Mestek on North Elm Street, Savage Arms on Springdale Road, Advance Manufacturing and Tell Tool on Turnpike Industrial Road and Westfield Electroplating employ machinists, platers and material handlers who get hurt on the floor, and the hilltowns and the Berkshires run on small contractors whose crews fall from roofs and scaffolds. A workplace injury starts as a workers' compensation claim, which covers medical bills and part of your wages. It does not cover pain, a lost career or the difference between the life you had and the one you have now. If someone other than your employer caused the injury, such as a subcontractor, a manufacturer or a property owner, a second claim may exist against them. That is the most commonly missed claim in work injuries, and we look for it in every case. Our workers' compensation page explains both.
What to do after an accident
See a doctor the same day, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap in treatment lets an insurer argue the injury came from something else. Call the police, photograph the scene, and get the other driver's details and the names of witnesses before the scene is cleared. Notify your own insurer promptly. You do not have to give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement, and it is wise to talk to a lawyer before you do. Keep every bill, estimate and note of missed work. Our first 24 hours after a car accident guide walks through each step, and the free Massachusetts After-an-Accident Worksheet puts every step, from the scene to resolving the claim, in one PDF you can fill in or print.
Bring whatever you have to the office: the police report or the crash exchange form, photos, witness names, your insurance card and any paperwork from the emergency room or your doctor. If you do not have all of it, come anyway. The first meeting is a conversation about what happened, what hurts and who has already called you. If an insurance adjuster has left a voicemail, do not return it until we talk.
Last reviewed October 2026.
