You want a name. A phone number. Someone who picks up.

After an accident, you do not need a billboard lawyer. You need a personal injury attorney who answers questions clearly and actually wins.

I looked at four Boston firms that handle real cases for real people. No puff pieces. No paid rankings. Just verified results and straight talk about who does what well.

Here is who made the list.

A Word on How These Firms Operate

Massachusetts follows a no-fault car insurance system. That means your own insurance pays your medical bills up to a limit first, regardless of who caused the crash. Only then can you go after the other driver.

Every firm below works on contingency. No upfront cash from you. They collect a percentage of whatever they recover. Lose the case? You owe nothing.

The clock matters here. Three years from the date of injury for most claims. Shorter for claims against government agencies. Do not let the deadline pass.

1. Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers

Michael Kelly opened his practice in 2013 after graduating from New England Law in Boston, where he made Dean’s List and served on the Law Review. The firm has since helped more than 7,500 people resolve injury claims.

What you need to know about this firm:

• They use a client portal called Case Status. This app lets you check your file progress in real time, send documents, and message your legal team without playing phone tag.
• Michael Kelly personally handles cases. You do not get passed to a paralegal or case manager. The lawyer you hire is the lawyer who works your file.
• They offer a 30-day out. Hire them. Change your mind within the first month. Take your file and leave. No charge. No hard feelings.

Verified wins: A $17.6 million settlement covered by Yahoo Finance. $2.5 million for a motorcycle crash. $250,000 from a slip and fall. $145,000 for a pedestrian hit by a vehicle.

Recognitions: TrustAnalytica ranked them the number one personal injury law firm in Boston. USAttorneys lists them as a Premium Member. Lexinter hosts a dedicated profile for Michael D. Kelly.

Where to find them: 65A Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02110. Additional offices in Lowell, Waltham, Cambridge, Revere, Arlington, Salem, Springfield, Worcester, plus Nashua (NH) and Hartford (CT).

2. Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers

Brothers J. Tucker Merrigan and Peter Merrigan started this firm in 2010. Peter was a second-year lawyer. Tucker was still in law school.

Their father, Hon. Thomas T. Merrigan, a former judge and seasoned litigator, joined them in 2014. Their mother, a retired band teacher, stars in their TV commercials.

What you need to know about this firm:

• They focus exclusively on catastrophic injury cases. Not fender benders. Not minor falls. Life-changing injuries only.
• They recovered $84.1 million for Massachusetts cities and towns in an opioid lawsuit. More than 100 municipalities were part of that case.
• Every office door carries a sign that says “Nobody from Nowobody.” It is their way of staying grounded and reminding themselves who they work for.

Notable case results: A $20 million medical malpractice recovery involving Steven Johnson Syndrome. A $16.9 million auto accident settlement that Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reported as the largest single plaintiff tort settlement in 2022. Over $250 million recovered for clients total.

Community work: They partner with the Greater Boston Food Bank, Cradles to Crayons, and Marian Manor Nursing Home. Community service is not an afterthought. They created a dedicated leadership role just to manage these efforts.

Where to find them: 268 Summer Street, LL, Boston, MA 02210.

3. Altman & Altman LLP

David Altman is a third-generation attorney. He has been representing injured people throughout the Northeast since 1999 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients.

What you need to know about this firm:

• Clients stay in control of their own cases. David Altman makes this clear from day one. You decide whether to accept a settlement, file a lawsuit, or go to trial. Not the lawyer.
• He was named one of Boston magazine’s “150 Most Influential Bostonians” in 2024. Not a legal award. A citywide recognition of someone who actually moves the needle in Boston.
• He serves as General Counsel for the David Ortiz Children’s Fund. The nonprofit founded by former Red Sox slugger David “Big Papi” Ortiz provides lifesaving heart surgeries for children in the Dominican Republic and New England.

Case result worth noting: A $5.25 million settlement for a 20-year-old college student who lost his leg in a landscaping accident. Sun glare blinded a driver who veered off the road and pinned the young man against a landscape truck. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly covered the case.

Service model: Available 24 hours a day. Willing to travel to you. Multilingual staff includes Spanish, Russian, French, Hungarian, and German speakers.

Main office: 675 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. Additional offices in Boston and Needham.

4. Colucci, Colucci & Marcus

Dino Colucci founded this firm and serves as lead trial counsel. He has been practicing law since 1988 and has been selected to Super Lawyers every single year from 2012 through 2025.

What you need to know about this firm:

• They secured the largest personal injury settlement in Massachusetts in 2024. $20 million in a wrongful death action against a large multinational corporation.
• Dino Colucci represented victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attack and people harmed by Whitey Bulger’s criminal enterprise. He has handled cases most firms would not touch.
• He also serves as a court-appointed mediator. The Superior Court asked him to mediate a multiparty case that had been stuck in the system for seven years. He resolved it.

Other verified results: $70 million for unfair business practices. $36.5 million for a motor vehicle case. $2.5 million against a municipality for an illegal police chase that caused partial paralysis. $1.8 million for a child disfigured by a defective vaporizer.

Teaching and recognition: Dino Colucci taught Trial Evidence as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School from 2008 to 2012. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell and has been included in The Best Lawyers in America.

Where to find them: 424 Adams Street, #101, Milton, MA 02186.

What These Four Firms Have in Common

All four operate on contingency. All four have recovered millions for Massachusetts clients. All four have lawyers who could work anywhere but chose to stay local.

The differences matter too. Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers gives you a 30 day out and a mobile app to track your case. Sweeney Merrigan only takes catastrophic injuries and treats each case like a family mission. 

Altman & Altman puts decision-making power in your hands. Colucci, Colucci & Marcus brings nearly four decades of trial experience and the largest settlement in the state for 2024.

How to Pick the Right Firm for Your Situation

For a straightforward car accident with minor injuries, Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers moves fast. Their Case Status app keeps you updated without constant phone calls.

For a life-changing injury like brain damage, spinal cord injury, or loss of a limb, Sweeney Merrigan focuses exclusively on catastrophic cases. So does Colucci, Colucci & Marcus. Both have the trial experience to push for top dollar.

For a case where you want to stay in control, Altman & Altman lets you make the final call on settlement, lawsuit, or trial. Some firms pressure clients to take early offers. David Altman does not.

For a wrongful death claim involving a large corporation, Colucci, Colucci & Marcus has the track record. The $20 million settlement from 2024 proves they can take on big defendants and win.

The One Question Most People Forget to Ask

Everyone asks about fees. Everyone asks about timelines.

Almost nobody asks this: “Who from your firm will actually handle my case day to day?”

Some firms assign a junior associate or a paralegal after the initial meeting. The named partner you spoke with may never touch your file again.

Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers puts Michael Kelly on your case. Sweeney Merrigan assigns one of the Merrigan brothers. Altman & Altman keeps David Altman involved. Colucci, Colucci & Marcus has Dino Colucci as lead trial counsel.

Ask the question before you sign. The answer tells you everything.

Final Thoughts

Personal injury lawyers in Boston are not hard to find. Good ones are.

Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers gives you a 30-day guarantee, a mobile app, and $17.6 million worth of proof. Sweeney Merrigan brings three generations of family focus and an $84.1 million opioid recovery for Massachusetts towns. Altman & Altman puts you in the driver’s seat and has a $5.25 million settlement for a young man who lost his leg. Colucci, Colucci & Marcus secured the largest settlement in Massachusetts for 2024 at $20 million.

Call two of them. See who answers the phone like a human, not a sales script. That is the one to hire.

Massachusetts gives you three years. Do not waste them.