If you have lost a loved one and have a wrongful death claim in Arizona, there are several things you may be able to do to afford the funeral expenses. First an experienced injury and wrongful death lawyer in Arizona may be able to check the auto insurance policy to see if there is coverage for funeral expenses. Some policies cover for funeral expenses or will have medical payments coverage, which can sometimes be used for funeral expenses as well.
Many funeral homes will negotiate payment with families when it is for a loved one who has been injured by the negligence of another individual. There are also many finance companies that will finance the funeral costs and expenses. In addition, there are companies that will pay for the funeral expenses and then wait for payment from the settlement claim.
We usually recommend that people let us look over the auto insurance policy. Many times people have auto insurance coverage in Arizona that will pay for funeral expenses. What is important is that you read over the contracts for the policies to see if there is special coverage to pay for the funeral expenses. Many life insurance policies will give extra money for funeral expenses if it is proven that the injured individual was wearing the seatbelt. This is something we sometimes have to prove to the life insurance policy because a witness who is checking on the individual or a police officer could think the seatbelt was not on, when in actuality, the seatbelt was being worn at the time of the accident.
If you have a family member who has been injured in Arizona by the negligence of another individual, it is best to discuss payment of funeral expenses and your wrongful death claim with an experienced Arizona wrongful death attorney. Alexis and Mark Breyer are available to discuss your Arizona wrongful death claim at any time. We offer no obligation, free consultations and understand that after such a tragic event, you are going through a lot of emotions. We are here to help with your wrongful death claim and you can call us Valleywide at 602-267-1280 or by simply sending us information through any contact form on our site.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies over Vehicle Damage
When it comes to being in an automobile accident in Arizona, if your vehicle is totaled, there are several things you can do when negotiating with the insurance company. First, it may be best to hire an attorney if you are hurt because many attorneys, like our office, will take care of your property damage for free when handling your injury claim. Therefore, you are likely to get a better settlement for your injury and property damage claim and you will not be charged any more. It is important to ask the attorney if they charge for handling the property damage. Our office does not charge at all and many attorneys do not charge for handling property damage.
If you are handling your property damage on your own and your vehicle is totaled, the first thing to do is ask the insurance adjuster for the evaluation that they used to come to the amount that they offered you for your vehicle. Almost every insurance company uses another company to evaluate the damaged vehicle. The problem is that the company the insurance company hires has a job to do, which is to make sure the damaged vehicle’s total loss amount is as little as possible. The insurance company will get a report that has the description of your vehicle along with other vehicles that your vehicle was compared to in order to arrive at a total loss amount.
Look at the evaluation to make sure the mileage and any extras that are on your vehicle are correct. Many times the insurance company does not have all the facts about your vehicle correct. For instance, we have had many cases where the mileage was wrong. If the mileage on your vehicle is higher than the cars compared to, then the insurance company will deduct a lot of money for extra mileage on your vehicle.
Second look at the auto trader and other auto magazines to find cars that are similar to yours. Many times the insurance company’s evaluation will use cars that are not like your car. It may be the same type of car but a different model. It is best to try to find cars that are the same model as your vehicle. This will help to increase the value of your vehicle.
Lastly, negotiate with the insurance adjuster. After you have looked at the evaluation, examined your auto insurance coverage and looked at the auto trader, create a report and send it to the insurance adjuster so that you can show them why the value of your vehicle should be higher.
Many injury and wrongful death attorneys in Arizona will offer a contingency fee agreement for those who have been hurt due to the negligence of another individual. A contingency agreement is where the client and lawyer will agree to a certain percentage and the lawyer’s fee comes out of the settlement of the case.
Every lawyer is different with the fee that they charge. Typically fees range from 25% to 45%. The fee usually depends on the lawyer’s experience and the type of case. Lawyers who practice medical malpractice for instance usually charge a higher fee because these cases tend to go to trial and they are very expensive to litigate. Some medical malpractice claims require a lawyer to invest a quarter of a million dollars, or more, to bring the case to trial or achieve a settlement. Other claims such as car accident claims typically a lawyer will charge 1/3 of the settlement.
Every lawyer is different. Remember hiring a skilled personal injury attorney in Phoenix is not like getting the same retail product anywhere you go. For instance, if you want a television, you can likely find the television at a high end retail store or possibly the same exact one for a lot less at a place like Walmart or other discount store. When it comes to the law, very often the settlement is based on the lawyer’s experience. Not all claims will get the same settlement. It depends on how the evidence is presented to the insurance company and jury. Therefore, you need to choose a lawyer that you feel comfortable with who will get you the best possible settlement. The interesting thing about contingency fee agreements is that you can find a certified specialist in injury and wrongful death law that will charge the same as a new attorney who has no experience at all.
In short, a contingency fee agreement with an attorney will allow an injured person to pursue their claim and not have to pay any upfront money at all. Ask the attorney you hire what their experience is in injury and wrongful death law. Ask the attorney if they will charge you if your case is not successful.
In our office, we do not charge anything if we are not successful. Lastly, remember when it comes to the amount of the fee, it is the ultimate value of your claim that matters. if you had a case settle with an experienced attorney for $100,000 and they charge a fee, then you would receive $66,666.00. Let’s assume another attorney with less experience obtained a settlement of $75,000 but their fee was only 25%. You would have gone with an attorney who charged 25% instead of 33%, but you would only end up with $50,000 in your pocket instead of $66,666.00 if you had chosen the experienced attorney. All of these numbers are not set in stone, but it can give you a possible outcome of how different settlements and fee amounts works in injury and wrongful death law.
The answer is No. A homeowner is only responsible for personal injuries to an individual who is hurt at their home if the homeowner did something wrong. In other words, if you were at someone’s home and tripped over your own shoelaces, there would be no claim against the homeowner. The homeowner did not do anything wrong if you tripped over your own shoelaces.
More specifically the law, reduced to plain English, if someone who was hurt and brings a claim against the owner or occupier of the land (a homeowner, for instance) must show the following:
- you were injured
- your injuries were caused by the negligence of the homeowner
- that the homeowner knew or should have known that their negligence created an unreasonably dangerous condition
Let’s say you tripped over a rug at another person’s home. You would have to show that there was something about the rug that created an unreasonably dangerous condition that caused you to fall. If the rug was laid out perfectly fine and safe but you tripped over your own shoelaces as you were going over the rug, then that would not be enough to claim negligence against the homeowner.
That being said, each case is different. Especially in Arizona slip and fall cases, it is important to review the facts with an attorney. In almost all slip and fall cases, we have to hire experts to testify as to the condition being a dangerous one. Experts can range from building code violations to safety measures that should have been taken in a home or establishment. In slip and fall cases it is vital to speak to a skilled slip and fall attorney in Phoenix as soon as possible as evidence is destroyed very quickly in these cases. For instance, in the above “rug case” it would be important to see exactly where the rug was and how it was laid out in the home. If the rug is destroyed and the person sells the home then it could be difficult to later prove liability. This is why it is important to gather evidence as soon as possible in a slip and fall case.
In Arizona, in order to pursue a personal injury claim you must show that you sustained an injury and that the injury was caused by the accident. What this means is that you must have evidence that you were hurt and that your pain and discomfort is caused by the adverse party.
If you do not have any money to go to the doctor and you do not have any medical documentation showing you were hurt, it is most likely that the insurance company is going to deny that you sustained an injury. Therefore, offering you nothing for your claim. When it comes to pursuing an injury claim, it is the burden of the injured victim to prove that they were in fact injured. In almost all cases, this requires showing medical documentation to the insurance company or jury to prove the injuries that were sustained from the car accident in Phoenix.
If you do not have the funds to seek medical care, there are a couple of things that you are able to do to get the medical care that you need. The first thing is that you can try to apply for AHCCCS. Many people who are taken by ambulance to the hospital and have no choice but to get medical care can apply for AHCCCS from the hospital. AHCCCS is a health insurance plan in Arizona that helps people who cannot afford to pay for a private health insurance plan. It often takes a couple of weeks though to see if you are qualified for AHCCCS and a couple of weeks without medical care after an accident is most likely going to cause the insurance company to deny your claim.
For those who do not have private health insurance or who cannot get accepted by AHCCCS, experienced injury attorneys in Arizona work with doctors throughout Arizona who will wait for payment. An injured person can seek treatment and the doctor will wait for payment and get paid out of the settlement. In this way the doctor is able to provide the best possible care for the injured victim and the victim can obtain the medical treatment needed to get better.
When you have been involved in a car accident in Arizona, you have 2 years to file a lawsuit. Some statute of limitations in injury cases are as little as less than 6 months. In terms of when you should settle your claim, the bottom line is that you should not rush to settle your claim even if you are required to sometimes move quickly in getting your claim filed.
The perfect time to settle your Arizona personal injury claim is when you are feeling 100% better, or what is known as your pre-accident condition, if you were already suffering from some ailments or conditions not related to the incident. In many cases, an individual will never be the same as they were prior to the accident as they have sustained a permanent injury or will be permanently disabled. The time to settle your claim therefore is when you have reached the maximum improvement after to your injuries and the doctors do not expect any more improvement.
The reason you want to wait until you are at this position is because once you settle your claim in Arizona, your claim cannot be re-opened. If you do have permanent injuries, you are able to collect for this pain and suffering or future treatment by presenting to the insurance company documentation showing that you will continue to have pain and discomfort due to the injuries related to the accident. In order to show these future injuries or future medical expenses, we speak to doctors and go over the law for what is required to prove future damages, whether it be that the injuries are permanent or that more expenses will be incurred.
Although it is best to wait until you are feeling better or until you are at your maximum improvement of your injuries, this is not the case in all circumstances. Every case is different and there may be circumstances where, given the injuries compared to the policy limits of the adverse driver, a case can be settled earlier.
Many times vehicles are worth less after a car accident in Arizona. Think about it. If your vehicle was in a car accident and sustained a significant amount of damage, people will be less likely to want to purchase your car. If they do purchase your car, they probably will want a discount since the car has been in a car accident and sustained serious damage.
In order to get compensated for the loss of value to your vehicle, there are several things that an experienced Phoenix vehicle accident attorney can do to help according to our legal system. The first is to avoid the whole loss of value of your vehicle by showing the insurance company that your vehicle is a total loss. By showing that your vehicle is a total loss, the insurance company is required to compensate you for the fair market value of your vehicle. If your car is not damaged enough to allow even the best personal injury lawyers in Arizona you can find to show that the damaged car is a total loss, then an expert can be hired to show the “diminished value” of your vehicle. An expert can look at the amount of damage compared to the type, make, value of your vehicle and determine what amount of money the car’s value will be decreased by since it has been in a car accident. Lastly, if you decide to sell your vehicle, we can show the insurance company the difference in the fair market value of your vehicle compared to the selling price that was obtained for your vehicle.
Proving the loss of diminished value of a vehicle is not an exact science. The diminished value of a vehicle is a real loss; however, if a vehicle has sustained significant damage because of a car accident, a diminished loss of value claim for your vehicle should be presented to the insurance company. Some states do not allow diminished property value claims. Arizona does allow this claim, but the fact that it is not universally allowed means many times someone will need to find a skilled auto accident lawyer in Arizona to get the insurance company to pay for the lost or diminished value of the car after it has been fixed.
