Automobile collisions are the single most significant cause of personal injuries in Arizona and throughout the United States, and the vast majority of traffic wrecks that result in injury stem mostly or entirely from just one person’s misconduct. However, even if it seems obvious to you that someone else is to blame for causing your crash, you may have significant trouble holding them liable for your ensuing losses during settlement negotiations or through a civil lawsuit—especially if you try to do it alone.
Fortunately, you have assistance available from a Chandler car accident lawyer who has been helping people injured in collisions around the Phoenix metro area for more than 30 years. With our seasoned personal injury attorneys on your side, you will have the best possible chances of securing a favorable case result and getting every cent of the compensation you deserve for your damages.
How Fault Works in Car Crash Claims
Regardless of how or where a car accident happens, holding someone directly involved—or a third party who was indirectly involved, such as a mechanic or a vehicle manufacturer—legally liable for crash-related injuries will almost always require proving they were legally “negligent.” In a nutshell, someone is “negligent” and therefore liable to pay civil damages if they directly cause an accident through their own reckless or careless misconduct, which in turn directly causes someone else to suffer a physical injury needing professional medical care.
It is important to emphasize, though, that getting hurt in an auto accident does not make someone immune from being found partially responsible for causing that wreck through negligence of their own. In fact, Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-2505 allows courts to assign percentages of “comparative fault” to people who hold some of the blame for their own accidents and reduce the value of their final damage award in proportion to that percentage—an outcome which an experienced Chandler car accident attorney could play a vital role in preventing.
Getting Paid Fairly Within Filing Deadlines
Fortunately, Arizona does not have any “no-fault” restrictions on filing suit immediately after an auto accident as opposed to requiring that injured people go through the insurance claims process first, and there are also no artificial “caps” placed on the maximum amount of money someone can recover through a successful personal injury claim. This means it is often possible after a car wreck to demand recovery for the full value of all economic and non-economic, past and future losses stemming from that incident, including:
- Emergency medical bills and expected long-term care costs, including for things like physical therapy and assistive equipment
- Lost working capacity, income, and/or benefits like employer-provided health insurance
- Vehicle repair/replacement costs, plus other personal injury damage and related expenses like rental car fees
- Physical pain and suffering from accident-related injuries
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma from injuries and/or the accident itself
- Lost enjoyment/quality of life, including lost consortium
As a car crash lawyer in Chandler could further explain, though, A.R.S. § 12-542 typically gives injured people just two years after initially getting hurt to begin the civil litigation process, so time is of the essence when it comes to building and filing a strong claim over an auto accident.
Contact a Chandler Car Accident Attorney for Help
Any auto accident which directly leads to sustaining a serious injury could potentially be the basis for civil litigation. Without support from a knowledgeable legal professional, though, you may have significant trouble getting any compensation at all, let alone the full amount you should be entitled to recover under Arizona law.
Navigating the legal system efficiently and getting the damages you need for the harm you should never have sustained could be much easier with guidance from a capable Chandler car accident lawyer. Call the Phillips Law Group today to learn more.
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