Most people think about medical bills when they think about a personal injury claim. That makes sense. Bills are concrete, they show up in the mail, and they feel like the obvious thing to point to when you’re trying to explain what an injury has cost you.
But medical expenses are just the starting point. Massachusetts law lets injured people pursue compensation for every category of harm the defendant’s negligence caused, and the full picture is almost always broader than people realize.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the measurable financial losses you can document. Massachusetts doesn’t cap these in most personal injury cases, which means you’re entitled to full compensation for every provable dollar of harm.
That typically includes:
- Past medical expenses. Emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, imaging, prescriptions, physical therapy, and follow-up visits from the date of injury through resolution.
- Future medical expenses. If your injuries require ongoing treatment, those projected costs belong in your claim. Life care planners estimate what future care will cost in today’s dollars.
- Lost wages. Income you couldn’t earn while recovering is compensable. Pay stubs, tax returns, and employer verification support the calculation.
- Lost earning capacity. When injuries permanently affect what you can earn, the difference in projected lifetime income is recoverable with help from vocational and economic experts.
- Out-of-pocket expenses. Transportation to appointments, home modifications, and other costs that don’t fit neatly elsewhere still belong in your claim.
A Somerville experienced personal injury lawyer documents every category before settlement talks begin so nothing gets left on the table.
Non-Economic Damages
These are harder to quantify but often represent the largest portion of a serious injury case. There’s no receipt for pain. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.
Massachusetts recognizes several types of non-economic harm. Pain and suffering covers physical pain experienced during the injury, through treatment, and into recovery. Emotional distress addresses anxiety, depression, PTSD, and sleep disruption that serious injuries frequently produce. Loss of enjoyment of life compensates for activities that injuries took away, whether that’s running, coaching your kid’s team, or whatever mattered before. A spouse or partner may also have a separate loss of consortium claim for the impact on your relationship.
Massachusetts doesn’t cap non-economic damages in most personal injury cases. In serious injury situations, these figures can be substantial.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Everything
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 231, Section 85, you can recover as long as you’re found less than 51% at fault. Above that threshold, you get nothing. Below it, your damages get reduced proportionally.
Insurance companies use fault arguments deliberately. Every point of fault they push onto you reduces what they owe across every category of damages. How a case gets framed and documented from the start makes a real difference.
Punitive Damages
These aren’t available in most Massachusetts personal injury cases. They require gross negligence or conduct rising to deliberate indifference to others’ rights. Wrongful death cases are where you’re most likely to see enhanced damages, but they’re the exception.
Don’t Settle Before You Know the Full Picture
Insurance companies make offers based on what they think you’ll accept, not what the law actually entitles you to. Those are two very different numbers.
Fogelman Law LLC has been representing Massachusetts injury victims since 2010, including an $11.5 million catastrophic injury settlement in 2024. If you’ve been hurt due to someone else’s negligence in the Somerville area, reach out to a Somerville experienced personal injury lawyer to get a realistic picture of what your full claim could actually be worth.
