# Car Accident Lawyer - Springfield & Westfield, MA | Dunn & Phillips, P.C. > Springfield car accident lawyers who prepare every case for trial. Free consultation, and you pay nothing unless we win. Offices in Springfield & Westfield, serving all of Western Massachusetts. [Canonical page](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/car-accidents/) --- - [All injury cases](/practice/personal-injury/) - [Car Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/car-accidents/) - [Truck Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/truck-accidents/) - [Motorcycle Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/motorcycle-accidents/) - [Slip and Fall](/practice/personal-injury/slip-and-fall/) - [Dog Bites](/practice/personal-injury/dog-bites/) - [Workers' Compensation](/practice/personal-injury/workers-compensation/) - [Medical Malpractice](/practice/personal-injury/medical-malpractice/) - [Wrongful Death](/practice/personal-injury/wrongful-death/) [Practice Areas](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/) [Personal Injury](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/) Car Accidents # Car Accident Lawyer in Springfield, MA Hurt in a crash in Springfield, Westfield, or anywhere in Western Massachusetts? We deal with the insurance company so you can heal, and you pay nothing unless we win. [New injury? Call or text (413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657) [Request a free consultation](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/contact/?practiceArea=Personal%20Injury) Not sure you have a case? [Try the quick size up](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/consult/). A few quick taps. Have the firm call you Free. A real person calls you back. Phone That phone number looks too short. Please check it so we can call you back. What happened? (one line is fine) Have the firm call me Short version is fine. Save the details for the call. Sending this does not make us your lawyers yet. Something went wrong. Please call or text the 24-hour injury line at [(413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657) instead. Thanks. We have it. A real person will call you back. If this is urgent, call or text [(413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657). If you were hurt in a car crash in Springfield, Westfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Agawam, West Springfield, or anywhere in Western Massachusetts, you are likely already hearing from an insurance adjuster whose job is to close your claim cheaply. Our job is the opposite: to find out what your claim is actually worth, and to be ready to prove it in court. Dunn & Phillips has represented injured people in the local courts since 1988, from our offices on Belmont Avenue in [Springfield](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/locations/springfield/) and our Personal Injury Law Center in [Westfield](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/locations/westfield/). A new injury intake can reach a real person 24 hours a day at [(413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657). ## The first days after a crash What you do in the first days shapes the whole claim. Get medical care even if you feel fine - adrenaline hides concussions and soft-tissue injuries, and a gap in treatment becomes the insurer's favorite argument. Photograph the scene if you safely can, collect the other driver's information, and notify your own insurer promptly. Massachusetts also requires a written crash report to the Registry of Motor Vehicles within five days when someone is injured or killed or the property damage exceeds $1,000 (M.G.L. c. 90, § 26). Many people never hear about this rule until they have missed it; we handle it as part of taking the case. Our [step-by-step guide to the first 24 hours after a crash](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/blog/car-accident-first-steps/) walks through all of it, and the free after-an-accident worksheet on this page gives you one place to keep the details while they are fresh. ## How Massachusetts no-fault insurance really works Massachusetts is a no-fault state, which confuses almost everyone at the worst possible time. Your own auto policy includes **Personal Injury Protection (PIP)**, which pays up to $8,000 of your medical bills and lost wages no matter who caused the crash (M.G.L. c. 90, § 34M). That is where the first bills go - not to the other driver's insurer - and coordinating PIP with your health insurance has traps of its own. No-fault does not mean no one is responsible. You can pursue the at-fault driver for your full losses - including pain and suffering - once you cross the state's **tort threshold**: more than $2,000 in reasonable medical expenses, **or** an injury on the statute's own list - death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, qualifying loss of sight or hearing, or any fracture (M.G.L. c. 231, § 6D). The dollar figure alone understates who qualifies: a $900 emergency-room bill with a hairline fracture clears the threshold. Most crashes that put someone in a hospital cross it. Whether yours does, and what the claim is worth beyond it, is exactly what a lawyer should evaluate before any adjuster puts a number in front of you. ## Fault, and the 51 percent rule Massachusetts uses modified comparative negligence: you can recover as long as you were not more than 50 percent at fault, with your damages reduced by your percentage of the blame (M.G.L. c. 231, § 85). If a jury finds you 20 percent at fault on a $100,000 claim, you recover $80,000. If it finds you 51 percent at fault, you recover nothing. That rule is why fault fights are really money fights. An adjuster who moves your share of the blame from 10 percent to 40 percent has cut your recovery nearly in half without disputing a single medical bill. We investigate early - the police report, the scene, the vehicles, witnesses, and where it matters, crash reconstruction - because the version of events that gets locked in first tends to win. ## The deadlines that end cases - **Three years** from the crash to file most Massachusetts injury lawsuits (M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A), and three years for a wrongful death claim (M.G.L. c. 229, § 2). - **Two years** to present a written claim when the vehicle that hit you belongs to a city, town, or state agency (M.G.L. c. 258, § 4) - a deadline that surprises people because it arrives a full year before the ordinary one. - **Five days** for the RMV crash report described above. - **Policy deadlines** for PIP applications and insurer notice that arrive far sooner than any statute. Three years sounds longer than it is. Vehicles get repaired and scrapped, camera footage gets overwritten in weeks, and witnesses move. The strongest cases we bring are the ones where the investigation started early. ## What your claim can include A fair settlement accounts for every cost of the crash: medical treatment past and future, lost wages and lost earning capacity, the cost of care you now need, and the pain, limitations, and disruption the injury brought into your life. Insurers resolve claims fast because fast claims settle before the full picture of treatment is known. We do not put a number on your case until your medical picture is clear enough to stand behind - and then we demand all of it. ## How we build a car accident case We are a Western Massachusetts firm, in the Hampden County courts week in and week out, and we prepare every case as if it will be tried. Insurers know which firms mean that. It changes the offers. You will work with the attorney who handles your case - the same person from the first call to the resolution, reachable by name. We front the costs of building the case: records, experts, filings. You owe us nothing up front, nothing while the case runs, and nothing at all unless we recover for you. If the honest answer is that you do not need a lawyer - some low-injury claims resolve fine without one - we will tell you that in the first conversation, free, before you have signed anything. Free worksheet - PDF ## Get the Massachusetts After-an-Accident Worksheet Every step after a crash, fall, or other injury, from the scene to resolving your claim, in one PDF worksheet. From a Western Massachusetts firm that handles the insurers so you can focus on healing. [Download the worksheet (PDF)](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/downloads/dunn-phillips-personal-injury-after-accident-worksheet.pdf) Saves to your device as a fillable PDF you can complete or print. It is free: no email required. Using this does not make us your attorneys. It is general information, not legal advice. [From our Insights What to Do in the First 24 Hours After a Car Accident in Massachusetts The steps you take right after a crash can protect your health and your claim. Here is a clear, plain-language guide for the first day.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/blog/car-accident-first-steps/) Common questions ## Car Accidents FAQs What does a car accident lawyer cost in Massachusetts? At our firm, nothing up front and nothing out of pocket. We work on a contingent fee: our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you, set in a written agreement before we start, and we front the case costs. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs. How long do I have to file a claim after a Massachusetts car accident? Generally three years from the date of the crash for an injury claim, and three years for a wrongful death claim. Some situations are shorter - a claim involving a government vehicle, for example, has its own notice requirements - and evidence disappears long before any deadline. Call early so we can confirm what applies to you. Massachusetts is a no-fault state. Can I still sue the other driver? Often, yes. No-fault means your own policy's Personal Injury Protection pays the first medical bills and part of your lost wages regardless of fault. You can step outside that system and pursue the at-fault driver for your full losses, including pain and suffering, once your reasonable medical expenses exceed $2,000 - or your injury is on the statute's own list: any fracture, permanent and serious disfigurement, qualifying loss of sight or hearing, loss of a body member, or death. What if the insurance company says the crash was partly my fault? You can still recover in Massachusetts as long as you were not more than 50 percent at fault; your compensation is reduced by your share of the blame. Insurers know this rule and use it, which is one reason an early recorded statement can cost you real money. Let us look at the facts before you accept an adjuster's version of them. Should I give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement? You are not required to, and we recommend you speak with a lawyer first. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that shade fault toward you and shrink the value of your claim. The consultation is free and comes before any statement is on the record. What if the driver who hit me was uninsured or fled the scene? Every Massachusetts auto policy includes uninsured motorist coverage, and it typically applies to hit-and-run crashes too. If the other driver carried only minimum coverage, your own underinsured coverage may add more. We read the policies - yours and theirs - and pursue every source of recovery that applies. New Personal Injury Direct A new injury intake reaches a real person 24 hours a day. Call or text, or start with the intake form and we will get back to you. [Call or text (413) 426-8657](tel:+14134268657) [Start the injury intake form](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/#start-your-case) [Try the quick size up](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/consult/) Where we are Springfield, Main Office 185 Belmont Avenue, Springfield, MA 01108 [(413) 787-9955](tel:+14137879955) [Get directions](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=185%20Belmont%20Avenue%2C%20Springfield%2C%20MA%2001108) Westfield, Personal Injury Law Center 56 Washington Street, Westfield, MA 01085 [(413) 562-8300](tel:+14135628300) [Get directions](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=56%20Washington%20Street%2C%20Westfield%2C%20MA%2001085) Other injury case types we handle - [Truck Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/truck-accidents/) - [Motorcycle Accidents](/practice/personal-injury/motorcycle-accidents/) - [Slip and Fall](/practice/personal-injury/slip-and-fall/) - [Dog Bites](/practice/personal-injury/dog-bites/) - [Workers' Compensation](/practice/personal-injury/workers-compensation/) - [Medical Malpractice](/practice/personal-injury/medical-malpractice/) - [Wrongful Death](/practice/personal-injury/wrongful-death/) **“Pay nothing unless we win” applies to personal injury matters only.** If we win, our fee is a percentage of the amount recovered and is paid out of that settlement or verdict, along with case costs; if there is no recovery, you owe no fee or costs. The percentage and terms are set out in a signed written fee agreement. This promise does not apply to our other practice areas, whose fees are charged as described in your fee agreement. This page is general information only, not legal advice for any specific situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Every matter depends on its own facts; for advice on your particular circumstances, talk to a licensed attorney. Published by Dunn & Phillips, P.C., 185 Belmont Avenue, Springfield, MA 01108. Responsible attorney: Cornelius W. Phillips, III. Explore more [Practice areaPersonal injury at Dunn & PhillipsEvery injury case type we handle, and the team that handles them.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/practice/personal-injury/)[Free worksheetsMassachusetts legal worksheetsFillable PDFs, including the after-an-accident worksheet.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/worksheets/)[Talk to usRequest a consultationFree, confidential, and without obligation.](https://www.dunnandphillips.com/contact/)