If you are involved in an automobile accident, Massachusetts law provides a number of rights, benefits and procedures that affect how you recover for any losses or injuries you sustain. Your rights are governed by both statute and your insurance policy, the terms of which are often difficult to interpret. Your rights involve possible claims against the person who caused the accident and his insurance company, as well as for no-fault benefits to cover your medical care and lost wages from your own policy. In short, automobile law in Massachusetts involves a combination of claims processing, information gathering, advocacy in settlement negotiations, and perhaps court. If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, your primary concern should be your health. On the other hand, the processing of your claim and preservation of your rights ought to be done by experienced professionals who can help you navigate this complex and highly regulated system. Massachusetts automobile accident law dramatically affects the extent to which you obtain remedies and relief if injured in a motor vehicle accident.

In this set of circumstances, your work related injuries are compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. At the same time, you may have a right against a negligent motor vehicle operator as well. The interrelationship between a workers' compensation case and a personal injury claim is always complicated. You must be careful, as you will be dealing with at least two different insurance companies and their claims personnel. As has been said, you shouldn't go it alone.

Your first concern should be your health and safety. You should always wear a safety belt. If you have the misfortune of being injured in a motor vehicle accident, you should seek medical attention immediately. Indeed, if you or anyone is injured in an accident, steps should be taken to summon the police to the accident scene so that first aid or emergency treatment can be rendered. It is also important to obtain information concerning the other parties involved in the motor vehicle accident as well as obtain the facts concerning how the incident occurred. You should keep a pencil and note pad in your glove compartment for this purpose. At a minimum, the information you should obtain includes:

• the identity, including name, address, telephone number, social security number or driver's license information of all involved parties, operators or witnesses;
• the registration and motor vehicle license plate number of each vehicle involved, as well as descriptive information such as make, model and year of the vehicles;
• the automobile insurance carrier of each motor vehicle involved (not the insurance agent);
• the date, time, weather conditions and location of the accident, including reference to stop signs, traffic lights and intersections;
• a pictorial description of the accident scene with directions of travel of all involved vehicles is most helpful.

You must report the accident to your automobile insurance carrier and agent as soon as possible. This should certainly be done within one (1) business day of the incident. In most cases it is sensible to file a report of the accident with the police department of the town in which the incident occurred.