highway at night with emergency lights in the distance

Car, Motor Vehicle, and Motorcycle Accidents

How SUGARMAN can help you in the event of an accident.

Many car accident victims and their lawyers make the mistake of treating car accident cases as routine.

The manner in which SUGARMAN’s personal injury lawyers approach motor vehicle accidents is anything but routine. The lawyers at SUGARMAN bring the same high-quality legal representation to persons injured in car accidents as we bring to the other types of injury cases that we handle. Indeed, we believe our decades of experience with all manner of personal injury cases, from “simple” negligence to the most complex cases, makes our approach to motor vehicle cases unique–and better for our clients.

The fact is that car and motor vehicle accidents are not simple claims. They often involve complex issues of insurance coverage, primary and third-party liability, as well as statutory and evidentiary issues. Our attorneys’ experience in representing car accident victims has resulted in substantial recoveries for victims of almost every kind of vehicle accident imaginable, including cases involving injured pedestrians, passengers, bicyclists, and drivers. What is most important, perhaps, is that the lawyers at SUGARMAN understand that every client and accident is unique and requires an individualized approach.

Properly handling a car or motor vehicle accident claim is far from simple or routine. The proper coordination of benefits between no-fault, health insurance, liability coverage, underinsurance and third parties can be a complicated web. Investigating and proving negligence cannot be an afterthought.

To be truly successful, a motor vehicle negligence case must be pursued immediately and aggressively by a lawyer with experience and integrity. Click below for a brief overview of Massachusetts law regarding motor vehicle and car accidents.

Massachusetts MOTOR VEHICLE laws

Types of Motor Vehicle Accidents

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If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, the injury lawyers at SUGARMAN are here to help.

Types of Car, Motor Vehicle, & Motorcycle Accidents

Bus, Truck and Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Due to the technical aspects of the vehicles involved and the number of regulations that govern their operation, trucking and bus accident cases tend to be more complex than ordinary car accident cases. The attorneys at SUGARMAN have the experience and resources to fully investigate and litigate these cases in order to achieve results for those injured and their families.

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Trucking Accident: Fuel Truck Rear Ends Vehicle in Slowed Traffic

Settlement on behalf of young husband and father who was struck from behind by a fuel truck during the morning commute towards Boston. The impact of the accident was severe and the plaintiff was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage and two compression fractures in his lumbar spine. Although he did not undergo surgery, the plaintiff was rendered totally disabled from his physical job and still suffers from his injuries. After pre-trial motions were decided, SUGARMAN attorneys were able to resolve the case just days before trial.

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Pre-trial settlement for young man suffering catastrophic injuries after highway barrier failure

In the largest reported plaintiff's personal injury settlement or verdict of 2022, SUGARMAN Principals Ben Zimmermann and David McCormack obtained a recovery on the eve of trial for a 26-year-old whose vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer that hit and tipped over a temporary barrier dividing lanes of traffic in a construction zone on a highway in Central Massachusetts. Through years of litigation in federal court, SUGARMAN was able to demonstrate that the general contractor and engineering firm for the project selected a light-weight steel barrier that did not meet the project's specifications and that the manufacturer of the barrier withheld testing and misrepresented the barrier's characteristics. Compounding these errors, the general contractor failed to install the barriers properly and the engineering firm failed to provide instructions regarding how much room was needed on either side of the barrier to prevent intrusion into opposing lanes of travel. SUGARMAN's experts demonstrated that the tractor-trailer was traveling at a low rate of speed with a small angle of impact such that a properly installed steel barrier (with several feet of room on either side) or an unpinned concrete barrier would have contained and re-directed the tractor-trailer and prevented it from entering the opposing lane of travel and striking the plaintiff’s car. The plaintiff was a healthy 23-year-old college student at the time of the collision. He suffered multiple fractures and injuries to his internal organs, ultimately rendering him paraplegic with an above-the-knee amputation of the left leg.

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david
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Driver struck by a truck resulting in spinal fractures

Settlement in personal injury case for a 69-year-old driver who suffered spinal fractures in a motor vehicle and truck collision in Lunenburg, resulting in a complex surgery with hardware implantation.

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Driver struck by a commercial truck

Settlement for married 50 year-old father of three who suffered a life-altering brain injury when his car was rear-ended and run over by a commercial truck.

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Trucking accident results in wrongful death claim

A trucking company, which allowed its drivers to work beyond the maximum hours mandated by federal regulations, settled a case in which a tired truck driver rear-ended a car at high speed on a highway. A woman in her thirties, with no dependents, was killed in the accident.

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Couple struck by tractor trailer

Pre-suit settlement of personal injury claims for husband and wife whose van was struck from behind by a tractor trailer. The wife sustained ACL tears in both her knees and the husband developed compartment syndrome resulting in extensive surgeries and scarring.

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Wrongful death settlements for school bus crash

Settlement in a negligence and product liability case against a transportation company and bus manufacturer following the deaths of four middle school students on a school trip in Canada. Through the use of accident reconstructions, SUGARMAN attorneys established that bus driver error was the cause of the deadly crash, and not a roadway design defect as the defendants maintained. SUGARMAN lawyers also prosecuted product liability claims against the foreign bus manufacturer, relying upon biomechanical engineering evidence to show that an improper window design resulted in passengers being ejected from the bus during the crash sequence.

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Car and Motor Vehicle Accidents

A driver runs a stop sign, is distracted by a cell phone or other electronic device, or fails to properly make sure it is safe to take a turn. There are a number of ways that a driver can negligently operate his or her vehicle and cause injury to someone else.

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Arbitration award for facial scarring suffered in car accident

In an arbitration of a car accident claim, SUGARMAN's attorneys obtained a substantial award on behalf of a client who suffered facial scarring after he was hit from behind while stopped in his car at a red light in Brockton, MA. SUGARMAN initially recovered the full amount of the insurance policy from the driver that struck the client before making a claim against the client's own motor vehicle insurer through the policy's underinsured motorist coverage. After rejecting the insurer's settlement proposal, SUGARMAN's lawyers obtained an arbitration award over 12 times more than the insurer's offer.

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Pre-suit settlement for man injured in rear-end accident

Recovery for client prior to the filing of personal injury lawsuit following a motor vehicle accident in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The plaintiff was rear-ended while stopped at a red light and sustained a detachment of his bicep tendon and other injuries. The recovery was against multiple insurance companies who provided coverage.

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Car accident caused by defendant falling asleep at wheel

Settlement in personal injury lawsuit for plaintiff who sustained permanent knee injuries after being struck by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel.

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Pre-suit resolution for icy road car accident

SUGARMAN attorneys reached a favorable pre-suit settlement on behalf of a client who suffered multiple fractures and orthopedic injuries when a vehicle slid into the client's car on an icy road in Millis, Massachusetts.

marianne
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Car struck head-on by commercial truck

Settlement in auto accident lawsuit reached for driver and passenger who sustained fractures and multiple other injuries when the car they were in was struck by a commercial truck.

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Car accident resulting in traumatic brain/closed head injury

Settlement reached for a mother whose closed head injury suffered in a car accident affected her ability to care for children.

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Accident involving delivery truck

Settlement of personal injury lawsuit for a worker who suffered multiple permanent neck, back and head injuries after a truck collided with his parked delivery truck, causing a load of bricks to fall onto his head and body.

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Car accident on the Mass. Pike

Settlement for an arm fracture and concussion sustained by a woman driver when defendant slowed suddenly to “rubber-neck” at medical event on opposite side of Mass. Pike.

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Baudanza v. Comcast, 454 Mass. 622 (2009)

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed judgment in favor of our client following a jury verdict and post-trial motions awarding increases to damages found by jury. The client sustained severe injuries when his vehicle was struck by a cable company van.

Leibovich v. Antonellis, 410 Mass. 568 (1991)

Upheld a jury verdict won by SUGARMAN lawyers for a case in which a teenaged son was injured in a car crash. This allowed the parents to recover damages for their own injuries, as well as those of their son.

Motorcycle Crashes

In the ongoing battle of car and truck versus motorcycle, cars and trucks remain undefeated. Unfortunately, motorcyclists usually sustain severe and lifelong injuries in these accidents. Experienced attorneys are needed to investigate and litigate all potential avenues of recovery.

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Dram shop/Liquor liability - Bar overserves patron who hits motorcyclist

Recovery in personal injury lawsuit against a night club for motorcyclist who suffered a below-the-knee amputation when he was struck just outside of Boston by wrong-way driver who had become intoxicated at a Quincy, Massachusetts night club.

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Motorcyclist suffers amputation from left-turning vehicle

Settlement reached for 45-year-old motorcyclist who suffered a below-the-knee amputation in a collision with a left-turning vehicle. While the plaintiff was able to return to work as a carpenter, the settlement reflected the life-altering nature of his injuries, and included contributions from the primary and excess insurance policies of the other driver's employer.

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Police motorcycle officer struck by tractor-trailer

Police officer received personal injury settlement after a motor vehicle crash with a tractor-trailer, forcing his leg to be amputated above the knee.

marianne
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Wrongful death in motorcycle – car collision

Wrongful death settlement after a husband and wife were struck by a car while riding on a motorcycle in the Boston-area. As a result of the collision, the husband was killed and the wife suffered serious injuries. SUGARMAN's attorneys were able to resolve the case after lengthy discovery and before the case was set for trial.

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Pedestrian Injuries

Distracted and negligent driving can result in serious peril and injury to pedestrians, especially in cities like Boston, Cambridge and Worcester.

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Jury verdict for family of man killed by drivers engaged in horseplay

A Plymouth County jury sitting in New Bedford rendered a substantial verdict in favor of the estate of a pedestrian who was killed by a car that went off the road and struck him while walking his dog in Easton, MA. The plaintiff, his widow, alleged that the teenage driver that struck him lost control because he was engaged in a race or horseplay with another teenage driver. The jury found both drivers responsible for the incident in issuing their award.

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stacey
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Runner struck by work truck

Post-discovery settlement for a runner who was struck by a work truck on the side of the road in Cape Cod. The runner suffered a severe ankle fracture requiring surgical repair and a lengthy rehabilitation.

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Hit and run accident results in severe facial scarring

Pre-suit settlement on behalf of young woman who was struck by a drunk driver while she was a pedestrian. Plaintiff sustained severe injuries, including a permanent foot long scar down the center of her face.

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Pedestrian struck by car in South Boston

Pre-discovery settlement for young pedestrian struck by a car while she was in a marked crosswalk on Day Boulevard in South Boston. As a result of the impact, the woman suffered a closed head injury and thoracic outlet syndrome requiring surgical repair.

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Wrongful death - Pedestrian killed due to defective road design

Settlement for family of pedestrian who was killed after being hit by a car. The defendant property owner failed to install barriers or guardrails in a shopping center access road, both of which would have prevented the accident and the pedestrian's death.

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Pedestrian sustains closed head injury

Settlement for a plaintiff who sustained a traumatic brain injury as a pedestrian. The pedestrian was holding onto the window frame of the defendant’s car when the defendant accelerated forward, causing the pedestrian to fall to the roadway, forcefully striking his head.

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Pedestrian struck by garbage truck

Wrongful death settlement received for the family of 79-year-old pedestrian killed when struck by a garbage truck.

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