When seriously injured in an accident, you may be confused on what you can do for help. The Arizona Personal Injury Guide was created by Free Injury Advice to help Arizona residents who have been hurt by the negligence of another.
When you have been harmed by someone else’s negligence, it can deeply impact you. We know how helpless and lost you may be feeling right now. Having an injury of any kind is frustrating. If you are suffering because of someone else’s actions, you may be eligible for compensation for your damages. We want you to receive compensation for all the ways your life has been impacted by this injury. We know that the insurance company is going to fight against you to save themselves money. It is our duty as Arizona personal injury lawyers to defend your right to justice. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us as soon as you possibly can. We want to be your fiercest ally in your pursuit of compensation. Call us today to set up your free initial consultation.
The Types of Cases We Handle
Personal injury is a blanket term that covers a lot of different incidents. We handle a variety of cases including:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Slip and falls
- Dog bite
- Wrongful death
- Traumatic brain injury
- Construction accidents
- Workers compensation
- Burn injuries
- Nursing home negligence
If you or someone you love has experienced harm because of incidents such as these, please don’t hesitate to call our Arizona personal injury lawyers to set up a free initial consultation. We will go over the details of your case with you during your free consultation and give you free legal advice about your legal situation. From there, if you have been a victim of negligence, you can choose to file your claim, hire us, and start the process of getting your life back.
You deserve to get justice.
How You Get Compensation for your Damages
There are a few rules and regulations in Arizona pertaining to how, when, and why you are going to get compensation for your damages. It is important to know this ahead of hiring Arizona personal injury lawyers because it can impact the way you are compensated. Here is what you need to know:
Statute of Limitations in Arizona
Every state has a statute of limitations, but they vary from state to state. The statute of limitations refers to the time period between the accident and the expiration of your eligibility to file a claim for damages. You are not going to be able to bring a claim if you attempt to do it outside of the statute of limitations.
In Arizona, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of your accident. That is going to be the case for almost every single personal injury case. There are a few exceptions, though. If your injury is not immediately apparent, then you will have two years from the date that you discover the injury to bring your case.
Arizona’s Compensation Rule
With certain cases and, in particular, auto accidents, sometimes someone who was injured in the accident also shares some of the fault. There are rules in place in Arizona that apply when both parties involved in the accident share some fault. There can be a reduction in the compensation you receive if you are deemed partially at fault. The insurance companies would like very much to pin some or all of the fault on you to reduce what they owe you. Your Arizona personal injury lawyers work to protect you from that.
This rule is referred to as comparative negligence. Here is how it works:
Let’s say you were driving home from work and someone merged lanes on the highway without putting on a turn signal and you ended up getting clipped by them. Initially it may seem the other driver is entirely at fault. Let’s say, however, you were going about 10 mph over the speed limit. You may be deemed partially at fault because the insurance company will try to say that, had you not been speeding, the collision may not have happened or it may have been a less severe collision. Of course, it is obvious that the person who just merged without warning into your car is mostly at fault. If you were to be deemed 20% at fault for the accident, for instance, and you were awarded $10,000 for your injuries, you would then receive $8,000 which is 20% less than what you would be receiving if you were not at fault.
Do not be surprised, then, if you see your Arizona personal injury lawyers having to go up against the insurance company about your shared fault. It shouldn’t surprise you later on in the settlement negotiations if there is talk of the insurance company trying to reduce what they owe you. However, the good news is that Arizona is not one of the states that have a cap on the compensation that you can receive for your damages.
What is Compensation Based On?
When we put a value to your claim, we look at all the detail of your case. For you to get a good understanding of how these cases are valued, let’s take a look at an example of a case and how it was given a case value:
A young girl was walking out of her swim practice around 9pm in winter. She was wearing snow boots that had decent traction. As she walked out of the building, she slipped on the stone step that was immediately outside the entryway.
These circumstances were clearly not her fault, as the stone step was worn down and slightly sloped, no one had thrown down salt to help with the icy walkway, and the area was poorly lit. The fault was entirely that of the property owner. They owed her compensation for her damages. Her Arizona personal injury lawyers were there to prove all the ways her slip and fall impacted her life.
She broke her foot in the slip and fall. She also shattered her phone. These are the first two damages that would be valued. For the injury, we take a look at how it impacted her (the phone value was an easy one to figure out). Her broken foot took her out of her sport for months which was a decrease in life quality. She needed physical therapy and many doctor visits which includes the emergency room trip.
She would be eligible for compensation for all of this. All of the ways the injury cost her money, such as the medical bills, the replacement phone, and the physical therapy fees, are considered economic damages. The non-economic damages she can receive compensation for include her pain and suffering and the decrease in her quality of life.
We are passionate about getting you results that are full and fair. We work hard to ensure that you are given the best chance at a fair result as possible, and we don’t let the insurance company bulldoze us or get away with a lowball settlement offer.
Frequently Asked Personal Injury Questions:
Can I Recover for Emotional Damages?
If you have a personal injury claim in Arizona, you might wonder if you can recover for emotional or psychological injuries or damages. In fact, that question comes up very commonly, especially in automobile accident situations but with a lot of other ones, too. A classic example is when someone gets rear-ended at 50 miles an hour. They not only suffer a lot of physical injuries, concussions, headaches, and all the symptoms that go along with that, but also post-traumatic stress disorder, driving anxiety, etc. If you had no warning that that vehicle was going to rear-end you, that affects you psychologically to the core. You’re just sitting there at the light, and all of a sudden, it’s like a nuclear bomb went off.
In a case like that, yes, you can get paid for that separately from your physical pain and suffering and injuries, but it’s important that you get the right expert and the top experts, who can prove that. If you just stay at home, the insurance company will pay you zero. If, on the other hand, we get you to the top experts, psychologists, and others, who document that and give you treatment for it, that’s a different story. Now, we can get you paid for it. That’s why it’s so important no matter what kind of injuries you have, physical injuries, but even psychological or emotional injuries. Don’t downplay that. Make sure to give us a call. We’ll refer you to top experts. They’ll get you treatment. They’ll get you over those symptoms in most cases. Otherwise, they can last a lifetime. You’ll get help through trauma counselors. We’ll also get you paid for it instead of you suffering in silence. Remember, the call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
How Do I Choose the Best Personal Injury Attorney?
If you’re injured in Arizona, a common question is how do you choose the best personal injury attorney for you? That’s a common question that comes up when clients call our office. The other day, a client called our office and spoke to one of our attorneys. This is what our attorney explained, “Yes, you can choose one of those attorneys that is on the big billboards and stuff, and typically, what’s going to happen is you’re going to be in a machine, in a factory. You start at one end. They send you to the chiropractor. You get spit out at the other end. You get a few dollars in your pocket, and they go onto the next case.” If that’s the kind of representation you want, have at it, but as the attorney explained, “That’s not what we do here. We’re going to give you individualized attention and especially focus on the particular injuries you have.”
Most clients are going to be better off by seeing medical specialists like an orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, things like that. If you see a chiropractor, insurance companies value those cases differently. We’re aware of that. We get you the best medical care, which by the way, ends up getting you the most compensation for pain and suffering, and that’s a win for our clients and for us. Another important thing to do, as the attorney explained is to check their Google reviews because that’ll tell you a lot. Then beyond that, is the firm willing to go after the insurance company, or will they settle cheap? All those things, you want to confirm. If you can, even talk to past clients, get references, then you know you’ve made the right choice. Call us anytime. The call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
How Long Does It Take to Settle a Personal Injury Case?
The question often comes up, how long does it take to resolve a personal injury case in Arizona? Well, that’s a very common question. Potential clients ask that all the time. Just the other day, a potential client called our office, spoke to one of our attorneys, and asked that very question. They were hoping to get an answer like two months, six months, nine… something cut and dry. If that were possible, the attorney would’ve told the client so. We can give you some ranges. We can certainly do that.
For advice specific to your case, you need to call and talk to one of our attorneys. As a general rule, most personal injury cases need to be resolved somewhere in the two-year range, two years or a lawsuit filed, but there are shorter time periods. Call us and one of our attorneys can specifically analyze your case. In some situations, you may only have 180 days. That’s a little less than six months. There are situations with young children that are longer. That’s why you need to get some specific guidance from one of our attorneys. Just remember that the call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
If I Have a Preexisting Condition, Will That Impact My Case?
The question often comes up, if I have a preexisting condition in an accident case in Arizona, will that affect my claim? In fact, when potential clients call our office, they often ask that question, or we’ll ask them, did you have a prior accident before, a work comp accident, or have you injured this area of your body before? Everything that you tell anybody in our law firm, particularly one of our attorneys, is totally confidential. We’re not going to tell an insurance company anything about whatever you tell us unless you give us exact express permission. The reason why this is an important question is because insurance companies keep an index of all prior claims, and they’re looking to catch people who say, “No, I didn’t have any prior accidents.” They go, “Well, that’s strange. What about these three claims before?” In fact, if they catch you not being truthful about that, your value of your case just went down.
Tell us what really happened. Then we can help guide you and determine what disclosures need to be made. There may have been a situation where you had slight injury, no medical treatment. That certainly is a situation that if you didn’t have any ongoing symptoms or anything, one of our attorneys can advise you whether you need to disclose something that minor, likely not. On the other hand, if you made a workers’ comp claim, it’s a public record, an insurance claim, yeah, you want to be able to not only disclose it, but our medical experts will be able to say, yeah, three years ago, but Sally or Jim has been symptom-free or treatment-free for the last year or six months. When the insurance companies try to throw that back in our face, we can go, no way. They were doing fine. Even if you were having some neck problems or back problems before, our attorneys can explain that if there’s a situation, we’ll get you to a medical doctor who can actually differentiate and say, well no, this is an aggravation. This made it worse. We still want compensation for our client. These things are not simple. If you have a preexisting situation, a prior injury, that’s doubly important that you call our law firm speak to one of our attorneys because you’re going to need legal help to resolve your case in your favor. Otherwise, the insurance company is going to say you were definitely injured but not in this accident. Remember, call us. The call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
Is There a Minimum Amount of Medical Bills Needed to Have a Case?
In Arizona, the question often comes up, is there a minimum amount of medical bills that I need in order to have a personal injury case in Arizona? That’s a common question. Potential clients ask it all the time. In fact, the other day, a potential client called our office and spoke to one of our attorneys, and asked that very question. The attorney replied that there is no minimum amount per se. There are minimums in other states. In Arizona, there isn’t a minimum amount per se as the attorney explained to the potential client, but there’s certainly situations where if you just go to the doctor one time, have one doctor bill, as the attorney explained, you’re going to be better off just handling that case yourself, and you might get a couple of hundred dollars in your pocket after your doctor bill is paid.
Our law firm focuses on cases that have more serious injuries, where you have some serious symptoms like headaches being the number one symptom of a concussion, for example, which is often overlooked. You might have numbness and tingling in your legs and arms that can be a sign of disk damaged, disk herniation, even though people don’t realize how serious that is. We always make sure that our clients go to see an orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist for concussions, etc., so they’re not overlooked. If you just go see your primary care doctor one time, they’ll be happy to send you a check for $300 or $500, and then you find out later on after you see an orthopedic surgeon or a neurologist, you’re a lot more seriously injured. There’s only one person that’s going to suffer in that situation, and it’s not the insurance company. That’s why it’s important any time you’re in an accident even if it doesn’t seem that big, at least call us. We’ll be happy to give you information. The call is free. The information is free. Remember, we’re here for you.
What is the Role of Expert Witnesses?
In Arizona, the question comes up, what is the role of an expert witness in a personal injury claim? It’s a very good question. Most clients don’t think about that until later on, but occasionally, they ask that at the beginning of a case. The other day, a potential client asked that of one of our attorneys. This is what our attorney responded. He said, “Well, the Number one expert and most important expert is your treating doctor.” That’s why one of our services that we provide is we’re going to refer you to the top medical doctors. We’re talking about orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and neurosurgeons that normally you are not going to know about or even have access to. You need to find a medical doctor who really understands what insurance companies are looking for and knows how to write the reports in a way that the insurance company says alright, wow, okay, you’ve convinced us. Yes, we’re going to pay.
Experts are important, but the right experts are crucial. That’s why it’s important if you have a personal injury claim that you call our office. We’ll talk to you. One of our lawyers will analyze your case and steer you in the right direction. We’ll even make referrals to experts and doctors even if you don’t choose us to represent you as a public service. That’s how much we want to make sure that you get the best experts. Remember, make the call. The call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
Should I Take the First Settlement Offer?
The question often comes up, is it ever a good idea to take an insurance company’s first offer when they make an offer? In fact, that’s a common question when people call our injury law firm. One of our attorneys answered that question the other day. Here’s what the attorney said, and it’s probably good information for you, too. When you just get in a car accident, insurance companies will chase you. What they want to do is they want you to take a check fast. They try to make it sound like it’s a reasonable offer. They will ask you how you are feeling. If you are polite and say you are fine, they will say that means you are not injured. Then say, well you know what, Sally or Jim, we’re going to be generous. By the way, if you ever hear an insurance company say they’re going to be generous, watch out. Don’t, whatever you do, accept that first offer without giving us a call. There are rare situations where you really aren’t injured, and they’re offering $500. Probably one of our attorneys will say go for it. Caution is more important. Go get checked out physically. We can even refer you to top medical experts. Get checked out physically, and then if they say, hey you’re fine, okay. Don’t do it the other way around, and take their first offer, and then call us crying. Please, don’t let that happen to you. Remember, the call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
What are the Steps to Filing a Lawsuit?
The question comes up, what are the steps for a personal injury lawsuit in Arizona? The other day, a potential client called our office, spoke to one of our attorneys, and asked that very question. Here’s what the attorney said. The first thing you need to be aware of is that in our office, 98% of all our cases are settled without filing a lawsuit and even a higher percentage without going to court. Why is that? We make sure that we send you to top doctors like orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, not just your corner chiropractor. There’s nothing wrong with chiropractors, but they’re not valued the same by insurance adjusters. We prepare that case, get you the best medical care, and then document it, so the insurance company looks at that and goes, hey, we’re probably better off on settling that case.
In the event that a lawsuit does need to be filed, you want to have a firm that has the capability to show the insurance company that they’re serious. Our managing attorney has 66 jury trials. Another one of our attorneys has lots of trial experience. Insurance companies know that. The steps you need to do is you need to call an injury law firm, discuss your case at least over the phone, find out what the time period is that you have to do something. You never want to go past that because all your claim can go up in smoke. Find out what mistakes people commonly make if they try to handle it on their own. We’ll tell you over the phone for free. Then if you want to try it on your own, hey, that’s fine. Our clients go hey, no I’m better off getting the experts. Turn it over to them, and let them handle it, and we love to do that. Anyway, at least call get some free help. The call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
What is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
The question often comes up, in Arizona how do you determine what my case is worth? Potential clients call our office, our injury law firm, and ask that question often. The other day, in fact, one of our attorneys responded to that question and said this. “There is no magic formula even though everyone or a lot of people have heard there is. Is it three times my medical bills, five times, ten times, two and a half times, what’s the formula, everyone wants to know?” The formula with insurance adjusters is fairly simple: We’re going to pay the least amount we can to settle your case. The most important thing at the beginning, as the attorney explained to the potential client, is what, that we get you to the best medical care.
There’s nothing wrong with your neighborhood chiropractor, but we will get you to top medical specialists like orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, neurosurgeons— anyone who can really analyze your case. You’re getting headaches. You have concussions. If you don’t get that diagnosed and documented, the insurance adjuster is going to say it’s no big deal and offer you a small lump sum like $500. When we send you to the right experts, we prove that it’s a massive concussion that can require lifetime care. That can be the difference between $500 and millions of dollars potentially. That’s why it’s so important that you call us. Let us at least analyze your situation. One of our attorneys will. We’ll refer you to top medical experts even if you still haven’t decided to hire us. We just do that to help you as a public service. Remember that the call is free. The information is free. It’s invaluable even though it doesn’t cost you anything. We are here to help you.
Who Pays My Medical Bills After a Personal Injury?
The question often comes up. When people have medical bills, they say, well I wasn’t at fault. Who’s going to pay those medical bills? Especially, they call us when the insurance company says they’re not going to step up for that. Our potential clients go, what? I didn’t cause this accident, and all of a sudden, I have to pay for the medical bills. A call from a client like that happened the other day. One of our attorneys explained to them that as far as medical bills go, if our client is not at fault and there is insurance on the other driver or other party for paying, we can make sure that you, our client, don’t have to pay anything out of pocket normally in order to get the best medical care. We’ll refer you to doctors who are willing to give you all the treatment you need now and wait to be paid till your case is settled. In fact, in many cases, they’re willing to do something similar to us as far as you never owe us any money unless we collect. Many of the medical doctors you work with will say, hey if you don’t collect, I’m not going to come after you. That gives you peace of mind.
Another thing to be aware of is if you do have health insurance, in many cases, you’re going to be better off financially to have your health insurance pay for the bill first. Yes, our attorneys will explain that we do need to reimburse them. However, the reimbursement is a lot less. You end up with more money in your pocket. These matters are not simple. That’s another reason why you need to at least call us. We can give you some guidance. One of our attorneys will analyze your case specifically. Again, the call is free. The information is free. You really need to give us a call because we’re here to help you.
Will My Personal Injury Case Go to Trial?
That is a valid question, but the most important piece of information that you’ll find if you call our law firm, as one of the attorneys explained to a potential client the other day when they asked that very question, is that 98% of our cases are settled without filing a lawsuit. Out of the 2% that we need to file a lawsuit on, 95% of those are settled without going to a trial. The cases that actually end up in trial are very, very small in number.
You have to be able to show an insurance company that you are willing to go to trial, however. That’s the only way they’re really going to make a fair offer. We have attorneys in our firm with extensive trial experience. Our managing attorney has done 66 jury trials. That’s about 64 more than a lot of attorneys out there. Another one of our attorneys has lots of trial experience. The insurance companies respect that. They know they’re not going to be able to get away with just offering so-called chump change. No matter what you think about your case, always call. Find out what your rights are. Get your case analyzed by one of our attorneys for free over the phone. Then you can decide what you want to do. If you want to go ahead and deal with the insurance company yourself, sometimes you end up damaging your case, but we’ll warn you about that as much as we can. Our attorneys will do that. Beyond that, they’ve even showed that potential clients that talk to a lawyer over the phone one time, they end up getting more money for their case than people who don’t make that call. Call us. The call is free. The information is free. We’re here to help you.
Call Our Arizona Personal Injury Lawyers Today
If you are someone who has suffered serious injuries due to the negligence of someone else, please reach out to us as soon as you can. We are passionate about providing help to those who need a strong, dependable, and fierce lawyer to defend their rights to full and fair compensation. We know the tactics the insurance company will use against you. We are ready to take on the tough challenges that are in the way of your justice. We make this easy on you so that you don’t have to worry about the tough parts of your case and can focus on your healing. If you are looking for Arizona Personal Injury Lawyers who care, please call our office today to set up your first free consultation.
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