Have you or a loved one been severely injured due to another’s negligence? Contact our Phoenix personal injury lawyers for a free evaluation.
The phrase ‘accidents happen’ is often used as a throwaway, dismissing the seriousness of what can occur in the aftermath of these events. When you’ve experienced a personal injury, you know that an accident can be something that changes your life and is not easily dismissed.
Given the complexities of dealing with a personal injury, we thought that we could compile some free injury advice to help you deal with these circumstances. The following tips will put you and your case in good stead, helping to ensure that you can heal well and receive the damages you deserve for your injury.
Tip #1 – See a Doctor ASAP.
Inevitably, we will hear from personal injury victims who (remarkably) have not seen a doctor. How is that possible, you might ask? Well, on one level, many of us are taught to just push through and not feel sorry for ourselves. This can translate into not listening to our bodies after injury or dismissing an injury, even when it is quite serious. In some cases, there might even be financial concerns around seeing a doctor.
Compounding all of this is the fact that our bodies actually have a hormonal response to accidents that can prevent us from understanding how injured we are. In the aftermath of an accident, your body floods with hormones such as adrenaline. Originally, this was intended to give you the energy you needed to survive and escape the trauma. In today’s world, it often means that we don’t feel the seriousness of our injuries and, as a result, don’t see a doctor right away.
What if you see a doctor a few days later? Thankfully, you will be getting the help that you need to heal. You may, however, have already damaged your case. When you put off seeing a doctor, it interrupts the timeline of your claim. Once you turn to the insurance company asking for damages from the incident that caused your injuries, it will be easy enough for the insurance company to say that your injuries were unrelated to that incident. Why? Because you saw a doctor days after, or even weeks after.
Tip #2 – Listen to your doctor!
Are there people who don’t listen to their doctors? Of course. In fact, it’s most everyone. Think about how many times you haven’t finished a prescription, for example, or that time your doctor said to not run for three weeks but you ran after two. These small choices may seem inconsequential to you, but they can impact your claim in big ways.
If the insurance company finds out that you’ve been running a marathon when your doctor said to rest, they will use this to lower the value of your claim, blaming your failed recovery or even your injuries on you and you alone. Don’t let them do this. Listen to your doctor.
Tip #3 – Don’t talk to the insurance company.
Speaking of the insurance company, what should you do when they contact you after your accident? You might think this is hypothetical, but it’s not. It isn’t a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ The insurance company will contact you and they will express a good deal of sympathy for your situation. You may believe that they have your best interests at heart.
This is a complete fallacy. They are only interested in one thing— reducing the amount they will owe you in damages. The point of this call isn’t to commiserate with you or check in on you. The point is to get you to say something that will damage your claim.
When the insurance company calls, politely decline to speak with them. Your Phoenix personal injury lawyers are much better suited to communicate with them for the duration of your case.
Tip #4 – Find a lawyer, and make sure it’s the right one.
Finally, you want to reach out to our Phoenix personal injury lawyers when dealing with a personal injury claim. These are not situations that you should be handling on your own, for one. Personal injury claims can take time and require an understanding of the law, as well as more nuanced things such as dynamics involving the insurance company. Even if you know yourself to be a competent and even clever person, handling a case independently can cause problems. Statistically, you are very likely to end up with less in damages, too, when you represent yourself in these matters.
It’s also important to make sure you get in touch with the right type of lawyer. Yes, there are many skilled lawyers out there in Phoenix. What you need for your claim, however, is a lawyer who understands personal injury inside and out. Your tax attorney won’t cut it, nor will the person who handled your divorce, say. Your best bet for having a successful resolution to your claim is to reach out to our Phoenix personal injury lawyers. Bonus tip? Look for lawyers who are ready and willing to go to trial, too. While claims can resolve early on through settlement, you never want to be in a position where you are heading to court over a claim and do not have a skilled trial attorney by your side.
Tip #5 – Don’t push the timeline.
As in all states, you have a certain time frame in Arizona in which you need to file a lawsuit for your personal injury. This ‘statute of limitations’ as it is known states that you have two years from the date of the incident to file. An exception to this is if you have a ‘hidden’ injury and do not discover it until some time has passed. In that scenario, the 2-year timeline starts from the day you discover your hidden injury.
It is important, however, to note that claims in Arizona against a city, county, or the State of Arizona have a much tighter timeline. With these types of claims in Arizona, you have:
- One hundred eighty days to file the formal claim; and
- one year for the lawsuit. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 12-821 and § 12-821.01.)
Pushing the timeline and waiting to hire a lawyer and initiate your case puts you at risk of having no case at all.
Are you dealing with a personal injury and looking for Phoenix personal injury lawyers who will do right by your case? Look no further than the professionals at Free Injury Advice, your go-to Arizona personal injury law firm. We will sit down with you and walk through all the details, helping to make sure that your claim finds a successful resolution and that you get the damages you deserve.
Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel