Help finding a lawyer (MA)

November 8, 2022 5:36 AM

Asking on behalf of a friend, who was assaulted by bikers over the weekend, and is now looking for recommendations for lawyers. This is in Massachusetts. His ask is in the extended explanation:

Last weekend I was assaulted by bikers who were participating in a local toy run. The police are involved, but because of the details of the incident, it’s unclear if the assailants will be found or held accountable. In addition to suffering the psychological and emotional trauma of this event, I have incurred medical and property damage expenses. I’m interested in talking to a lawyer but I’m not sure where to begin. Any advice on what kind of lawyer to hire and also referrals to them would be greatly appreciated.

posted by spindrifter to Law & Government (1 answer total)

I can't speak to the legal aspect, but depending on the nature of the injury or property damage, it might be useful to get your insurance company involved. If the damage was to a vehicle, and that vehicle has comprehensive coverage, you could file a claim with your car insurer, and then their (high-paid, aggressive) lawyers would go after the bikers.

That being said, this gives me pause: "because of the details of the incident". I'm reading this as the details of the incident are a he-said-she-said thing, your word against the bikers', with no objective evidence like surveillance video. If that's the case, a private lawyer won't be much help. Although the burden of proof is lower in a civil trial, you still need something, and if the police aren't going to find it, it's not clear that a private lawyer (who costs significantly more money and has fewer resources) will. There are a couple of other ways to read that (maybe it's a hit and run, maybe there was a group of bikers and you can't tell which one actually committed the crime), but I'm having trouble finding an interpretation that would make winning a civil lawsuit against these bikers more likely than a criminal indictment.

One final thing: It might be helpful to specify which part of Massachusetts you're in. There are a lot of people here from around the state, but it's still pretty heavily tilted toward the Boston area. And if the toy ride in question is the one I found after a 30 second search, Boston-based recommendations will probably be less useful and significantly more expensive than lawyers based in other parts of the state.

I hope the friend is OK, or at least will be. This sucks, and it's why I get nervous around groups of motorcyclists even if they seem peaceful. I know that's irrational, but then you hear about stuff like this. Best wishes.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:23 AM on November 8, 2022