Is Massachusetts a No-Fault State?

Yes, Massachusetts is a no-fault state, but only for the first part of an injury claim: every Massachusetts auto policy carries Personal Injury Protection (PIP), which pays up to $8,000 of medical bills and lost wages for the people it covers “without regard to negligence or gross negligence or fault of any kind,” under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A. Everything beyond that still turns on fault. A claim for pain and suffering against the driver who caused the crash is allowed once your medical expenses pass $2,000 or your injury falls into one of five serious categories under c. 231, sec. 6D, and that claim is decided by ordinary fault rules. Damage to your car is fault-based from the first dollar. And who caused the crash still affects your insurance premium. So the accurate short answer is “no-fault for PIP, fault for almost everything else.”

If you were hurt in a Massachusetts crash and want to talk through which part of the system your claim sits in, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free. This page is general information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice about your situation.

What “No-Fault” Means, and What It Does Not

“No-fault” is a label for one specific trade the Legislature made. In exchange for guaranteed, quick payment of your first medical bills and lost wages by an insurer, regardless of who caused the crash, you give up the right to sue the other driver for small injury claims. The trade is written into c. 90, sec. 34M in two sentences that matter more than any others on this subject.

The first says PIP benefits “are granted in lieu of damages otherwise recoverable by the injured person or persons in tort as a result of an accident occurring within this commonwealth.”

The second says the owner, operator or occupant of a vehicle who “would otherwise be liable in tort” is “exempt from tort liability” for bodily injury “to the extent that the injured party is, or would be… entitled to recover” PIP benefits.

Read together, those sentences mean the at-fault driver is shielded from your claim only up to the amount PIP covers. They do not make fault irrelevant, and they do not touch property damage at all. People often hear “no-fault” and assume nobody is ever blamed in a Massachusetts crash. That is not the law. The fault question is simply postponed until a claim grows past the PIP layer, and it is asked immediately for vehicle damage.

The Two Halves of the Massachusetts System

The easiest way to see the whole picture is to sort every kind of loss from a crash into the half of the system that handles it.

Loss from the crash	Handled by	Does fault matter?	Main statute
Medical bills, first $8,000	Your PIP coverage (or the PIP of the vehicle you were in or struck by)	No	c. 90, sec. 34A
Lost wages, within the same $8,000	PIP, at up to 75 percent of your average weekly wage	No	c. 90, sec. 34A
Medical bills and wages above PIP	Claim against the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage	Yes	c. 231, sec. 85
Pain and suffering	Claim against the at-fault driver, only past the tort threshold	Yes	c. 231, sec. 6D
Damage to your car	Other driver’s property damage liability, or your own collision or limited collision coverage	Yes, except under full collision	c. 90, sec. 34O
Your future premium	Safe driver insurance plan	Yes	c. 175, sec. 113B

Two rows of six ignore fault. The other four depend on it. That ratio is why Massachusetts is better described as a “modified” or “partial” no-fault state than simply a no-fault one.

The No-Fault Half: PIP

Section 34A defines PIP as coverage that pays the named insured, members of the household, any authorized operator or passenger, and “any pedestrian struck by the insured’s or obligor’s motor vehicle.” The statute adds that “pedestrian” includes “persons operating bicycles.” So a cyclist hit by a Massachusetts car can claim PIP from that car’s policy even though the cyclist owns no car at all.

What PIP pays, in summary:

• Reasonable medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, ambulance, hospital, nursing and funeral expenses incurred within two years of the accident.
• Lost wages, limited to amounts actually lost and capped at 75 percent of your average weekly wage for the year before the crash.
• Ordinary and necessary services that replace work you would have done for yourself or your household, not for income, had you not been hurt.
• All of it up to a combined limit of at least $8,000 per person.

Two limits catch people out. If you have health insurance, PIP pays no more than $2,000 of the medical expenses your health plan also covers, and the health plan carries the rest. And if you were hurt while working and are entitled to workers’ compensation under chapter 152, PIP does not apply to you; the workers’ compensation system pays instead. The full detail, including how PIP and health insurance divide the bills, is in our article on what PIP covers in Massachusetts.

How quickly PIP has to pay

The statute puts the insurer on a clock. Under sec. 34M, once the insurer is notified of disability by a licensed physician, it must “commence medical payments within ten days or give written notice of its intent not to make such payments, specifying reasons.” If benefits stay unpaid for more than thirty days, the unpaid party “shall be deemed a party to a contract with the insurer” and may sue in contract; if that party wins, the court assesses costs and reasonable attorney’s fees against the insurer. The statute says “any unpaid party,” so the right is not limited to the injured person.

The PIP deductible trade-off

Section 34M lets a policyholder buy a PIP deductible of $100, $250, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $4,000 or $8,000 for themselves alone or for the whole household. The trade has a sharp edge: anyone subject to the deductible “shall have no right to claim or to recover any amount so deducted” from the driver who is exempt from tort liability. In plain terms, the money you chose not to insure is money you cannot get from the other driver either. If you are not sure whether your policy carries a PIP deductible, the declarations page will say.

The Fault Half, Part One: The Tort Threshold

The second half of the system starts where PIP’s protection of the at-fault driver ends. Chapter 231, sec. 6D allows a person hurt in a Massachusetts crash to recover damages for pain and suffering “only if” the reasonable and necessary medical expenses are “in excess of two thousand dollars,” unless the injury:

1. causes death;
2. consists in whole or in part of loss of a body member;
3. consists in whole or in part of permanent and serious disfigurement;
4. results in the loss of sight or hearing described in c. 152, sec. 36; or
5. consists of a fracture.

A fracture alone opens the door, whatever the bills. A soft tissue injury with $1,500 of treatment does not, however painful it was. Our article on the serious injury threshold walks through each category and how the $2,000 is counted.

Once you are over the threshold, the claim is an ordinary negligence claim, and fault decides it.

The Fault Half, Part Two: Comparative Negligence

Massachusetts uses modified comparative negligence. Under c. 231, sec. 85, your own carelessness does not bar recovery “if such negligence was not greater than the total amount of negligence attributable to the person or persons against whom recovery is sought,” but “any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion.” So a driver found 30 percent at fault recovers 70 percent of the damages; a driver found 50 percent at fault recovers half; a driver found 51 percent at fault recovers nothing from the others. The same section says a plaintiff’s violation of a traffic law is “evidence of negligence” but does not, by itself, bar recovery.

This is the clearest proof that Massachusetts is not purely no-fault. In a case past the threshold, the percentages of fault are the case. Our pages on how fault is determined after a Massachusetts car accident and on comparative negligence cover how those percentages are argued.

The Fault Half, Part Three: Your Car

PIP covers people, not vehicles. Damage to your car is handled entirely outside the no-fault system, through one of three routes in c. 90, sec. 34O:

• The other driver’s property damage liability coverage, which every Massachusetts policy must carry, with a limit of not less than $30,000 for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025. You recover here only if the other driver was at fault.
• Your own collision coverage, if you bought it, which the statute says pays “without regard to negligence, comparative negligence, gross negligence or fault of any kind,” subject to your deductible.
• Your own limited collision coverage, a cheaper option that pays only in four listed situations: when you are entitled to recover in tort against “another identified person”; when your car was lawfully parked and hit by an identified owner’s vehicle; when you were rear-ended by an identified vehicle moving in the same direction; or when the other driver is convicted of operating under the influence, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, or speeding. Even then, it pays only where your own negligence is “not in excess of fifty per cent.”

If you carry only the compulsory coverage and the other driver was not at fault, nobody pays for your car. That surprises many people who assumed “no-fault” meant their own insurer would fix the car regardless.

The Fault Half, Part Four: Your Premium

Fault also follows you to renewal. Section 34O refers to the “safe driver insurance plan established by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred and thirteen B of chapter one hundred and seventy-five,” under which at-fault accidents can increase premiums, and it lets an insurer require a $500 collision deductible for up to three policy years after a “major at-fault accident as determined by the commissioner of insurance and on record with the motor vehicle insurance merit rating board.” A crash that is no-fault for your medical bills can still be an at-fault accident on your driving record. How long that record counts, what each surcharge point costs, and how to appeal are covered in how long an accident stays on your insurance in Massachusetts.

Answer Capsule

Massachusetts is a partial no-fault state. Personal Injury Protection under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A pays up to $8,000 per person for medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, and c. 90, sec. 34M shields the at-fault driver from injury claims only to the extent PIP pays. A claim for pain and suffering is allowed once medical expenses exceed $2,000 or the injury is a death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, a listed loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture, under c. 231, sec. 6D, and that claim is decided by modified comparative negligence under c. 231, sec. 85, which bars recovery above 50 percent fault. Vehicle damage is fault-based under c. 90, sec. 34O, and the tort exemption does not apply at all to a crash outside Massachusetts.

When the No-Fault Rules Do Not Apply at All

Crashes outside Massachusetts. Section 34M says it plainly: “No such exemption from tort liability shall apply in the case of an accident occurring outside the commonwealth.” A Massachusetts driver hurt in New Hampshire or Rhode Island is not limited by the Massachusetts threshold; the claim follows the law of the place it happened. The statute adds a timing rule: if a person entitled to Massachusetts PIP sues in tort over an out-of-state crash, PIP amounts do not become payable until a settlement or judgment, and are reduced to the extent the settlement or judgment already covers them. Our article on crashes in border towns with out-of-state drivers covers the cross-border mechanics.

Work injuries. A person entitled to workers’ compensation is outside the PIP definition in sec. 34A, so the no-fault layer is the workers’ compensation system instead, with its own rules.

No PIP available. The tort exemption protects the at-fault driver only to the extent you are, or would be, entitled to PIP. Where a vehicle carried no Massachusetts policy at all, the picture changes, and uninsured motorist coverage and the state’s assigned claims plan (named in sec. 34M) become the questions.

What to Do After a Crash in a Partial No-Fault State

Because the two halves of the system run on different rules and different clocks, the practical steps after a crash are partly about keeping both open.

1. Open a PIP claim promptly. Section 34M requires the claim to be presented “as soon as practicable” and in every case within two years of the accident, with a written description of the injuries and treatment.
2. Authorize the wage information. If you claim lost wages, the statute requires you to let the insurer obtain your wage records for the year before the crash.
3. Tell your providers about PIP and about your health plan. Providers bill PIP first; once $2,000 of health-plan-covered expenses has been paid by PIP, the health plan picks up those bills.
4. Keep every medical bill and record. Whether you cross the $2,000 threshold in c. 231, sec. 6D depends on the reasonable and necessary expenses, and a fracture diagnosis on an X-ray report can matter more than any bill.
5. Report the crash and file your own operator’s report where required. Our guide to reporting a car accident in Massachusetts gives the deadlines.
6. Deal with the car separately. Vehicle damage goes to the other driver’s property damage insurer or your own collision or limited collision coverage, with fault deciding which.
7. Track the three-year deadline. Under c. 260, sec. 2A, a tort action must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues, and the fault-based half of your claim is a tort action. Our statute of limitations guide lists the shorter notice rules that apply when a public body is involved.

Common Misunderstandings

“My insurer pays for everything because it’s no-fault.” Your insurer pays PIP up to $8,000, and it pays for your car only if you bought collision or limited collision coverage and the conditions are met. Beyond that, payment comes from the at-fault driver’s insurer.

“No-fault means I can’t sue.” You cannot sue for pain and suffering below the threshold in c. 231, sec. 6D. Above it, you can, and you can also recover medical expenses and lost wages beyond what PIP paid.

“It was no-fault, so it won’t affect my rates.” Whether PIP paid has nothing to do with whether the crash is recorded as at-fault for the safe driver insurance plan.

“The PIP insurer just pays and that’s the end of it.” Section 34M gives the insurer that paid PIP a right of subrogation against anyone not exempt from liability, and a right to claim reimbursement from the at-fault driver’s insurer, decided between insurers by agreement or arbitration. Those disputes run between the companies and do not reduce the liability insurance available to you.

Key terms

• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): the no-fault part of every Massachusetts auto policy, which pays up to $8,000 per person for medical expenses and lost wages under c. 90, sec. 34A regardless of who caused the crash.
• Tort exemption: the protection c. 90, sec. 34M gives an at-fault driver from injury claims, limited to the amount the injured person is entitled to receive from PIP.
• Tort threshold: the requirement in c. 231, sec. 6D that medical expenses exceed $2,000, or the injury fall into one of five listed categories, before pain and suffering can be claimed.
• Modified comparative negligence: the rule in c. 231, sec. 85 that reduces damages by your share of fault and bars recovery when your share is greater than the total share of those you sue.
• Limited collision coverage: optional coverage under c. 90, sec. 34O that repairs your car only in four listed situations and only when your negligence is not more than fifty percent.
• Subrogation: the insurer’s right, after paying a claim, to step into your shoes and recover what it paid from the party responsible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Massachusetts a no-fault state for car accidents?

A: Partly. Personal Injury Protection under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A pays up to $8,000 per person for medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, and c. 90, sec. 34M protects the at-fault driver from injury claims only to that extent. Pain and suffering, losses above PIP, vehicle damage and your premium all still depend on who caused the crash.

Q: Can I sue the other driver in Massachusetts if it is a no-fault state?

A: Yes, once your injury passes the tort threshold in c. 231, sec. 6D: more than $2,000 in reasonable and necessary medical expenses, or a death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, a listed loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture. Below the threshold you can still recover economic losses that PIP did not cover.

Q: Does no-fault cover damage to my car in Massachusetts?

A: No. PIP covers injuries only. Vehicle damage is paid by the at-fault driver’s property damage liability coverage, which must be at least $30,000 for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, or by your own collision or limited collision coverage under c. 90, sec. 34O. Limited collision pays only in four listed situations and only when your negligence is not more than fifty percent.

Q: Whose insurance pays PIP in Massachusetts?

A: Section 34A extends PIP to the named insured, household members, authorized operators and passengers of the insured vehicle, and pedestrians struck by it, with bicycle riders counted as pedestrians. In most crashes your own policy covers you and your household; a passenger or a pedestrian with no policy of their own can claim under the policy of the vehicle involved.

Q: What happens if I was partly at fault in Massachusetts?

A: PIP still pays you, because it ignores fault. For the fault-based claim, c. 231, sec. 85 reduces your damages by your share of the negligence and bars recovery only if your share is greater than the combined share of the people you are suing. At exactly 50 percent you can still recover half.

Q: Does no-fault apply if I crash in another state?

A: No. Section 34M states that the tort exemption does not apply “in the case of an accident occurring outside the commonwealth.” Your Massachusetts PIP may still respond, but if you sue in tort over the out-of-state crash, PIP amounts wait until a settlement or judgment and are reduced by whatever that recovery already covers.

Q: How long do I have to file a PIP claim in Massachusetts?

A: Section 34M requires the claim to be presented as soon as practicable and in every case within two years from the date of the accident. Separately, a lawsuit against the at-fault driver must generally be commenced within three years under c. 260, sec. 2A.

Q: Will a no-fault PIP claim raise my insurance rates?

A: The PIP payment is not what drives your rate. The question is whether the crash is recorded as an at-fault accident under the safe driver insurance plan established under c. 175, sec. 113B, which depends on how the crash happened, not on which coverage paid the medical bills.

Q: Is Jimmy Knows AI giving me legal advice?

A: No. This page is general information about Massachusetts law for educational purposes. It is not legal advice for your situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your own crash, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS.

Talking to a Lawyer

The no-fault label makes many people stop at PIP when their claim has a second half. If your medical expenses are approaching $2,000, if an X-ray shows a fracture, if the crash happened outside Massachusetts, or if an insurer is disputing who caused it, the fault-based part of the system is where the rest of your recovery sits. Call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free.