Christopher Murphy is an attorney with Scalli Murphy Law, P.C., a Massachusetts personal injury firm. He is the responsible attorney behind this wrongful death resource, which means his name is on it and the accuracy of what you read here is his responsibility. That matters more than it might seem. Anyone can publish a page about Massachusetts law. Fewer are willing to put a real lawyer’s name next to it and stand behind every sentence.
Who he is
Chris is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and focuses his work on serious injury and wrongful death matters. Scalli Murphy Law has represented Massachusetts families since 1994. That is a long time in the same courtrooms, in front of the same judges, across the table from the same insurers. The work is not abstract to him. It is a set of families, one after another, who lost someone and had to decide what to do next while they were still in shock.
He handles these cases the way the firm always has. Directly. Without a script. A wrongful death claim is not a form you fill out. It is a legal process that has to be built out of medical records, police and agency reports, employment history, and the specific facts of how a person died. Chris treats that record as the foundation of everything, because in Massachusetts it is.
What he focuses on
His practice centers on wrongful death and serious personal injury for Massachusetts families. These are cases where someone did not survive, or survived with life-altering harm, and a family is left to carry both the grief and a legal problem they never asked for. Chris takes the second half off their plate.
Wrongful death law in Massachusetts is narrower and more technical than most people expect. Who is allowed to bring the claim, what can be recovered, how long you have to act, whether a survival action belongs alongside the death claim: these are governed by statute and by decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court, and getting them wrong can cost a family the case before it starts. Chris works in that framework every day. If you want to see how it fits together, the guides here walk through how a Massachusetts wrongful death claim actually proceeds and who has the legal standing to file one.
How the firm approaches these cases
The idea behind the firm’s work is simple. The family carries the grief. The firm carries the legal burden. Those are two different weights, and they should not sit on the same shoulders. A parent who just buried a child should not also be reading statutes at midnight or arguing with an adjuster about records. That is the lawyer’s job.
Scalli Murphy Law takes wrongful death and personal injury matters on a contingency basis. No fee unless there is a recovery. The reason is practical, not promotional: a grieving family should not have to choose between hiring a lawyer and paying for the funeral. Cost is not what keeps someone from getting answers here.
Why a named author matters for legal information
Most legal information online is anonymous. It is written to rank in a search engine, not to be right, and there is no one to answer for it when it is wrong. For a family making decisions after a death, that is a real hazard. A single misunderstanding about who can file, or how long you have, can end a valid claim.
A page with a real attorney’s name attached works differently. There is accountability. Chris reviews this material as a licensed Massachusetts lawyer, and his reputation and his license are tied to whether it is accurate. That does not make any single page a substitute for advice about your own situation. It does mean the general information here was written by someone who does this work and answers for it.
How this resource is written and reviewed
The guides on this site are built from Massachusetts primary law. Where a point rests on a statute, they cite the statute. Where it rests on a decision of the Supreme Judicial Court, they cite the case. The goal is that a reader, or another lawyer, can check the source and see that the statement holds up.
- Substantive legal claims are tied to Massachusetts statutes and to decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court, not to generic summaries.
- The material is reviewed for accuracy by a licensed Massachusetts attorney before it is published as guidance.
- The site does not publish settlement numbers, averages, or promises about outcome. Value in a wrongful death case is built from the facts and the records, and there is no honest average to quote.
- General guidance stays general. For advice on your specific case, the answer is a conversation, not a web page.
If your family is dealing with a fatal crash, a workplace death, a fall, or a case involving medical care, and you are trying to understand your options, start with the guides. Then talk to a lawyer. If you are near Boston, the overview for a Boston wrongful death lawyer is a good place to see how the process looks close to home.
How to reach him
You can reach Chris and the firm about a Massachusetts wrongful death matter at 617-415-2100. A first conversation is a chance to lay out what happened and hear, honestly, whether there is a claim worth pursuing and what the next step would be. No pressure, and no cost to ask.
Questions families ask
Does it cost anything to talk to Chris about a possible claim?
No. The firm handles wrongful death and personal injury matters on a contingency basis, which means no fee unless there is a recovery. A first call to explain your situation carries no charge and no obligation.
Can this website tell me what my case is worth?
No, and be skeptical of any page that claims it can. Value in a Massachusetts wrongful death case is built from the specific facts and records, not from an average. That is a question for a lawyer who has looked at your file, not for a web page.
Is the information on this site legal advice?
No. The guides give accurate general information about Massachusetts wrongful death law, reviewed by a licensed attorney. Advice about your own case depends on your facts, and that requires an actual conversation. You can start one at 617-415-2100.
Do I have to come to an office to talk to someone?
No. You can start with a phone call to 617-415-2100. The point of a first conversation is to understand what happened and figure out the next step, and that can begin over the phone.
Scalli Murphy Law has stood with Massachusetts families since 1994, on a contingency basis: no fee unless we recover. To talk with Chris about a wrongful death matter, call 617-415-2100.
Talk with Christopher Murphy about a wrongful death matter
Free, private, and no obligation.