Police and Fire Injuries

Massachusetts Police and Firefighter Injury Claims

If you are a police officer or firefighter who has suffered an injury in the line of duty, contact the Greater Boston personal injury attorneys at Kenney & Conley. Whether your accident involved an auto collision, dangerous property conditions, or even dog bites, you have the right to be compensated for all of your physical, economic, and intangible losses.

Unlike other states, which under the so-called "fireman's rule" specifically prohibit a civil action by a police officer or firefighter against a citizen for injuries suffered while responding to a call for assistance, Massachusetts law enforcement and emergency response personnel are entitled, just like any other worker, to recover personal injury damages against the person responsible for causing the emergency situation. Our firm won the Appeals Court case that prevented the fireman's rule from being applied against Massachusetts public safety personnel and their families.

The Massachusetts rule, known as the "rescue doctrine", is intended to promote effective action in emergency situations by relieving some of the risk that injury might result from heroic action. We know the rescue doctrine well, because our attorneys helped establish it as accepted law in a case we handled successfully before the Court of Appeals in the year 2000.

Kenney & Conley lawyers are ready to represent firefighters, police officers, or other first responders for injuries in the line of duty in such situations as the following:

• Injuries suffered in both auto and foot chases of criminal suspects
• Falls from collapsing structures in residential and commercial building fires
• Gunshot wounds suffered while making an arrest or responding to a 911 call
• Accidents resulting from unlit, poorly maintained, or inherently dangerous property conditions at emergency scenes
• Auto accident injuries on road or highway shoulders while writing a traffic citation or clearing an earlier accident scene

At Kenney & Conley, our thorough knowledge of Massachusetts personal injury law and our painstaking development of your damages claim can represent a major advantage to police officers and firefighters who need compensation beyond paid leave and medical treatment. For a free consultation about your right to a full financial recovery, contact our personal injury attorneys in Braintree.