Did you suffer a personal injury caused by another’s negligence?
You can discuss the situation in a free consultation with a Tucson personal injury lawyer from Phillips Law Group. You may be eligible for compensation for the damages caused by the accident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
At Phillips Law Group, we have been representing injury victims in Arizona for more than 27 years. We have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation over that time in a variety of personal injury cases. This includes $7.65 million in a motorcycle accident case and $3.1 million for an auto accident that resulted in a broken neck.
There are no upfront fees for having one of our attorneys represent you. We do not receive compensation unless we obtain compensation for our clients.
We are ready to take your call. Phone: 602-222-222 .
Do You Have a Personal Injury Case?
This is often one of the first questions accident victims have when they meet with our attorneys. However, the answer to this question is complicated. Generally, a personal injury attorney must prove an injury resulted from negligence to have a case.
Negligence has four elements, and your attorney must prove each one:
- Duty of care ”“ Your lawyer must show the at-fault party had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care to help prevent you from suffering an injury. The definition of reasonable care depends on the situation. For example, drivers have a duty to follow traffic laws and avoid reckless behaviors.
- Breach of duty of care ”“ You must have evidence of the at-fault party failing to uphold the duty of care that existed before the accident. The breach could be because of careless or intentional actions or a failure to act to prevent an injury.
- Causation ”“ It is not enough to show the at-fault party was reckless. You must also show how their actions led to you being injured. There must be a direct link between the two.
- Damages ”“ This is the final element of negligence, which refers to the effects of an injury, such as medical bills for treatment or lost wages from missed time at work.
For more than two decades, our Tucson personal injury attorneys have been pursuing compensation for victims of negligence. We have the experience and resources to fully litigate personal injury cases.
We are ready to set up your free consultation. Call 602-222-222 .
Could I Be Held Partially at Fault for My Injuries?
You may have some amount of fault for your injuries, but it is important to let the investigation play out before admitting it to the insurance company. This is an issue you can discuss with your attorney because it will be kept confidential.
You may still be able to recover compensation if you are found to be partially at fault for the accident. Arizona’s law of comparative negligence says victims will have any compensation they receive reduced by their percentage of fault.
This is a complex issue you can talk to your attorney about. Our Tucson personal injury attorneys have in-depth knowledge of Arizona laws affecting injury claims.
What Are Your Damages Worth?
The value of a case depends on many factors, such as the severity of your injuries and the damages suffered. Damages can be divided into two categories, economic and non-economic compensation.
Economic compensation is compensation for the financial costs associated with a personal injury. These can include:
- Past, current and future medical expenses for the treatment of your injuries
- Costs for medications prescribed by doctors
- Imaging tests
- Copays for appointments with doctors
- Lost earning capacity and lost wages
- Home modifications needed to accommodate a disability
- Property damage
- Cost of hiring help around the house
Non-economic compensation refers to the non-financial aspects of an injury, which may include:
- Physical pain from your injury
- Emotional suffering (depression, lost sleep, anxiety)
- Permanent disfigurement
- Lost enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- Humiliation
The value of the damages you suffered depends on the specifics of your case. Our Tucson personal injury attorneys are committed to pursuing the maximum value of our clients’ injury claims. We understand how difficult the aftermath of a personal injury can be for both victims and their families.
You can discuss this and other aspects your claim with one of our trusted lawyers in a free legal consultation.
We welcome the chance to help you. Our firm can be reached 24/7.
How Long Do I Have to File a Case?
It is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible because there are deadlines for filing injury claims. The clock usually starts running on the date of the accident that led to your injury. In most cases, victims have two years from this date to file a claim. This is explained in Arizona’s statute of limitations.
If you do not file a claim before the statute of limitations expires, you may lose the right to do so. Even if you file a claim, it will likely be dismissed in court.
While this deadline applies to many claims, there can be exceptions. For example, you may not have been aware of your injury on the same date as the accident. Maybe your symptoms were delayed, and you did not discover the injury until days later. In these cases, the two-year clock would not start to run until the date you made this discovery.
There are also exceptions for injury claims filed by minors. The two-year statute of limitations does not start to run until the victim turns 18 years of age.
Claims against government employees or other government entities must be filed within 180 days of the injury.
Phillips Law Group’s Tucson personal injury attorneys have extensive knowledge of the statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
How Can an Injury Attorney Assist Me?
Insurance companies usually contact accident victims soon after to try to get them to quickly accept a settlement. They know accident victims are vulnerable because they are in pain and unsure of what their damages may be worth. This makes them more likely to accept a lowball settlement offer.
If the victim rejects the settlement offer, the insurance company may try to get the victim to provide a recorded statement or sign a waiver for access to medical records. These are tricks insurers use to try to find ways to diminish the value of an accident claim or reject it altogether.
These are reasons why it is important to have experienced legal representation. Our attorneys deal with insurance companies on behalf of our clients. We know how to protect the value of a claim from insurance companies looking to pay out much less than victims deserve.
We are prepared to thoroughly investigate a claim to gather detailed evidence of negligence and establish the value of damages. We have a team of investigators, industry experts and support staff ready to build cases.
Contact a Tucson personal injury attorney from Phillips Law Group for a free legal consultation. 602-222-222.
How to Handle the Insurance Company
You may not have a chance to talk to an attorney before the insurance company calls you. It is important to be very cautious about what you say to the insurance company. They know how to sound friendly so they can try to persuade you to damage your claim with the statements you make.
For example, they may try to get you to say you are partially to blame or minimize the extent of your injuries. They often ask similar versions of the same question in hopes you say something to discredit your story about the accident.
Despite what they may tell you, you are under no obligation to provide a recorded statement. You may need to do this at some point, but you should discuss it with an experienced attorney first.
The personal injury lawyers at Phillips Law Group have decades of combined experience dealing with Tucson insurance companies. Your consultation is free and there are no upfront costs.
What You Should Do After an Accident
The first priority after an accident is to be seen by licensed medical professionals so your injuries can be diagnosed and treatment can begin. No matter how minor you believe your injuries to be, you should be cautious and be seen by a doctor. You may have internal injuries or injuries with delayed symptoms.
The other problem with waiting to seek treatment is it gives the insurance company reason to doubt the severity of your injuries or their connection to the accident.
There are other steps you can take to help preserve your claim. For example, you should always try to file some type of accident report. If you were injured in a car accident, call the police so they can come to the scene and document what happened. If you were injured in a slip and fall or another type of accident on someone else’s property, ask the property owner to file an accident report. There is a process for reporting work accidents so you can pursue workers’ compensation benefits.
Whenever accident victims are able, it is important to gather evidence at the scene ”“ pictures of your injuries, property damage, obstacles involved in the accident, information about possible at-fault parties (insurance information and contact information), witness statements, and anything else that may seem relevant. Memories can quickly fade, so victims can help their case by collecting evidence as soon as possible.
The information you collect can help your attorney determine if you may have a case.
Call a Tucson Personal Injury Attorney for a Free Consultation
Phillips Law Group is dedicated to pursuing justice for personal injury victims in Arizona. We have a team of investigators, paralegals and other support staff prepared to build a strong case.
Our award-winning founder Jeffrey Phillips has recovered verdicts in several Arizona counties, including Maricopa, Pima, Gila, Mohave, Navajo and Yavapai counties. He is also a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association ”“ Top 100 and a Leaders Forum Member of the American Association for Justice.
The initial consultation with an attorney from our firm is free of charge. We do not charge upfront fees if you have a case and hire us to represent you. Our Tucson personal injury lawyers are not paid unless we recover compensation for our clients.
We are ready to assist you. Call 602-222-222 .