Why the first number is rarely the real number
Insurance adjusters routinely open negotiations with a conservative figure, expecting a counteroffer. Accepting that first offer typically closes the claim permanently — there's generally no going back to ask for more later, even if additional injuries or costs surface afterward.
A genuinely narrow path to punitive damages
Unlike most states, where punitive damages are theoretically available in any sufficiently egregious tort claim, Massachusetts generally doesn't allow them in ordinary personal injury cases at all. Punitive damages in Massachusetts are available almost exclusively through the wrongful death statute, and only where the death resulted from malicious, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct — a standard well beyond ordinary negligence.
What this means practically
For a surviving-plaintiff claim, however egregious the underlying conduct, punitive damages are generally not part of the available recovery — compensatory damages (economic and noneconomic) are the ceiling, subject to whatever cap genuinely applies. This is worth knowing before assuming a punitive damages claim adds settlement leverage in anything other than a wrongful death matter.
A citation isn't an automatic bar either way
On the fault side, it's worth knowing that a citation for violating a criminal statute or ordinance doesn't automatically establish contributory fault as a matter of law under G.L. c. 231, § 85 — it's simply evidence the jury weighs alongside everything else. A citation doesn't settle the comparative fault question on its own, in either direction.
The baseline still applies
None of this changes the ordinary approach to a first offer: compare it against a complete, well-documented account of your actual damages before deciding whether to accept or counter, since the decision is generally final once made.