Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys has an office in Hanover, and our Hanover personal injury lawyers represent injured people and grieving families across the South Shore and Plymouth County.
From car and truck crashes to catastrophic injuries and wrongful death, we prepare each claim for the pressure a courtroom brings, whether or not the case ever gets there.
The most serious South Shore cases demand the most preparation. When an injury changes a life or ends one, we measure the full scope of the loss and press the responsible parties to answer for it.
Call 205-323-1000 for a free consultation. We are available 24/7.
Table of Content
- Why Does a Hanover Office Matter for Your South Shore Injury Claim?
- What Personal Injury Cases Do Our Hanover Personal Injury Lawyers Handle?
- How Do Catastrophic Injury Claims Work for Hanover Families?
- What Can a Family Recover in a Massachusetts Wrongful Death Claim?
- Why Choose Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys as Your Hanover Personal Injury Lawyers?
- What Happens After You Contact Our Hanover Office?
- How Does Shared Fault Affect a Hanover Personal Injury Case?
- Do You Need a Hanover Personal Injury Lawyer?
- FAQs for Hanover Personal Injury Lawyer
- Your South Shore Case Starts With One Conversation
Why Does a Hanover Office Matter for Your South Shore Injury Claim?
A Hanover office matters because it keeps our team close to the Plymouth County courts where South Shore injury cases are decided. Being nearby makes the practical side of a case, from court dates to local filings, easier to manage.
The Hingham District Court serves Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Norwell, Rockland, and Scituate. Larger claims, including most catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, belong in the Plymouth County Superior Court, which has courthouses in Plymouth and Brockton.
Our South Shore injury attorneys represent clients throughout the region. The early steps in filing a South Shore injury claim include identifying the right court, the right insurers, and the deadlines that control the case.
A local office also changes the relationship. You are working with a team that has a base in your part of the state, which makes court dates, records requests, and other local steps easier to coordinate.
What Personal Injury Cases Do Our Hanover Personal Injury Lawyers Handle?
Our Hanover personal injury lawyers handle motor vehicle crashes, dangerous property conditions, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful death claims. Motor vehicle cases are our primary focus.
Those cases fall into four groups:
- Crashes on the road: Car, truck, motorcycle, and rideshare collisions, along with pedestrians and cyclists struck by careless drivers.
- Dangerous property: Slip and fall injuries and other harm caused by hazards a property owner failed to fix or warn about.
- Life-changing injuries: Brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other harm that affects work, independence, and daily life for years.
- Loss of a family member: Wrongful death claims brought for families after a preventable death.
The groups overlap often. A single highway crash can cause catastrophic injuries to one person and a death in the same vehicle, which means several claims moving together.
How Do Catastrophic Injury Claims Work for Hanover Families?
A catastrophic injury claim for a Hanover family seeks payment for losses that reach years into the future, such as lost earning capacity, ongoing care, and permanent limits on daily life, along with current bills.
The claim's value depends on proving those future losses with the same care as the past ones. Two questions shape these cases more than any others: what the future losses are worth, and how much insurance is available to pay them.
What Future Losses Can a Catastrophic Injury Claim Include?
A catastrophic injury claim can include future lost earnings, reduced earning capacity, the cost of ongoing care and equipment, home and vehicle modifications, and the lasting effects on your enjoyment of life. Each category needs its own proof.
That proof usually comes from treating providers, vocational consultants, and economists who can translate an injury into years of dollars. We present the injury through its effect on the claim, not through clinical detail.
A catastrophic injury also changes life for the people closest to the injured person. A spouse or child may have a separate claim for the loss of companionship and support, and that claim adds to the overall value of the case.
Why Do Policy Limits Matter So Much in a Catastrophic Case?
Policy limits matter because a catastrophic injury can exceed a driver's coverage many times over. For policies written or renewed since July 1, 2025, Massachusetts requires only $25,000 per person in bodily injury coverage.
When the at-fault driver's policy falls short, other sources may help close the gap. An employer's commercial policy, an umbrella policy, your own underinsured motorist coverage, or a business that over-served an intoxicated driver can each become part of the claim.
Underinsured motorist coverage has its own math. According to the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, anything you collect from the at-fault driver's bodily injury coverage is deducted from your underinsured limit, so a $50,000 policy adds at most $25,000 after a $25,000 payment.
What Can a Family Recover in a Massachusetts Wrongful Death Claim?
A family can recover the fair monetary value of the person they lost, reasonable funeral and burial expenses, and, in some cases, punitive damages under G.L. c. 229, § 2.
The lawsuit must be filed within three years of the death, or within three years of when the estate's representative knew or should have known the basis for the claim.
Wrongful death damages look different from injury damages because they measure what the family lost, not what the person who died experienced. Each category in the statute answers a separate question about that loss.
| Category | What it covers |
| Fair monetary value of the person lost | Expected net income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, and advice |
| Funeral and burial expenses | The reasonable cost of the funeral and burial |
| Punitive damages | At least $5,000 when the death resulted from malicious, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct, or from gross negligence |
The first category carries most of the weight in many cases. Proving it means showing who the person was to the family, not just the paycheck they brought home.
If you lost a family member in a South Shore crash, you can call 205-323-1000 at any hour for a free consultation.
Why Choose Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys as Your Hanover Personal Injury Lawyers?
Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys gives Hanover clients a local office, trial-ready preparation, and a record in serious injury litigation.
Our results include a $25,000,000 verdict in a traumatic brain injury case, and we have recovered more than $1 billion for more than 100,000 clients. Past results do not predict or promise future outcomes.
That scale supports the investigation, consultants, and trial preparation that catastrophic and wrongful death cases require.
Our Hanover office works alongside our Massachusetts personal injury team in Boston. South Shore clients get local access with the resources of a larger practice behind their case.
We prepare every file as if a jury will decide it. We are available 24/7 through our answering service, and your first consultation is free.
What Happens After You Contact Our Hanover Office?
After you contact our Hanover office, we hold a free consultation, investigate the claim, build the damages record, and then negotiate or go to court. The timeline varies with the injury, but the sequence stays the same.
In the first conversation, we learn what happened, who may be responsible, and which insurers and deadlines are involved. You come away knowing whether we can help and what the next step would be.
In the weeks that follow, we gather reports, records, witness accounts, and insurance information. For a catastrophic injury or a death, that work also includes building the proof of future losses.
When the evidence is in, we present a documented demand and negotiate with every insurer involved. If they will not resolve the claim fairly, we file suit and prepare the case for trial.
Throughout that process, you decide whether to accept an offer. We give you our assessment of each one, including what the evidence supports and what a trial could add or risk.
How Does Shared Fault Affect a Hanover Personal Injury Case?
Shared fault reduces what you recover in a Hanover personal injury case, but it bars recovery only when your negligence is greater than the combined negligence of the people you are suing. Under G.L. c. 231, § 85, a jury subtracts your percentage of fault from the total award.
Consider a driver found 40 percent at fault for a crash with $500,000 in proven damages. That driver still recovers $300,000, while a driver found 51 percent at fault recovers nothing.
Because the stakes swing on a percentage, insurers have every reason to argue about fault. Most injury lawsuits must also be filed within three years under G.L. c. 260, § 2A, so the fault investigation should start early.
Do You Need a Hanover Personal Injury Lawyer?
You need a Hanover personal injury lawyer when the injury is serious, a family member has died, or the insurer disputes fault or coverage. For smaller claims, the answer can be different.
When Can You Handle a Hanover Claim Without a Lawyer?
You can often handle a Hanover claim yourself when the injury was minor, you recovered fully, and PIP or the other driver's insurer paid your bills without a dispute. In that situation, legal fees may not add value.
When Does Legal Help Change the Outcome?
Legal help changes the outcome when future losses, limited coverage, or shared-fault arguments enter the picture. Those are the issues where insurers have the most room to reduce a claim and where evidence has the most power to push back.
A wrongful death case also brings estate and probate steps that families rarely face otherwise. Having a lawyer manage those steps lets the family grieve without handling the legal machinery alone.
FAQs for Hanover Personal Injury Lawyer
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Massachusetts?
The executor or administrator of the deceased person's estate files a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit. If no estate has been opened, a family member can ask the Plymouth Probate and Family Court to appoint a representative. The damages recovered go to the family members the statute identifies.
Is there a limit on damages in a Massachusetts car accident case?
No. Massachusetts has no general statutory cap on damages against a private driver, so available insurance often sets the real limit. Claims against public employers are generally limited to $100,000 under G.L. c. 258, § 2. MBTA claims for serious bodily injury are exempt from that limit on compensatory damages.
What if the driver who caused the crash had been drinking?
A criminal case against the driver does not stop your civil claim. You can pursue damages while any prosecution moves forward, and a bar or restaurant that served a visibly intoxicated driver may share responsibility. In a death case, that conduct can also support punitive damages.
Can we still bring a claim if our loved one lived for a time after the crash?
Yes. The family can bring a wrongful death claim, and the estate may also pursue damages for the suffering the person experienced before death. Those claims are usually brought together in one case.
Do you represent people from towns near Hanover?
Yes. We represent clients throughout the South Shore and Plymouth County. You can call 205-323-1000 at any hour to start a free consultation, wherever the injury happened in the region.
How long does a Massachusetts wrongful death case take?
A Massachusetts wrongful death case can resolve within a year or take several years, depending on the evidence, the insurance, and whether the case goes to trial. Opening the estate and gathering financial records take time. We keep the family informed about each stage and what to expect next.
Can a parent bring a claim for a child injured in a Hanover accident?
Yes. A parent or guardian brings the injury claim on the child's behalf. Special rules can affect the filing deadline and how settlement money for a minor is handled, so it helps to review them early.
Your South Shore Case Starts With One Conversation
A first call does not commit you to anything. It gives you a clear sense of where you stand and what your options are, from someone whose job is to fight on your side.
Contact Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys at 205-323-1000 for a free consultation. We are available 24/7, and we are ready to listen whenever you are ready to talk.
Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys. Main Office: 44 School St, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02108. Phone: 205-323-1000. Free consultation, available 24/7. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.