Proof of Negligence in Arizona Car Accidents
Getting hurt in a car crash in Arizona can be devastating but establishing that the other driver was at fault is another. Four aspects of being negligent must be proven for an automobile accident victim or their counsel to be awarded damages.
Duty. You legally confirm that the at-fault persons’ duty of care to the plaintiff in an injury case is central to your lawsuit. All motorists are responsible for exercising due consideration for the safety of other road users. To fulfill this responsibility, you must always drive safely within limits set by Arizona law.
Breach. After establishing that the defendant owed them a duty of reasonable care, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant breached that obligation in some material way. That is, they have the burden of proof that the driver’s actions fell below a reasonable threshold for the type of care that should be exercised in a situation involving an automobile accident. This usually entails showing that the defendant’s violation of a traffic law led to the crash.
Causation. The plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant’s behavior was the direct cause of the incident after confirming that a breach of duty has occurred.
Damages. Last but not least, the plaintiff has the burden of proving that they have suffered some monetary loss due to the defendant’s violation of duty. These monetary fees can include expenses from a chiropractor, invoices from a medical doctor, bills for damage to your property, and other such things.
It is essential to have a solid understanding of the components that make up negligence, but that does not in and of itself provide proof of negligence. There are a variety of actions that people who have been injured as a result of an automobile accident can take, both immediately after the accident and ongoing, to provide evidence that carelessness was involved:
Seek Immediate Chiropractic And Medical Care. The primary and legally crucial aspect of proving carelessness is determining and documenting your injuries and how severe those injuries are. Irrespective of how traumatically induced injury initially appears, every severe auto accident victim must seek chiropractic and medical attention. Often, the signs and symptoms of automobile accident injuries may not manifest until hours or even days after the event. Only a doctor can decide the appropriate course of treatment.
Contact Law Enforcement Personnel. Often, negligence is determined by the evidence in your police report after an accident. Almost every vehicle collision in Arizona must be reported to the local police, who will perform an initial inspection and collect vital information required by insurance companies.
Snap Pictures At The Location. Any vehicle accident victim or another person who can safely do so at the scene of the accident should capture everything using their cellphone. This includes car damage, bodily injury, fragments from the vehicles involved, potential crash causes, traffic patterns, and weather circumstances.
Eyewitness Contact Information. Information on the witnesses who saw what happened. Collecting the names and contact information of any other witnesses is necessary. This covers not just other motorists and passengers but also onlookers in the area who witnessed the accident while it was happening.
Get Video At The Scene. Snap pictures of any surveillance cameras surrounding the accident area. More than likely, business and/or doorbell cameras captured part of or the entire accident. You should also take video with your cell phone if possible. A competent lawyer will collect this Surveillance video material to establish liability in your personal injury lawsuit.
Complete All Chiropractic And Medical Treatment. Any victims injured in a car wreck must complete all prescribed chiropractic and medical management until maximum medical improvement is achieved. Do your best not to miss any appointments; reschedule that appointment immediately if you miss an appointment. Do not break from your schedule. Your case depends on you completing your chiropractic and medical care, and terminating therapy before obtaining maximal medical improvement could risk the overall payout.
Gathering the abovementioned information and following through with medical and chiropractic care can be daunting. It is crucial to understand that you do not have to try to collect all this information on your own. It is best to contact a Wade & Nysather car collision injury lawyer as soon as possible after the incident occurs so that we can gather and preserve any available evidence.
What is Comparative Negligence in Arizona?
In Arizona, auto accident victims frequently ask if they may still collect financial settlements even when they contributed to the incident. Sometimes, insurance companies persuade victims of car accidents that they cannot receive payment or that they have to accept a reduced settlement if they contributed to the cause of the accident.
The concept of comparative negligence can be understood in its most basic form as a legal principle that governs the distribution of damages in situations where both parties are partially to blame for an incident. Suppose you were engaged in an automobile accident and determined that the other driver was at fault for the incident.
Hypothetically, a friend or loved one is hit by a drunk driver driving way too fast, and a collision with your friend’s car occurs. Due to the crash caused by the drunk driver, your friend or loved one suffers an injury that costs a whopping one hundred thousand dollars in chiropractic and medical bills. The investigation reveals that your friend or loved one is partly at-fault for the car crash because they failed to use their blinker properly. If it is legally concluded that your friend or loved one is thirty percent to blame for the accident, your friend or loved one would be eligible for seventy thousand dollars in settlement compared to the maximum of one hundred thousand dollars.
Because of the complexity of cases involving comparative negligence, it is essential to hire an experienced car collision attorney in Arizona who can guide you through the process and help you understand your options. Be mindful that the other party will do everything in their power to shift as much blame as possible onto you to avoid paying a significant settlement. It would be best if you had an attorney in your corner who can fight back and assist you in securing the maximum financial compensation available.
Types of Car Accident Cases Wade & Nysather Accepts
It is essential to obtain the services of a car crash attorney in Arizona who has previous experience working with cases involving injuries sustained in car accidents like yours. Car accident claims in Arizona are subject to the same laws and regulations, although no two accidents are ever precisely the same. For instance, because of how auto insurance is structured in Arizona, whoever is found to be at blame for an accident will be held financially accountable. Your chosen law firm must absolutely have the necessary expertise, resources, and employees to meet the issues unique to possible litigation arising from the vehicle accident you were involved in. In Arizona, the Wade & Nysather Law Team is willing to represent clients in various vehicle accident claims.
- Passenger cars
- Uber Lyft Ride Share Accidents
- Bicycles
- Pedestrians
- Wrong-way crashes
- (DUI) accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Rear-end crashes
- Commercial trucks
- Distracted driving accident
- Texting Accidents
- Delivery vehicles
- Vans and buses
- Motorcycles
- Stoplight accidents
- Rollovers Accidents
- Distracted driving accident
- Texting Accidents
Get in touch with us following any kind of collision on the roads of Arizona that causes you severe injuries or property damage. We will discuss the strategy of filing a lawsuit on your behalf. We will assess your case during our in-depth legal strategy session, which is complimentary and comes with no strings attached to hiring our auto accident attorneys. Should we determine that you have a valid claim and hire Wade & Nysather, our car accident legal team will initiate the process of pursuing compensation on your behalf as soon as possible. Our legal team has an excellent track record over the past 27 years.
How Soon Should An Accident Injury Victim File In Arizona
As Arizona is an at-fault state, drivers may file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver to recover damages. The statute of limitations for this type of lawsuit in Arizona is two years. Even if you deserve compensation, you will lose the right to sue the at-fault driver after two years. However, in cases of a severe injury that may exhibit delayed symptoms, such as traumatic brain injury, you have two years from the date of TBI diagnosis to make a claim. Be aware of possible exceptions. Under ARS 12-821.01, you have only 180 days from the date of the injury to file a notice of claim if the defendant was a governmental agency. In addition, if you were hurt on the job that requires you to operate a vehicle while you are working), you have to file within one year of the accident. Also, your claim will likely be assigned to a work comp to pay your medical bills. Because of the complexities and nuances of being in a traffic accident while working, it is best practice to file a claim immediately following your collision.
In most cases, motor vehicle insurance providers demand prompt notice within the first twenty-four to seventy-two hours after an accident. In Arizona, if you want to file a civil claim for damages, you have to do so until the end of the statute of limitations. Typically, you only have 180 days after a vehicle accident to file a civil case; if the defendant is a government entity, that deadline may be even shorter. Your legal right to pursue financial compensation from the party or parties responsible for your car accident increases if you report it immediately.
What Exactly Are My Damages? What Is the Value of My Claim for the Car Wreck?
The term “damages” has more than one definition in the context of a personal injury claim in Arizona. It represents the costs incurred due to the car crash and the potential financial settlement from the at-fault driver. When determining your damages, you need to consider all of the past and prospective losses that have come about as a direct result of the automobile crash. A person who has suffered a personal injury in Arizona has the legal right to ask for financial compensation for both material (economic) and immaterial (noneconomic) losses. Get in touch with the legal firm of Wade and Nysather if you require assistance determining the number of your losses.
- Chiropractic Bills
- Medical Bills
- Wage Loss
- Deductible Expenses
- Repairs To Your Vehicle
- Diminished Value Awards
- Death Benefits
- Pain And Suffering
- Emotional Injuries
- Diminished Enjoyment Of Life
- Punitive Damages
Trying to determine the value of your claim based on the vehicular accident lawsuit of some other person would be inaccurate as no two claims are the same. It’s possible that the amount of compensation that another customer receives doesn’t accurately reflect the value of your injuries and damages. Several collision victims are awarded thousands of dollars, while others are awarded multiple millions. Why not book a no-cost, no-obligation legal strategy session with a personal injury attorney in Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Phoenix, and Glendale to obtain the most effective way to get an honest and accurate portrayal of what your claim could be worth?
