Bodily Injury Compensation Protected in MA; Distinguished from Pain and Suffering
By L. Jed Berliner, Springfield Bankruptcy Attorney on Oct 18, 2007 in Bankruptcy Cases of Interest, Benefits of Bankruptcy, Decisions of Interest, Massachusetts, Protecting Assets In Bankruptcy
The bankruptcy section discussing the federal exemption for personal injury is 11 USC 522(d)(11)(D) and it excludes (will not protect) payment “for pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss. This could be interpreted so broadly as to exclude all personal injury recovery. Not so in Massachusetts.
The Court in In re Martinez-Whitford, 199 BR 74 (Bankr D MA 1996) (Boroff, J.) ruled that such a broad interpretation would deny any meaning to the statue, and instead permitted an exemption for “bodily injury” and “loss of freedom or function.” This translates in practice to include compensation for broken limbs, scarring and partial disability. Compensation for pain and suffering is not protected, however.
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