Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 84, Section 19 specifies how notice to a road owner after an accident should be given. The contents of the notice are specified by M.G.L. 84, § 18.
In the following, we will break down the text of this section and discuss each of its parts:
Such notice shall be in writing, signed by the person injured or by some one in his behalf,
It should be a written, signed notice. An e-mail or a digital signature does not suffice.
and may be given, in the case of a county, to one of the county commissioners or the county treasurer; in the case of a city, to the mayor, the city clerk or treasurer; in the case of a town, to one of the selectmen or to the town clerk or treasurer.
Notice should be given to the owner of the road. This part specifies which specific executive the notice may be sent to. If you send the notice to the right person with registered mail, and the notice gets signed by someone else signing as the agent of the addressee, and is routine that the other person receives mail for the addressee, then it is received by the addressee even if they testify they never received it (Anderson v. Billerica, 309 Mass. 516, 1941).
If the person injured dies within the time required for giving the notice, his executor or administrator may give such notice within thirty days after his appointment. If by reason of physical or mental incapacity it is impossible for the person injured to give the notice within the time required, he may give it within thirty days after such incapacity has been removed, and if he dies within said thirty days his executor or administrator may give the notice within thirty days after his appointment.
If you do not give notice within 30 days after the accident, this part provides relief in three specific cases:
- You passed away.
- You cannot give notice due to physical limitations.
- You cannot give notice due to mental limitations.
When the physical or mental limitation ends, you again have 30 days to notify the road owner. If you pass away, either within 30 days after the injury, or 30 days after the physical or mental limitation ends, the person who executes your will has 30 days from his appointment. If you have a will that appoints someone to execute it, that person is called the executor, whereas a court appointed person is called an administrator.
There are no acceptable excuses beyond the three cases provided in this article (Sarrouf v. Boston 94 Mass. App. Ct. 901, 2019).
It is important that notice is given after the appointment. If a person gave notice and is later appointed, they must give notice again (O’neil v. Squire, 230 Mass. 294)
Any form of written communication signed by the person so injured, or by some person in his behalf, or by his executor or administrator, or by some person in behalf of such executor or administrator, which contains the information that the person was so injured, giving the name and place of residence of the person injured and the time, place and cause of the injury or damage, shall be considered a sufficient notice.
You cannot be forced to file a specific form or use specific phrasing, as long as the notice has the required information, which is your name and address, when and where the damage or injury happened, and the reason for the damage or injury. The notice must also be signed, either by you, someone on your behalf, by your executor or administrator if you passed away, or someone on their behalf.