Tools and guides for Massachusetts cases

Why these tools exist

The Massachusetts statutes that govern personal injury, workers compensation, and consumer-protection claims do not bend to ignorance. A claim filed one day after the limitations period is generally barred no matter how strong the underlying facts. A workers compensation matter where the employer was not notified within thirty days of the injury can lose protections under M.G.L. c. 152 even where the medical evidence is overwhelming. The same pattern repeats across other Massachusetts statutes: the rule is the rule, and missing the deadline forfeits the remedy.

The tools on this page address the questions that most often determine whether a Massachusetts claim ever reaches a fair resolution. The statute-of-limitations calculator picks the common case patterns and shows the controlling deadline. The what-to-expect guide walks through how a Massachusetts case actually moves from intake to resolution, so the reader can compare what an attorney describes against what the firm has published. The first-24-hours checklists set out what to document, what to avoid saying, and which deadlines start running on day one for the most common matter types.

Information, not legal advice

The tools provide Massachusetts legal information, not legal advice. Using them does not create an attorney-client relationship with Jim Glaser Law. For representation, telephone (617) JIM-WINS. The intake line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The first telephone consultation with the firm is offered without charge. For matters Jim Glaser Law accepts on contingency, no attorney fee is owed unless and until the matter resolves with a recovery to the client; case-related costs and expenses are addressed in the written fee agreement.

The Massachusetts statutes that drive these tools

The statute of limitations calculator is built around M.G.L. c. 260 sec. 2A, which sets a three-year limitations period for most Massachusetts tort claims (auto, premises, personal injury, motorcycle, bicycle, products). Different statutes set different windows: medical malpractice runs three years from reasonably knowable injury under c. 231 sec. 60B with a seven-year statute of repose; wrongful death runs three years from the date of death under c. 229 sec. 2; claims against state or municipal entities under the Tort Claims Act require written presentment within two years under c. 258; workers compensation has its own notice and filing rules under c. 152; municipal sidewalk falls require written notice within 30 days under c. 84 sec. 15; consumer-protection claims under c. 93A have a four-year window; contract claims have a six-year window under c. 260 sec. 2; property-damage claims for chattels have a three-year window under c. 260 sec. 2A. The calculator surfaces the correct deadline for the case type the reader picks.

The what-to-expect guide is built around the typical case rhythm for Massachusetts personal injury, workers compensation, and mass tort matters: intake and medical stabilization in the first weeks, pre-suit demand and negotiation in the middle months, litigation if the matter does not resolve pre-suit, and either a negotiated settlement or a trial verdict at the end. Different practice areas have different sub-rhythms (mass tort MDL coordination, OUI parallel-track criminal and civil proceedings, divorce filing through the Probate and Family Court), but the macro structure is consistent enough that a single guide serves as the starting point.

The first-24-hours checklists

Six 24-hour checklists cover the case types where the first day most determines whether the matter ever reaches a fair resolution. Car accident. Slip and fall. Workplace injury. Motorcycle crash. Nursing home injury. Suspected medical malpractice. Each checklist sets out what to document, what to say, what to avoid saying, who to notify, and which deadlines start running on day one. The checklists are not a substitute for a telephone consultation with the firm; they are a record you can work from while you wait for the call. Telephone (617) JIM-WINS as soon as you safely can; the line is answered around the clock.

What these tools cannot do

The tools cannot tell you whether you have a case. That determination requires evaluation of the specific facts by a real Massachusetts attorney; the AI extension at /ask gives a preliminary read but the case-evaluation question requires the telephone consultation. The tools cannot file a claim for you or appear in court on your behalf. The tools cannot generate legal advice tailored to your situation; everything they produce is general Massachusetts legal information. The tools cannot evaluate matters outside Massachusetts; the firm's jurisdiction is Massachusetts only, and out-of-state matters are referred to counsel admitted in the relevant state. The tools cannot replace the attorney-client relationship that forms only when you sign a written fee agreement with Jim Glaser Law.

Free reference work is part of the firm's posture

Jim Glaser Law sponsors these tools as a public-interest reference for Massachusetts residents. The cost posture is deliberate: every Massachusetts resident should have access to a legal reference that does not put a price on the first question they ask. The firm earns fees from matters that produce real recoveries, not from gating the information that helps callers decide whether they have a matter at all. Most readers who use these tools will get the answer they need and never need to telephone the firm. Others will recognize on using the tools that their matter is more serious or more time-sensitive than they realized and will then telephone. The firm prefers either outcome.

How the tools relate to the AI extension at /ask

These tools and the AI extension at /ask serve different purposes. The tools are static reference work built around a specific question pattern (statute of limitations, case rhythm, first 24 hours). The AI extension is a real-time question-answering system that responds to whatever Massachusetts legal question the reader submits. The tools are appropriate when you know what question you want to answer; the AI is appropriate when you are not sure how to frame the question or when your situation does not map cleanly to one of the tool categories. Both are free. Both are limited to Massachusetts law. Both produce information, not legal advice. Both route case-specific questions to a free telephone consultation with the firm.

How the tools are kept current

The Massachusetts statutes the tools reference are reviewed against current authority on a rolling basis. M.G.L. c. 260 sec. 2A (the three-year tort limitations) has been stable for decades. M.G.L. c. 231 sec. 6D (the auto tort threshold of $2,000 in medical bills) is also stable. M.G.L. c. 152 (workers compensation) is updated periodically by the legislature; the firm tracks legislative updates and updates the calculator and the what-to-expect guide accordingly. Massachusetts case law also shapes how the tools work. The discovery rule, the tolling rules for minors, and the Tort Claims Act presentment requirement under c. 258 each have their own line of case law that the tools reflect at the level appropriate for general reference. Where new case law materially changes how a tool answers a question, the tool is updated. The last-reviewed date for each tool is maintained internally; readers who want a specific tool's current authority cluster can request it on a telephone call.

What the tools are not

The tools are not a substitute for an attorney. They cannot file a claim. They cannot evaluate the specific facts of your matter against the controlling authority. They cannot tell you whether you should settle, what the offer is worth, or whether the carrier's argument has merit. They cannot generate a tailored legal opinion for your situation. The tools are starting points and reference work; the actual legal evaluation happens on the free telephone consultation with Jim Glaser Law. The cost posture matters: every part of the reference is free, and the firm earns fees only from matters that produce real recoveries (where the firm is on contingency) or from matters where the client engages the firm under a written fee agreement (where the firm is on fixed-fee or hourly).

How readers typically use these tools

The most common usage pattern is a Massachusetts resident looking up the deadline for a matter they have been thinking about for some time. The statute-of-limitations calculator either confirms that time remains and the matter is worth pursuing, or surfaces that the deadline is closer than the reader thought and prompts an immediate telephone call. The second most common pattern is a reader who has just been in an accident or just discovered a wrongful act using the first-24-hours checklist to decide what to document. The third pattern is a reader who has been told by a carrier or counterparty that their claim is weak and uses the what-to-expect guide to understand whether the carrier's framing is honest or self-serving. Each pattern produces a different next step. The constant is that the tools never ask for an email address, never gate the result, and never attempt to upsell. Free reference, end to end.

What to do after using these tools

If the tool answered your question completely and you do not have further concerns about the matter, you are done. The firm does not require any follow-up. If the tool surfaced something you did not expect (a deadline closer than you realized, a procedural step you missed, a recovery route you did not know existed), the next move is a telephone call to the firm at (617) JIM-WINS. The intake line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The first telephone consultation with the firm is offered without charge. There is no signup required, no email gating, and no obligation to engage the firm after the call. If the matter does not fit Jim Glaser Law's practice areas, the firm will identify that on the call and refer you to appropriate counsel without fee. Telephone first, decide later.

Who uses these Massachusetts legal tools

The reader base for these tools breaks into four groups. The first is Massachusetts residents who were injured in an accident (auto, motorcycle, bicycle, slip-and-fall, workplace) and want to understand the rules before they decide whether to call a lawyer. The second is family members of Massachusetts residents in long-term care who suspect neglect or abuse and want to know what evidence to preserve and how long they have to act. The third is Massachusetts residents who have already received an insurance carrier's offer and want a reference point for whether the offer reflects the likely value of the claim. The fourth is non-Massachusetts residents who were injured in Massachusetts and need to know whether Massachusetts law or their home-state law controls the matter. Each group finds the tool that fits the question, gets a usable answer, and decides for themselves whether the telephone call to the firm is the right next step.

How these tools compare to other Massachusetts legal references

A Massachusetts resident looking for a statute-of-limitations reference can consult M.G.L. itself on the state's website, a general legal-information portal, an attorney's blog, or this calculator. The state's website is authoritative but written for lawyers; the general portals are written for a national audience and rarely reflect Massachusetts-specific carve-outs; attorney blogs vary widely in accuracy and currency. This calculator is written for Massachusetts residents specifically, maintained by a Massachusetts firm that handles these matters weekly, and updated as the underlying authority changes. The same posture applies to the what-to-expect guide and the first-24-hours checklists: Massachusetts-specific, attorney- maintained, free, with no signup, and produced by the firm that handles the matters at the end of the journey. The cost posture is the same across every tool on this page: the reference is free, the telephone consultation is free, and the firm earns fees only from matters that produce real recoveries or where the client engages the firm under a written fee agreement.