G.L. c. 90, § 34M; G.L. c. 231, § 6D; G.L. c. 260, § 2A; G.L. c. 231, § 85
Motor vehicle negligence in Massachusetts — PIP first, then the $2,000 threshold
A claim in Massachusetts trial courts · Last verified August 26, 2026
Massachusetts is a no-fault state, which does not mean nobody is at fault. It means your own insurer pays your first medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash, and that you cannot sue the other driver for pain and suffering unless your case clears a statutory threshold.
Everything else about the claim is ordinary negligence. The two statutes below are what make a Massachusetts car crash case different.
What the claim is
Another driver was careless and hurt you.
Where the right comes from
Common law negligence, restricted by the no-fault statutes: G.L. c. 90, § 34M for personal injury protection benefits, and G.L. c. 231, § 6D for the tort threshold.
What a plaintiff has to prove
- Duty — every driver owes other users of the road reasonable care;
- Breach — speeding, inattention, following too closely, failing to yield, driving under the influence;
- Causation; and
- Damages — plus, for pain and suffering, satisfaction of the § 6D threshold.
PIP — what your own insurer pays
Personal injury protection benefits are paid by your own insurer, without regard to fault. They cover up to $8,000 for reasonable and necessary medical expenses, a portion of lost wages, and replacement services.
Two features matter more than the number.
PIP is the primary payer for the first $2,000 of medical expense. Above that, if you have health insurance, PIP generally requires you to submit to your health insurer, and PIP picks up what health insurance does not cover, up to the $8,000 ceiling. A claimant who lets bills sit unsubmitted can lose benefits.
Section 34M carries its own fee provision. Where PIP benefits remain unpaid for more than 30 days after proof of loss is submitted, the unpaid party may bring an action, and a successful claimant is entitled to recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees. That is unusual — the underlying negligence claim shifts no fees at all.
The tort threshold — § 6D
This is the gate on pain and suffering, and its terms are exact. Section 6D allows recovery for pain and suffering only if reasonable and necessary expenses for medical, surgical, x-ray and dental services, prosthetic devices, and necessary ambulance, hospital, professional nursing and funeral expenses exceed $2,000 — unless the injury:
- causes death;
- consists in whole or in part of loss of a body member;
- consists in whole or in part of permanent and serious disfigurement;
- results in loss of sight or hearing as described in the specified paragraphs of G.L. c. 152, § 36; or
- consists of a fracture.
A fracture clears the threshold on its own, whatever the bills came to. So does permanent and serious disfigurement — a scar can satisfy the statute where the medical costs never approach $2,000.
Where none of the five applies, the $2,000 figure counts only the categories the statute lists. Chiropractic care, physical therapy and diagnostic imaging are frequently disputed on that basis, and whether the expenses were reasonable and necessary is litigated in its own right.
Economic losses above PIP — the rest of your medical bills, your lost wages, your property damage — are recoverable without clearing the threshold. The threshold gates pain and suffering only.
How long you have to file
Three years under G.L. c. 260, § 2A, from the date of the crash.
A PIP application should go to your own insurer promptly — the policy and § 34M set the terms, and delay risks the benefit.
Against a public employer, presentment under G.L. c. 258, § 4 within two years, and suit within three. This catches crashes involving municipal vehicles, transit buses and public works trucks.
What has to happen before you file
Apply for PIP. You do not sue first. Benefits come from your own insurer, and the application starts the process.
What the claim pays
Medical expenses beyond PIP.
Lost earnings and lost earning capacity.
Pain and suffering, if the threshold is met.
Property damage — the vehicle, and its diminished value.
Twelve percent prejudgment interest under G.L. c. 231, § 6B, from the date the action was commenced.
No punitive damages, absent a statute — including against a drunk driver. Where the crash caused a death, wrongful death carries a $5,000 punitive floor for reckless conduct.
No attorney's fees on the negligence claim. Fees are available on an unpaid PIP claim under § 34M, and on a bad-faith settlement claim against an insurer under chapter 176D and 93A.
Who can be sued
The driver.
The owner, where the owner's own negligence contributed — negligent entrustment of a vehicle to an unfit driver, or failure to maintain it.
An employer, for a driver acting within the scope of employment.
A public employer, under the Tort Claims Act, subject to presentment and the Act's cap.
Your own insurer, for PIP benefits, for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and — where liability was reasonably clear and it refused to settle — under c. 176D and 93A.
Comparative negligence
G.L. c. 231, § 85 applies in full. A plaintiff 50 percent or less at fault recovers, reduced by their share; at 51 percent or more, nothing. Where several drivers are defendants, the plaintiff's share is compared to their combined negligence.
Common defenses
- The threshold is not met, which does not defeat the case but removes pain and suffering from it.
- The medical expenses were not reasonable or necessary, or fall outside the § 6D categories.
- Comparative negligence.
- Causation — the injuries came from a prior condition or a later event.
- PIP setoff, so the defendant is not charged twice for what PIP already paid.
- Limitations, and presentment where a public defendant is involved.
What people get wrong
PIP pays first, whoever caused the crash. People delay treatment waiting for a liability determination that has nothing to do with their benefits.
Not every injury supports a pain-and-suffering claim. The threshold is real, and a soft-tissue case with $1,400 in qualifying bills does not clear it.
A fracture clears it outright. So does a permanent and serious scar. The dollar figure is one route of five.
Economic losses are not gated. Lost wages and unpaid medical bills are recoverable regardless of the threshold.
Drunk driving does not add punitive damages in a survival case. Massachusetts requires a statute, and the wrongful death act is the one that supplies it.
There are fees on an unpaid PIP claim. Insurers settle those differently once § 34M is on the table.
Where it came from
Massachusetts adopted no-fault automobile insurance in 1970, the first state in the country to do it. The bargain was plain: everyone gets prompt payment of medical bills and lost wages without proving fault, and in exchange the smallest claims leave the tort system entirely.
The threshold is the price side of that bargain, and it has aged unevenly. The $2,000 figure was set when it represented a meaningful course of treatment; today a single emergency-room visit can exceed it, which has made the dollar route far easier to clear than the drafters intended. The five alternative categories — death, loss of a body member, serious disfigurement, loss of sight or hearing, a fracture — have not changed at all, and they still do the work in cases where the treatment was cheap and the injury was not.
The $8,000 PIP ceiling has aged the same way. It was generous in 1970 and now covers a fraction of a serious injury's costs, which is why the coordination with health insurance above $2,000 matters so much in practice.
Common questions
How long do I have to sue after a car accident in Massachusetts?
Three years from the crash. Two years for presentment if a public employer is involved.
Who pays my medical bills?
Your own insurer, through PIP, up to $8,000, regardless of fault — with health insurance coordinating above the first $2,000.
Can I sue for pain and suffering?
Only if you clear the § 6D threshold: more than $2,000 in qualifying medical expenses, or death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture.
Does a broken bone qualify?
Yes. A fracture satisfies the threshold on its own, whatever the bills.
Can I recover attorney's fees?
Not on the negligence claim. You can on an unpaid PIP claim under § 34M, and on a bad-faith claim against an insurer.
What if I was partly at fault?
You recover if you were 50 percent or less at fault, reduced by your share.