Personal Injury Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

If you were injured, you should always have a lawyer on your side.  Never rely on insurance companies to truthfully tell you what your case is worth or whether you even have a valid claim.

Our lawyers can work with you to help you get the compensation you need, accounting for medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses.  We can also seek full compensation for your pain and suffering and other non-economic damages.

To get started on your case, call our personal injury lawyers at Phoenix Accident and Injury Law Firm today at (480) 428-0816.

Determining Fault in a Personal Injury Case

In a personal injury case, fault requires four elements.  For any defendant who meets these four elements, a court can hold them responsible for their fair share of the blame.

Elements

Most injury cases are based on a claim of negligence, meaning that

1. The defendant owed the victim a legal duty, often based on traffic laws, other statutes, or what is reasonable in the given situation.
2. The defendant breached that legal duty, typically by failing to use the necessary care and skill.
3. That breach caused your injuries, i.e., the accident would not have happened unless the defendant did what they did.
4. You suffered damages, such as physical injuries and monetary damages, that you can recover compensation for.

If we can prove these four elements for any defendant, then we can hold them at fault.

Assigning Fault

In many cases, more than one party will share fault.  This means that these four elements apply to each defendant.

From there, the jury can assign a share of the fault to each party.  They do this based on what each at-fault party's actions were and how they contributed to the total harm.  For example, fault could be 50/50 or 60/40.

Fault can be assigned among many parties, and a portion of the blame can be given to the victim, too.

The Process of a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Tempe, AZ

Personal injury claims happen in a few stages:

Getting Medical Care

After your accident, you should get immediate medical care.  Serious injuries often require surgeries and a long road to recovery, but it is important to follow through with all appointments and therapies.

Collect Evidence

There is some evidence collection you may be able to do at the scene of the accident, especially in car accident cases.  There, you should collect the at-fault driver's name, contact info, insurance info, and vehicle info, along with any other info you can collect.

Witness information and photos of the accident area are always important.  Other evidence can be collected later, but our personal injury lawyers can typically handle this for you while you focus on your recovery.

Insurance Claims

The first place to turn for damages is insurance in many cases.  You may have some first-party benefits to help you, but most claims are filed against the at-fault party.

Initial settlement offers are usually low, and our lawyers may have to negotiate for better compensation.  Insurance investigations can take a while before we know the outcome.

Filing a Lawsuit

If the case is taking too long, the insurance company seems like they are giving you the runaround, or the insurance company has denied fault, we may have to go to court for damages.  Once we file in court, we take the decisions about fault away from the insurance company and put them in the hands of a neutral judge and jury.

Going to Trial

If your case does not settle through ongoing negotiations, then we can go to trial.  There, we can put on our case, call witnesses, and seek full damages from the jury.

Calculating Damages in Your Personal Injury Case

You can claim damages for nearly any harms you face in an accident, both monetary and otherwise.  These are typically divided into "economic" and "non-economic" damages, which are calculated a bit differently.  You can also claim punitive damages in some cases.

Economic Damages

You can claim the full value of any costs you have to pay or money you miss out on because of an accident, such as the following:

• Medical expenses
• Therapy bills
• Lost wages
• Other lost earnings
• Vehicle repair/replacement costs
• Home adaptations for disabilities
• Childcare while you are hospitalized.

We can calculate these costs by totaling up all bills and financial records, then projecting the future economic damages you will continue to face.  This includes ongoing medical care costs and ongoing lost earning capacity.

Non-Economic Damages

Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress are all parts of the non-economic damages you can claim.  They have no inherent value, so it is our job to calculate a fair cost for these harms.

One method uses a multiplier, chosen based on how severe your injuries are.  We multiply this by the total economic damages to come to a non-economic damage value.

Another method assigns a per diem value to your pain and suffering, chosen by factoring in your typical daily income and adjusting for the severity of your injury.  We then multiply that by the number of days you faced pain and suffering.

Punitive Damages

Additional damages can be claimed not to pay you back, but to punish the defendant for wrongdoing.  These damages are only available if...

1. You have clear and convincing evidence of the defendant's mental state.
2. They went beyond mere negligence into intentional or reckless action, often involving a disregard for your rights.

Punitive damages equal to the rest of your compensatory damages are usually allowed, though there are factors to consider when calculating punitive damages.

What Does Insurance Cover?

When you file an insurance claim against the defendant, it can cover any damages you face, up to policy limits.  Some insurance policies may have low limits, and any overflow can be claimed against the defendant directly.

However, uninsured or underinsured defendants often cannot afford damages beyond their policy limits, making recovery complicated.  In car accident cases, your own insurance policy might have supplemental coverage, such as underinsured motorist insurance, that can take care of additional costs.

FAQs for Personal Injury Claims in Tempe, AZ

When Should I Call a Lawyer?

You should contact a lawyer as soon as you can after an accident.  Calling in the first few days is ideal because it allows us to jump in and look for any evidence from the scene that might be available, like security footage that could be deleted/overwritten within days.

It also allows us to talk to witnesses, track damages, and help you with other aspects of your recovery, such as finding specialists for treatment.

How Long Do I Have to File an Injury Claim in Tempe, AZ?

Injury cases have to be filed within 2 years from the date of injury.  This is set by the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Arizona.

Is There a Limit on Damages in My Case?

Damages are not capped in Arizona.  This means you are allowed to claim as much money as you need to cover your damages.  We cannot, however, claim damages beyond what we can prove.

What Damages Can I Claim?

Most personal injury claims involve at least these three areas of damages:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering.

On top of this, you can claim other expenses and monetary damages related to the case.  Some cases also allow for punitive damages if the defendant's actions were intentional or reckless.

Who Can I Sue?

Injury cases can be filed against any party that violated a legal duty, resulting in your injuries and damages.  This is often an individual, such as another driver on the road, but it can also be a company or business, such as a store with a slippery floor.

You typically cannot sue an employer for a work-related injury, but that does not stop you from suing other people responsible for a work injury.

How is Fault Determined?

For any party to be held at fault, they must have violated a legal duty that they owed you, and that violation must have actually caused your accident.

In many cases, multiple parties make mistakes that contribute to the accident, and each party can be held liable for their fair share of fault.  Courts usually apportion fault as a percentage of the blame and damages, based on how much each party's actions contributed to the injuries.

What if I'm Partially at Fault?

If you are partially responsible, the court can assign you a percentage of the blame, too.  Under Arizona law, your damages can be reduced according to your percentage of fault, but you cannot be blocked from suing.

Where Do I File a Lawsuit?

Most injury cases worth at least $1,000 will be filed in the local Superior Court.  For injuries in Tempe, this typically means filing in the Maricopa County Superior Court.

Do I Have to File a Lawsuit?

In some injury cases, we may be able to negotiate with the defendant and their insurance company and settle for a fair value.  Insurance claims can pay high-dollar damages, and you may be able to avoid a lawsuit altogether if our personal injury lawyers can negotiate with the defense.

However, insurance carriers sometimes refuse to settle for a fair, reasonable value, leaving us no choice but to press the case in court.

Can ASU Students Sue in Tempe if They are From Out of State?

About 35% of ASU students are from another state, but that does not change their rights under Arizona law.  You typically file an injury case where it happened, meaning you are able to get a local attorney and file your case here in Tempe.

You might not be able to file your case back home, depending on who is responsible.

What Does a Lawyer Help With?

Our attorneys can help with calculating damages, finding evidence, building your case, helping you understand your legal rights, and actually fighting the case, whether in the courtroom or at the negotiating table.

However, we pride ourselves on taking care of more than just the legal issues our clients face.  The time after an injury can be very confusing, and our firm can help you find doctors, schedule appointments, find rental cars, and otherwise guide you toward getting back on your feet after a serious injury.

Can You Reopen a Settlement?

Once you settle an injury case, it is usually finished.  You typically sign paperwork releasing the defendant from any further liability as part of a settlement agreement.  Even without this, if you just accept money, it might still function as a settlement.

Settlements usually cannot be reopened to add more money later or to go back to court, so you must make sure you are happy with the settlement before accepting anything.  Always talk to a lawyer before signing anything or accepting any money.

Who Decides Fault?

In a trial, the jury decides fault.  This means they decide which facts are true, what happened, who was responsible, and how much the damages are.

If you use a bench trial, the judge takes on these responsibilities instead.  If you settle before going to trial, the settlement will usually not include a statement about who was at fault; you give up any claims about fault when you settle.

In an insurance claim, the insurance company decides fault, which is why they often decide in their favor.

What Does it Cost to Hire an Injury Lawyer?

Personal injury lawyers are typically paid a percentage of the winnings in your case.  This means we get paid nothing unless and until we win your case.

How Do I Choose a Lawyer?

Our attorneys offer free case reviews where we can discuss your case.  You can learn a bit more about our firm and how we handle cases, and you can see whether we are a good fit.  There is no obligation with a free case review, so call us today.

Contact Our Tempe Personal Injury Attorneys Today

Call (480) 428-0816 for a free case review with the personal injury lawyers at Phoenix Accident and Injury Law Firm.