If you are injured while visiting Massachusetts from another state or country, there are important steps you should take to preserve your rights to compensation for your injuries, regardless of whether your injuries are new or an aggravation to a pre-existing condition.
Massachusetts attracts over 20 million visitors each year, including vacationers and business travelers. Our colleges and universities enroll tens of thousands of students from other states as well. Unfortunately, some visitors to our state will suffer some sort of injury while they are here, involving everything from car crashes, to slips and falls on icy stairs or walkways, dog bites, or any one of the many incidents in which people can be injured. Travelers to Massachusetts who are injured while here on vacation or on a business trip should take the following steps:
- First of all, get the appropriate medical care. Massachusetts has an excellent health care system, including some of the country’s best hospitals.
- If you are involved in a car crash, get the names, addresses, phone numbers and insurance information on everyone involved in the crash. If possible, get the name, address and phone number of any witnesses.
- If you are injured at a store, restaurant, or other business, be sure to report the incident to a manager if you can. Most businesses will then prepare an incident report which can provide valuable information in the event of a claim for injuries. If possible, get the name, address and phone number of any witnesses.
- As soon as possible after the incident causing the injury, take photographs and videos of the scene of the incident. Photos and videos showing the exact location of motor vehicles involved in a crash, and the damage to the vehicles, can be important evidence. In the case of a slip and fall, get photos or videos of the ice or snow or other dangerous condition that caused the fall.
- Follow up as soon as possible with your health insurance company to ensure that all medical care that you may require is covered under the health insurance plan issued in your home state.
- Contact an experienced Massachusetts law firm specializing in personal injury law. You may have an excellent lawyer back in your home state, but the law of each state is different. You need a lawyer who knows Massachusetts law. These cases are handled on a contingent fee basis which means no money is owed unless we are successful in collecting money compensation on the case. Contact us now for a free and confidential consultation.
In most situations, your case will be much stronger if you contact us as soon as possible after your injury. We can then act to preserve important evidence and comply with Massachusetts laws that set deadlines for notifying potential defendants of a possible injury claim against them.
