• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mass. RMV Lawyer

Massachusetts License Suspension Appeals

  • DUI Suspensions
    • Massachusetts Drunk Driving Law
    • Mass. Breathalyzer & Chemical Test Refusal Suspensions
    • Breathalyzer Refusal Suspension Appeals
    • Massachusetts Breathalyzer Refusal Rights & Penalties
    • Breathalyzer Refusal / Chemical Test Refusal
      • Suspension Appeals for Constructive Breathalyzer Refusals
      • Chemical Test Refusal License Reinstatement Hearings
      • Appealing a 5 year Chemical Test Refusal Suspension
    • 2nd Offense DUI Suspensions
    • Hardship Licenses for 3rd Offense DUI
    • Melanie’s Law
      • Ignition Interlock Device Reinstatement Procedures
      • Rolling Re-test Violations in Massachusetts
      • Problems with Ignition Interlock Devices
      • Ignition Interlock Circumvention
      • Ignition Interlock Device Removal
      • Ignition Interlock Device Lockouts
      • Ignition Interlock Device Violations
      • Check your Eligibility for a Mass. Hardship License
    • Top MA Hardship License Lawyer
    • OUI Child Endangerment License Suspensions
    • OUI Defense
    • Tougher Mass. OUI & other Motor Vehicle Laws Proposed
    • Check your Eligibility for a Mass. Hardship License
    • Traffic Tickets
      • Request for Detailed Driving History Record
      • Speeding Citation Suspensions
      • Check your Eligibility for a Mass. Hardship License
  • Out of State & NDR Suspensions
    • A21 – DUI of Alcohol Suspensions
    • National Driver Register (NDR) Revocations
    • The National Driver Register (NDR)
    • Out of State DUI Suspensions for Mass. Residents
    • Out of State DUI Convictions
    • Mass. DUI Consequences for Non-Residents
    • Out of State License Revocations
    • A New York DWAI or DUI and your Massachusetts License
    • New York DWAI Suspensions
    • The National Driver Register & Out of State License Suspensions
    • National Driver Register License Suspensions
    • Out of State Suspensions & DUI Convictions
    • The Consequences of Getting a DUI in NH or Other States
    • Out of State DUI Suspensions & the Mass. RMV
  • Immediate Threat Suspensions
    • What is an Immediate Threat Suspension?
    • I wrote the Book on Immediate Threat Suspension Appeals
    • Appeal your Immediate Threat Suspension
    • Immediate Threat Indefinite Revocations
    • Immediate Threat Revocations Are Constitutional
    • Massachusetts Immediate Threat Indefinite Revocations
    • Immediate Threat Indefinite Suspensions
    • Complaint Immediate Threat Indefinite Suspensions: MV Violation Required
    • Elderly Drivers & “Complaint Medical” or “Immediate Threat” Suspensions
    • Fatal Accident Preliminary Suspensions
    • Updated Immediate Threat Information
    • Negligent Operation
  • Board of Appeal
    • Appeal your License Suspension
    • Massachusetts RMV Board of Appeal
      • Surcharges, Citations, & Insurance
    • The Division of Insurance Board of Appeal
    • Board of Appeal Hearing
    • Get Your Suspended MA License Back
    • Get a Hardship License from the Mass. RMV or the Board of Appeal
    • Board of Appeal & RMV Hearings: Your Last Chance to Present Evidence
    • Not Hiring a Lawyer for your Board of Appeal Hearing is not Smart
    • Hardship License Appeal Process
    • Check your Eligibility for a Mass. Hardship License
    • More Board of Appeal Information
  • CDL Revocations
    • CDL License Suspension Penalties
    • Commercial Drivers License Suspensions
    • Mass. CDL Suspensions & Disqualifications
    • CDL Disqualifications & Revocations
    • Mass. DUI Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Penalties
    • Tough Penalties for CDL Holders in Massachusetts
    • Latest CDL News & Information

Fatal Accident Preliminary Suspensions

You are here: Home / Massachusetts Registry News / Fatal Accident Preliminary Suspensions

Posted on December 10, 2013

If you have the misfortune of being involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident in Massachusetts, the Registry of Motor Vehicles has the right to immediately revoke your driver’s license for “FATAL ACCD PRELIM.” The Registry imposes these license revocations pursuant to G.L. c. 90 § 29, which requires Massachusetts police departments to promptly notify the Registrar of any serious or fatal motor vehicle accident.  When the Registry of Motor Vehicles receives notification of a fatal accident, the Registrar is required to impose a fatal accident preliminary suspension unless a preliminary accident investigation indicates that the driver whose license is to be suspended may not have been at fault in the accident.

If your license was suspended under the fatal accident preliminary suspension law, you are legally entitled to have the accident impartially investigated and you are further entitled to a hearing regarding the suspension and reinstatement of your driver’s license or right to operate. If the Registry refuses to reinstate your license, you can appeal the adverse Registry action to the Massachusetts Board of Appeal of the Division of Insurance. The Board has the legal authority to order the Registry to reinstate your license.

You cannot be considered for any type of hardship or work license during a fatal accident preliminary suspension, because the purpose of the law is to remove a potentially dangerous driver from the road until the accident can be fully investigated. This is an administrative license suspension which is not intended to punish the driver whose license is taken. In Massachusetts, the Collision Analysis & Reconstruction section of the Massachusetts State Police is charged with investigating fatal accidents. This investigation includes a reconstruction which can be time consuming.

If the Registry of Motor Vehicles suspended your license due to a fatal accident and the reconstruction shows that you were “without serious fault,” the Registry should immediately reinstate your license. If, on the other hand, you were found at fault in the accident, as a result of the reconstruction and investigation, the Registry will leave the suspension in place and the RMV will further revoke your license if you are convicted of vehicular homicide or if the police file an immediate threat suspension request based on the results of the investigation and reconstruction.

If your license has been suspended or revoked because of the above-described circumstances, you should definitely contact a lawyer. My office has successfully handled cases of this nature and obtained full license reinstatements at the Board of Appeal.

Related Articles

  • Immediate Threat Indefinite Revocations
  • Immediate Threat Revocations Are Constitutional
  • Massachusetts Immediate Threat Indefinite Revocations
  • Immediate Threat Indefinite Suspensions
  • Complaint Immediate Threat Indefinite Suspensions: MV Violation Required
  • Elderly Drivers & “Complaint Medical” or “Immediate Threat” Suspensions

Filed Under: Massachusetts Registry News

Primary Sidebar

Attorney Brian E. Simoneau
550 Cochituate Road, Suite 25
Framingham, MA 01701-4683 (map)
Call or Text: 508-656-0057
Fax: 508-302-0212

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • Thousands of DUI Convictions may be Reversed
  • Reinstate from an Indefinite Immediate Threat Revocation
  • Indefinite Complaint Regulatory Suspensions
  • The Ignition Interlock Operator’s Affidavit
  • Ignition Interlock Early Withdrawal Suspensions
  • Same Day RMV Hearings
  • Ignition Interlock Device Installation
  • The Work and Family Mobility Act
  • License Suspensions for Ignition Interlock Failed Start Violations

Let’s work together to get you back on the road, legally.

Contact us today regarding your Massachusetts License Suspension or Revocation.

Get Your License Back

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Footer

Disclaimer

Mass. RMV Lawyers is not a government agency or affiliated with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles or any DMV. You can reach the suspension section of the Mass. RMV at 857-368-8200 and you can reach the Mass. Board of Appeal at 617-521-7794.

Contact

Brian E. Simoneau, Esq.
550 Cochituate Road, Suite 25
Framingham, MA 01701-4683
(508) 656-0057
attorney@rmvappeal.com

Recent Posts

  • Thousands of DUI Convictions may be Reversed
  • Reinstate from an Indefinite Immediate Threat Revocation
  • Indefinite Complaint Regulatory Suspensions
  • The Ignition Interlock Operator’s Affidavit
Call Us
Text Us

Copyright © 2023 · WordPress website customization by Anything Graphic. Nav Map