What to do after a car accident in Massachusetts

A crash is disorienting even when it's minor, and the choices you make in the first hours shape what you can recover later. Massachusetts runs on a no-fault insurance system with its own deadlines, dollar thresholds, and a set of rules that changed as recently as July 2025. Here is what actually applies in Massachusetts, with the statute or state source behind each point.

Crashes here are common. Police recorded 128,769 crashes across Massachusetts in 2025.¹ Boston alone logged 451 reported crashes in April 2026.² Most turn into an insurance claim rather than a lawsuit, but the rules below decide which path yours takes.

At the scene

Stop, check for injuries, and call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is blocked. Massachusetts requires the drivers involved to exchange names, addresses, and license and registration details. Photograph the vehicles, the road, any skid marks, and the other plates before cars are moved, and get names and phone numbers from witnesses while they're still there.

You'll want the police crash report for almost any injury or property claim. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles keeps crash records and accepts requests online or by mail.³ For how to get your Massachusetts report, see thatcarhitme.com's Massachusetts crash-report page.

Massachusetts is a no-fault state, so your own PIP pays first

No matter who caused the crash, your own auto policy pays first through Personal Injury Protection (PIP), and every Massachusetts policy has to carry it.⁴ PIP covers up to $8,000 per person for reasonable medical expenses, 75% of lost wages, and replacement-services costs.⁵ If you have your own health insurance, PIP pays the first $2,000 of medical bills and your health plan takes the rest, with PIP still there for what health insurance won't cover.⁵

One PIP deadline catches people off guard. Once your treating physician notifies the insurer, the insurer has ten days to start paying or to send you written notice explaining why it won't.⁴ File your PIP application quickly, keep every bill and wage record, and follow up in writing.

When you can sue for pain and suffering

No-fault limits your right to sue the other driver for pain and suffering. You can step outside the system only if your reasonable medical expenses top $2,000, or if the injury falls into a listed category regardless of cost: death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture.⁶ A single broken bone clears the threshold. That's why documenting treatment matters even for injuries that feel moderate at first.

Fault still decides how much you recover

Massachusetts uses modified comparative negligence. If you share blame, your damages shrink by your percentage of fault, and you recover nothing once your negligence is greater than the combined negligence of everyone you're suing, the practical "51% bar."⁷ Being 50% at fault still lets you collect half; at 51% the claim ends. Insurers know this rule and will try to pin part of the blame on you, so how the crash is documented at the scene carries real weight.

Minimum coverage and the July 2025 increase

Massachusetts raised its minimum auto liability limits for the first time in decades. For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, the compulsory minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $30,000 for property damage, up from the old $20,000, $40,000, and $5,000.⁸ PIP's $8,000 sits separately on top of that.⁴

Two coverages protect you when the other driver has no insurance or too little. Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory in Massachusetts and must match your bodily-injury limits.⁹ Underinsured motorist coverage is optional; your insurer has to offer it, but you can decline in writing.⁹ With so many drivers carrying only the minimum, UIM is worth a hard look. If your car itself lost market value in the crash, that's a separate property claim, covered on thatcarhitme.com's Massachusetts diminished-value page.

You have three years, and the clock is already running

The statute of limitations for a Massachusetts car-crash lawsuit, whether for injury or property damage, is three years from the date of the crash.¹⁰ Miss it and the court will almost always dismiss the case no matter how strong it is. Three years sounds like plenty, but PIP paperwork, treatment, and negotiation eat months, so treat the deadline as your outer limit and act well before it.

Rules that quietly shape fault

A few Massachusetts laws come up constantly in crash claims. Texting and holding a phone are banned for every driver; only hands-free use is legal, with fines of $100, $250, and $500 for a first, second, and third offense.¹¹ A driver who was on a handheld phone has handed you strong evidence of negligence.

Motorcyclists face a universal helmet law: every operator and passenger must wear DOT-compliant headgear, with a narrow exception for riders 18 or older in a permitted public parade.¹² Motorcycles also have to stay entirely within one lane, so lane splitting is effectively off-limits, though two riders may travel abreast in the same lane.¹³

If a drunk driver hit you, Massachusetts recognizes dram shop liability: a bar or server that keeps serving a visibly intoxicated patron can be liable for the crash that follows.¹⁴ Punitive damages are harder to reach. In an ordinary injury case they generally aren't available at all; the wrongful-death statute allows them, with a $5,000 minimum, only where the death came from gross negligence or willful, wanton, or reckless conduct.¹⁵

Getting help

For a threshold injury, a disputed-fault claim, or a crash with an uninsured driver, talk to a Massachusetts attorney before you give a recorded statement or accept an early offer. You can find a Massachusetts attorney through thatcarhitme.com's legal directory.

This article is general information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.

Sources

1. thatcarhitme.com, Massachusetts statewide year-over-year crash report, 2025. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/statewide/2025-annual-report

2. thatcarhitme.com, Boston, MA crash report, April 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/boston/april-2026-report

3. Massachusetts RMV, Request a Copy of a Police Crash Report (Mass.gov). https://www.mass.gov/how-to/request-a-copy-of-a-police-crash-report

4. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, section 34M (PIP mandate; 10-day payment-or-denial rule). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section34M

5. Massachusetts Division of Insurance, Basics of Auto Insurance (Mass.gov), PIP $8,000 limit and $2,000 health-insurance coordination. https://www.mass.gov/info-details/part-ii-what-is-in-my-insurance-policy

6. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, section 6D (tort threshold and exceptions). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleII/Chapter231/Section6D

7. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, section 85 (modified comparative negligence). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleII/Chapter231/Section85

8. Acts of 2024, ch. 275 (raising compulsory limits to 25/50/30, effective July 1, 2025). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2024/Chapter275

9. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 175, section 113L (mandatory UM, optional UIM). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter175/Section113L

10. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, section 2A (three-year tort statute of limitations). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleV/Chapter260/Section2A

11. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, section 13B (handheld device ban; hands-free only; fines). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section13B

12. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, section 7 (motorcycle helmet requirement). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section7

13. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 89, section 4A (vehicles must stay within a single lane; motorcycle lane rules). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter89/Section4A

14. Cimino v. Milford Keg, Inc., 385 Mass. 323 (1982) (dram shop liability), via CourtListener. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2038751/cimino-v-milford-keg-inc/

15. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 229, section 2 (wrongful death; punitive damages minimum $5,000). https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleII/Chapter229/Section2