Can An Illegal Immigrant Sue After a Car Accident?
If you are an immigrant living in Massachusetts and you have been injured in a car crash, you may be wondering: can an illegal immigrant sue after a car accident? The answer is yes. Regardless of your immigration status, you have the legal right to file a personal injury claim and pursue compensation for your injuries. At Brooks Law Firm, we are both a car accident lawyer and an immigration lawyer under one roof, which means we understand how these two areas of law intersect in ways that most firms simply cannot. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car accident, call us today at (617) 245-8090 for a free consultation.
Our team is made up of immigrants who have lived the same fears and uncertainties our clients face every day. We speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese because we built this firm to serve the communities we come from. When your car accident case carries immigration concerns, having attorneys who understand both sides of the equation can make the difference between a case that protects your future and one that puts it at risk.
Your Right to Sue Does Not Depend on Your Immigration Status
Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, every person within the jurisdiction of the United States is entitled to equal protection under the law. That protection extends to the civil court system, which means that undocumented immigrants have the same right as U.S. citizens to file a personal injury lawsuit when someone else’s negligence causes them harm. Courts across the country have consistently upheld this principle, and Massachusetts is no exception.
In practical terms, this means that if another driver runs a red light and hits your car, you can seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage, regardless of whether you have a green card, a visa, or no immigration status at all. Insurance companies have no legal basis to deny or reduce your claim based on your immigration status, though some may try to use it as a pressure tactic to settle for less than your case is worth.
Massachusetts operates as a no-fault state, which means that after a car accident, your own auto insurance policy’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays for your initial medical expenses and lost wages, up to at least $2,000 to $8,000 under M.G.L. c. 90, § 34M, regardless of who caused the crash. If your injuries exceed $2,000 in reasonable medical expenses or involve permanent and serious disfigurement, you may also file a claim or lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
Under M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A, you have generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in Massachusetts. Missing that deadline may mean losing your right to pursue compensation entirely.
One area that deserves careful attention for undocumented workers is lost wages. If you were working at the time of the accident, you may still be entitled to recover lost income, even if you did not have formal work authorization. The specifics depend on the facts of your case, which is one of the reasons it is important to work with an attorney who understands both personal injury law and immigration law.
Can You Get Deported for a Car Accident?
No. A car accident, by itself, is not a deportable offense. You cannot be removed from the United States simply for being involved in a collision, seeking medical treatment, or filing a personal injury claim.
What can change the picture is criminal conduct connected to the accident. If you are charged with and convicted of driving under the influence, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident, or reckless driving, those criminal charges may carry immigration consequences.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), certain criminal convictions can make a person deportable or inadmissible, and what counts as a “conviction” for immigration purposes is broader than most people realize. In Massachusetts, for example, a Continuance Without a Finding (CWOF) is not considered a conviction under state law, but it is treated as one for federal immigration purposes.
This is exactly the kind of overlap where having a firm that handles both immigration cases and personal injury cases makes a real difference. If criminal charges follow an accident, you need an attorney who can evaluate the immigration implications of any plea deal or court outcome before it is too late to fix.
If you have been detained or are worried about ICE involvement after an accident, we have written about what to do if you are detained by ICE in Massachusetts, and our team can guide you through both the injury claim and the immigration concerns at the same time.
The worst thing you can do after an accident is flee the scene or give false information to police. Leaving the scene of an accident is itself a criminal offense under Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 90, § 24), and it is precisely the kind of charge that can trigger removal proceedings. Staying at the scene, exchanging information, and cooperating with the process protects both your personal injury claim and your immigration case.
Do Police Check Immigration Status in a Car Accident?
In Massachusetts, local and state police generally do not investigate a person’s immigration status during a routine traffic stop or car accident response. Their job at the scene is to document what happened, ensure medical care is provided, and determine whether any traffic or criminal laws were violated, not to enforce federal immigration law.
Massachusetts has a long legal history of separating local policing from federal immigration enforcement. In 2017, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Lunn v. Commonwealth that local police lacked the authority to hold individuals solely on the basis of ICE civil detainer requests. Several Massachusetts cities, including Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Chelsea, have enacted local policies that further limit cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE.
That history took its most significant step forward on August 5, 2026, when Governor Maura Healey signed the PROTECT Act into law. The PROTECT Act, which took immediate effect, is one of the most expansive state-level immigration protection laws in the country. Among its key provisions, the law prohibits Massachusetts state and local law enforcement agencies from entering formal partnerships with ICE (known as 287(g) agreements), bars warrantless civil immigration arrests at sensitive locations like courthouses, schools, hospitals, and childcare centers, and limits how local police can share information with federal immigration authorities. The law also creates a new civil rights claim under state law for individuals whose federal constitutional rights are violated by government officials, including ICE agents.
What this means for you in practice is that if you are involved in a car accident in Massachusetts, the responding officers are focused on the accident, not your immigration status. You should call the police after a crash, because a police report is one of the most important pieces of evidence in your personal injury claim. You should also seek medical attention immediately, both for your health and because your medical records document the injuries you will need to prove in your case. HIPAA, the federal health privacy law, protects your medical information regardless of your immigration status.
It is important to understand that the PROTECT Act and local sanctuary policies limit state and local cooperation with ICE, but they do not prevent federal agents from conducting their own enforcement operations. However, the law significantly reduces the chances that a routine car accident will lead to any immigration consequences, especially when no criminal conduct is involved.
What to Do After a Car Accident if You Are Undocumented
If you are involved in an accident, the steps you should take are the same whether you are a citizen or not:
- Stay at the scene.
- Call the police.
- Exchange information with the other driver.
- Take photographs of the damage and the scene.
- Seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
- Contact an attorney before speaking with any insurance company.
You have constitutional rights at every stage of this process, including the right to remain silent about your immigration status if asked.
Insurance companies sometimes try to use immigration status as leverage, either to deny claims outright or to pressure injured people into accepting settlements far below what their case is actually worth. An experienced personal injury attorney can push back against these tactics and ensure your claim is valued based on your injuries, not your immigration paperwork.
If the accident happened while you were working or driving for work-related purposes, you may also have a workers’ compensation claim, and potentially a third-party liability claim as well. Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits are available to injured workers regardless of immigration status under M.G.L. c. 152.
Why Brooks Law Firm Is Different
Most personal injury firms know how to handle a car accident case. And most immigration firms know how to handle status issues. But very few firms do both, and that gap leaves immigrant families vulnerable.
When your car accident case raises questions about how a settlement might affect a pending immigration application, or whether a traffic charge could carry deportation risk, or how to recover lost wages without creating problems for a future green card interview, you need attorneys who see the full picture.
Brooks Law Firm was built to close that gap. Our immigration attorneys and personal injury attorneys work side by side, and many of them have lived through the immigration process themselves.
We speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese because those are the languages our communities speak, and we believe that a language barrier should never stand between an injured person and the compensation they are owed. From our offices in Medford, Boston, and Framingham, we serve immigrant families across Massachusetts who need both their injury claim and their immigration situation handled with care.
Talk to Brooks Law Firm Today
If you have been hurt in a car accident and you are worried about what it means for your immigration status, or if you have been afraid to take action because of your documentation, reach out to Brooks Law Firm today for a free consultation. We will give you an honest look at your options, in the language you are most comfortable speaking. Call us now at (617) 245-8090, or schedule your appointment online.
