Arizona Accident Lawyer Blog

“If it isn’t written, it didn’t happen.” Every personal injury claimant should consider this statement. We often use it in our office. The statement, at its root, is of course not true, as many things occur that were not written down. We also know that many other things that are written were written down inaccurately.

It is an unfortunate truth that Arizona personal injury cases are not based on the truth. They are instead based on facts, but are rather decided upon evidence. Evidence is not necessarily accurate, and it may not even reflect what actually happened.

For this reason, anybody that considers filing a personal injury claim should also seriously consider keeping a diary, though it is best to speak with an experienced Arizona personal injury attorney to guide you in this decision. There are definite risks in keeping a diary. They need to be kept accurately and consistently, including certain types of things that a personal injury lawyer may wish to deal with in trial. Yet there may also be advantages to not keeping a diary.

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As a specialist certified by the Arizona State Bar in personal injury and wrongful death litigation, I am surprised at how many people trust the insurance company for the driver that caused the accident, yet distrust a lawyer that they hire. More specifically, people often refuse to even consider hiring a personal injury attorney. Instead, many attempt to handle an accident injury case on their own, and end up speaking directly to the insurance company representing the person that caused the injury.

Now, I understand that I am an attorney that deals in Arizona personal injury law, and so realize my own bias when I write about trusting a personal injury lawyer before trusting the other side’s insurance company. Yet I also know that I help people who are hurt due to someone else’s negligence.

But the reason we bring this up is not to plug our Arizona personal injury firm, or even myself as a personal injury lawyer. Yes, we do pride our efforts in fighting for our clients. Further, we know that we deal in a straightforward manner with our clients and are always honest with them so that they know what lies ahead. But as experienced personal injury attorneys, we also know how to protect our clients from making mistakes that might jeopardize their claim. We understand that it is neither about our firm nor is it about our top notch personal injury lawyers, but about having experienced legal representation when speaking with an adverse insurance company about a personal injury claim. And the more serious the personal injury claim, the truer this is.

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1. Insurance companies always try to do what is fair and just, and are not just focused on profit or their bottom line.
2. When their client is at fault, an insurance company will always admit it. They would never dream up ridiculous arguments to try to take the blame away from their negligent client, especially if the person injured was not at fault. An insurance company will, in fact, do an investigation so that the person injured by their client will be treated fairly, even if doing so involves admitting fault and accepting total responsibility.
3. Insurance companies never would deny that the people they insure did not cause an injury when they were negligent in a car accident. Insurance companies are far too moral to blame pre-existing conditions to avoid paying your claim in full. And they certainly would never hire doctors who would try to deny that it was their client that caused an injury.
4. An insurance company would never attempt to short change a payment to a person injured due to the negligence of someone they insure and, in fact, will always agree to settle amicably with the injured party for full and fair compensation. The insurance company will never make an injured person go to extreme lengths to prove how the injury affected his or her life, and will readily offer to pay every penny that is deserved in compensation.
5. Insurance companies will admit exactly how much is available to pay a claim. An injured person never needs to worry that the insurance company will deny that other insurance policies exist that can also be claimed against. Insurance companies are very helpful, and will readily share information about other insurance policies the negligent party holds with them that are available to claim against.

Continue reading "Five Reasons to Not Hire a Top Personal Injury Attorney to Aid in an Insurance Claim after an Accident that Results in Injury" »

Top Arizona auto accident lawyers explain to their clients the uphill battle that is often faced in today’s anti-plaintiff climate. There has been so much misinformation and insurance company advertising and propaganda against honest and serious personal injury claims, that overcoming the preconceived notions of many jurors can be difficult. This is why it is so important to make sure that every injury that is suffered is documented as soon as possible after an accident.

Many people make the mistake of not following up with their doctor when they are in pain following an auto accident because they think they will “get better.” Well, of course you should hope to get better. In fact, there is a very good chance that you will “get better” and will not have needed to go to that extra doctor or to get that extra documentation.

However, the best personal injury lawyers do everything they can to insist upon their clients getting to medical providers and following up as much as possible to eliminate anybody later claiming that they did suffer the injuries that they did in fact suffer. In fact, the real danger is in the situation where an injury, though apparent, does not seem to be as serious as it turns out to be. For instance, it is not unusual for people to suffer shoulder pain and discomfort immediately following a serious car accident. Usually that shoulder pain will resolve on its own. However, what happens to the person who waits a month to follow up with their medical provider and it turns out that the reason they have been unable to move their arm is because they had a rotator cuff tear? What about the person who suffers a torn labrum after a car accident and they fail to follow up with the doctor immediately following the accident and in the days and weeks that follow? What happens is that very often the insurance company for the driver who caused the accident will use that delay in treatment to claim that it was not the car accident that led to the serious shoulder injury.

Continue reading "Have You Proved an Arizona Personal Injury Case?" »

Several Arizona car accident personal injury lawyers are familiar with how many people do not know what to do after a serious car accident claim. The reality is, most people who are seriously hurt are not in a position to try to do much that can help their case other than knowing not to talk to anybody from the other insurance company and to focus on getting better. However, many times there are family members who would like to be of help. They need guidance in terms of what to do. There are some general first steps that can be taken.

First, take pictures. Take many pictures - when you think you have taken enough pictures, take more. Pictures of what? Anything that could later be disputed. Pictures of the car. Pictures of the roadway. Pictures of anything near the area where the accident occurred. Pictures of any injuries suffered. Pictures of the hospital room. The reality is that you never know what will be contested down the line. Many, many things that seem obvious at the time of any injury are later contested by the other insurance company or defendant. Therefore, every single digital photograph that you can take is worth taking to help the person who suffered an injury.

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In helping people who have suffered serious injury as the result of the negligent driving of others, it is not uncommon for the person who caused the accident to contest the traffic citation or ticket that they received. When they contest the ticket and push it all the way to a “trial” on that traffic ticket, the person who is injured will often receive a subpoena. Under the subpoena, they are required to appear at court. This causes a great deal of concern to many people.

First, understand that you are subpoenaed to be a witness, you are not “on trial.” Instead, although you were the one who suffered the serious injuries, you are also a witness to what occurred. Therefore, an experienced Phoenix personal injury attorney knows that it is very common that you would be asked to provide that information in order to ensure that the citation or traffic ticket against the person who caused the accident is upheld.

Continue reading "I Have Received a Subpoena after a Car Accident I Did Not Cause: What Should I Do?" »

Personal injury lawyers in Phoenix will very rarely advise their clients or potential clients to give a recorded statement to an insurance company. Also, where this recorded statement is appropriate, if a recorded statement is going to be given, it should almost always be given with your lawyer at your side.

Very often, the insurance company will claim that a recorded statement is required. However, when dealing with the insurance company for the driver who caused an accident, there is no law that requires a recorded statement. The reality is that this is more of a tactic used by the insurance companies to try to get something recorded that they can later twist and use against the person who is injured.

Many times I have told people not to give a recorded statement and they object by pointing out that they will just tell the truth. Well, of course they will tell the truth. You are required to tell the truth. If you are going to work with any lawyer that is any good, they will not work with you if you do not tell the truth.

However, ask yourself whether or not you can trust the insurance company to use that statement honestly or, in the alternative, if they might look to find ways to twist your words and use them against you. If they really just wanted to know what happened in the accident, why do they insist upon recording the statement? They could simply ask you what happened? They could ask you to put it in writing? However, if they just ask you what happened they won’t be able to twist your words against you later, or at least it becomes more difficult to do so.

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As experienced Arizona personal injury lawyers, we have seen the repeated and devastating effects of negligent driving. However, with the increased use of text messaging, there has been a nationwide increase in serious traffic accidents and people killed on our roadways as a result of others who choose to text message while they drive. Texting and driving is inherently dangerous. Now falling under the phrase "distracted driving" in many articles, this activity is not only potentially criminal, but there are also personal injury lawsuit ramifications.

The Arizona Supreme Court has already found punitive damages appropriate for those who drink and drive. However, those who make mistakes while they are driving but have no intent to cause harm – known as negligence under the law – are not responsible for punitive damages. In other words, those who drink and drive not only have to pay for the lost wages, medical bills, and other legal compensation owed to the person they have harmed, they also might be fined significant amounts of money to both punish the person who decided to drink and drive as well as to send a message to others not to do so.

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Arizona has long adhered to "vicarious liability" for employers and their driving. In other words, somebody who is working for another company and is in the "course and scope" of their employment when they cause a car accident in Arizona not only create liability for themselves – the driver – but also for the company they are working for. We see this commonly where somebody runs a stop sign, runs a red light, or turns left in front of somebody else while they are working.

This is the type of simple negligence that would automatically make the driver responsible. However, Arizona, like many states, also makes the employer liable for the actions of their employee done while that person is still "on the clock." Similarly, text messaging while driving – while the driver is working for somebody else – will not only create liability for the driver but will also create liability for their employer.

Continue reading "Under Personal Injury Law Employers Are Liable for Employees Who Text Message and Drive" »

It is not enough to hire an aggressive car accident lawyer in Arizona. In fact, any lawyer can claim that they are an aggressive personal injury lawyer, when in fact they may not have the experience or the track record to back that claim up. Avoiding simply using the label “aggressive” as a way to mask any lack of experience or track record of taking cases to court, it is important to consider how complicated an Arizona personal injury claim can be and how important it is to have an experienced lawyer on your side.

One of the areas this is most commonly addressed is when it comes to making sure that someone who has suffered a serious personal injury is reimbursed for their lost wages.

As a matter of law, someone who causes a personal injury, and when that personal injury leads to the person being unable to work, the person who suffered the injury is entitled to complete restitution and full payment and reimbursement of every dollar lost as a result of being unable to work. On top of that, a person who has suffered a serious injury is also entitled to money that they may lose in the future as a result of an inability to continue to do the job that they once did.

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Filing a personal injury lawsuit may seem like a huge undertaking to many people. Besides questions about how exactly to go about filing an injury claim in court, you may additionally wonder how much it will cost to file a personal injury lawsuit as well as whether you will need a lawyer in order to do so. It is questions like this that an experienced Arizona injury lawyer with a background in personal injury law can answer.

Filing a personal injury lawsuit is actually very easy. It entails giving the clerk of the court a cheque and a piece of paper with a few key words on it. This is all that starts the process of a personal injury lawsuit: a cheque and a piece of paper.

Most people still know how to write out a cheque, but most of those same people would probably not know what belongs on that piece of paper. What someone wanting to file a claim needs to do is fill out what is called a “Complaint,” which is simply a piece of paper that indicates who the plaintiff is, the name of the defendant, and what happened to cause the accident.

Continue reading "Understanding the Role of a "Complaint" when Filing an Arizona Injury Lawsuit" »

When a person is injured due to the alleged negligence of another party, they may seek monetary compensation for their injuries through a personal injury claim or lawsuit. The only thing that a person can receive from an Arizona personal injury claim is money, even though money often cannot fix many of the problems associated with a personal injury or wrongful death. It does not heal a serious injury or permanent disability, nor does it heal the emotional trauma that comes from the death of a loved one who has been hurt or killed by the negligence of another.

While monetary compensation from a personal injury claim does not heal the hurt brought on by a serious injury, it can help pay medical expenses and help replace income lost because of an injury caused by someone else’s negligence. It is for this reason why the law allows people to seek justice through a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Continue reading "How Does a Personal Injury Claim Work in Tucson?" »

The thought of dealing with lawyers, expert witnesses, judges, and juries is enough to make anyone’s head spin. To avoid such a scenario, many people who have been injured due to negligence want to settle their personal injury claim as quickly as possible, without hiring a Mesa personal injury attorney.

But is settling your case really the best route to take?
Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. Numerous questions must be asked and factors evaluated when deciding whether or not to settle.

For instance, one critical question that must be asked is: what is the claim “worth”? Here, we’re not talking about what is fair in terms of compensation. In fact, fairness shouldn’t really be a factor at all when considering whether or not to settle. Instead, we’re trying to determine whether or not it is more beneficial to the injured person to continue forward with a case.

At this point, you might be thinking: “Why isn’t fairness a factor in deciding whether to settle? If someone is severely injured due to the gross negligence of another person, isn’t it only fair to bring that case to trial?”

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When a person experiences a traumatic brain injury in Arizona, they also can put themselves at risk for further injuries caused due to seizures triggered by the initial injury to the brain. Seizures and brain injuries often occur concurrently, with seizures an unfortunate symptom of many traumatic brain injuries. Seizures can follow immediately after the brain injury or slowly over time, with brain injury victims sometimes not having symptoms of seizures for many years after the initial accident. Generally, the more severe a traumatic brain injury the greater the chances are that the brain injury victim will develop seizures.

By definition, a seizure is described medically as uninhibited electrical activity in the brain that may create physical convulsion, minor physical signs, thought disturbances, or a combination of symptoms. Put in layman’s terms, a seizure is like a short circuit in the brain that is caused when the brain’s electrical impulses get overloaded.

Types of Seizures
There are a number of different types of seizures that are on a scale from serious to minor. Regardless of the type and severity, brain injuries commonly produce seizures. Should you believe that you may be experiencing seizures that stem from a brain injury, it is vital that you contact both your doctor and a trusted Arizona brain injury attorney right away.

A brain injury will frequently lead to what is called a generalized or tonic-clonic seizure. Those who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury are twelve times more likely to develop a generalized seizure that the general public. People who have had a traumatic brain injury may also develop epilepsy, a seizure disorder, and over half of those see epileptic symptoms within a year of the date of the accident.

Continue reading "Arizona Personal Injury Attorney Discusses the Aftermath of a Traumatic Brain Injury" »

Phoenix, Arizona auto accident lawyers deal with insurance claims on a regular basis. In fact, with most personal injury attorneys, bringing a claim against the insurance company for the driver at fault is a major part of what is done for the client on a daily basis. Many people who have been involved in an accident do not understand the role of the insurance company for the adverse party.

Insurance companies make a profit, in part, by minimizing the amount they pay somebody who's been injured as a result of the negligence of their insured driver. Many people believe that they can negotiate with the other insurance company for a "fair" settlement. However, it is very important to keep in mind that it is not the role of the other person's insurance company to act in a fair manner. Instead, they will usually take every step possible to minimize the amount of a claim they make.

Filing an insurance claim is not the same as filing a lawsuit. The steps that need to be taken, the deadlines that exist, and the games that may be played by the adverse party are very different. The rules of evidence which apply in a personal injury trial in the State of Arizona do not come into play with almost any of the negotiations that could take place with an insurance company.

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When you wear a seatbelt, this will allow you to receive full compensation in the event someone causes a serious injury to you in an auto accident in which you were not at fault. In Arizona, even if someone admits they were completely at fault for an accident, and that person admits that his or her negligence caused the accident, this negligent driver can get away with paying nothing or next to nothing.

As personal injury lawyers in Arizona, we know that if the negligent party’s defense can show that the injured person would have eliminated or decreased the possibility of injury by wearing a seatbelt, this could definitely happen in an Arizona courtroom. The degree to which the seatbelt would have prevented injury will lessen any compensation the injured party gets, even if the liable driver admits fault. In Arizona, the injured party would then get stuck with medical expenses, as well as losing out on lost income and other compensable claims for damages.

Consider too the medical expenses that are often associated with the injuries that result from a serious accident in which no seatbelt was worn. It has been reported that over half of all bankruptcies in the United States come about as a result of medical bills. So if you do not care about your physical health when it comes to wearing seatbelts, think about your financial health.

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One of the most common signs of nursing home neglect in Chandler, Arizona and throughout the U.S. is the appearance of bedsores, known medically as decubitus ulcers. Bedsores are often preventable and easily treated, yet they are one of the leading causes of death in developed countries for those in medical treatment. In the worst cases, bedsores may cover an elderly person’s body, and these preventable injuries very often signify elder abuse in a nursing home.

There are other cases in which elderly people are denied proper or enough food and water. Some elderly people in nursing homes even suffer from malnutrition or dehydration. While diagnosing such conditions requires a doctor, there are some signs and symptoms that a layperson may be able to recognize. If you have a loved one in a nursing home and think that staff may be denying food or water, it is important to know the symptoms of dehydration and malnutrition, and to follow up if you see any signs of either.

Poor personal hygiene can mean that an elderly person in a nursing home is not being attended to as he or she should, and it may be a sign that something much more serious is occurring.

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The simple answer to this question is yes. You can file a lawsuit for injuries you suffered even if you were not wearing your seatbelt. However, even if you prove that the other driver was negligent and that the injuries suffered resulted from the accident, you will still need to deal with another issue. The driver’s insurance company will most probably hire an expert witness to help develop evidence to the effect that the injuries incurred in the accident would not have been as serious if the plaintiff had worn a seatbelt. This in essence will determine the proportion of the responsibility for the injuries that were due to your negligence in not wearing a seatbelt, and the driver who caused the accident, as well as the driver’s insurance company, will not have to pay the difference.

Therefore, if it can be determined that a serious car accident in Chandler would have resulted only in a two day hospital stay and a broken leg if an accident victim had been wearing a seatbelt, but because he or she was not wearing a seatbelt, the injured person then received a serious brain injury, the insurance company would not have to pay anything for the brain injury. This is, of course, a hypothetical situation, yet it does show the financial disadvantages of not wearing a seatbelt in any car accident claim against a negligent driver.

Continue reading "Can an Injury Victim Still File an Arizona Personal Injury Lawsuit after Admitting to not Wearing a Seatbelt?" »

While insurance issues and making sure that medical expenses are covered may not be the first thing on an auto accident victim’s mind, these issues inevitably come up. However, this is why underinsured motorist coverage can be beneficial for motorists to have.

What happens if the people responsible for causing the auto accident you are involved in does not have auto insurance? One option to consider is underinsured motorist coverage claims. Either an injured person’s own policy or that of a family member can begin helping to pay medical expenses and other costs related to the accident once the negligent party’s insurance has run out. Medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering, and anything else for which an injured party can legally collect damages related to the accident should be covered. ‘

So if a person caused an accident that resulted in $80,000 in medical bills alone, and the responsible party only had $100,000 of insurance, then the person’s policy would be nearly exhausted through the claims for the medical expenses alone. It would be imperative in a case such as this to investigate whether an underinsured motorist policy would apply.

Continue reading "Making Sure Medical Expenses are Compensated after a Car Accident in Chandler" »

Arizona is what is known as a comparative fault state. This means that everybody who caused the accident shares responsibility for it. It is for this reason that you will often see cases in Arizona courtrooms in which the property owner either caused a dangerous condition or allowed it to exist and, because of this condition an injury resulted – yet the defense will then argue that the injured person should have been more careful and that this lack of care caused the injury.

It is at this point that we get into the issue of comparative fault. The property owner who knew about the dangerous condition, or who may have even created it, may be legally responsible for the majority of the damages while the person’s lack of care contributed in only a small way to the person’s injuries.

A percentage of the fault is doled out to the responsible parties. The person who fell may be responsible for 20 percent while the property owner may be found to be 80 percent responsible. In a case such as this, the injured person would receive 20 percent less.

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