Many Arizona residents will look for a lawyer to help them with a personal injury case after an automobile accident. It is often very difficult to decide whether to hire an Arizona injury attorney after a serious injury or wrongful death happens, as not every severe injury resulting from an Arizona automobile accident requires legal representation.
While the law allows all sorts of claims to be filed, sometimes it is not in the best interests of a grieving family. Money does not erase all, or even most, problems. Yet we disagree strongly with those who say that people who have suffered tragically should not seek compensation to which they are by law allowed. It is the family who must decide whether or not to pursue a claim.
We take pride that we have aided a substantial number of Arizona residents in their Arizona wrongful death and personal injury claims. In our time as wrongful death attorneys in Arizona we have often educated families that are pressured by family and friends to hire a personal injury lawyer against bringing unnecessary claims.
Despite this, we know that Arizona insurance companies put out misinformation concerning personal injury claims. This sometimes amounts to insurance bad faith in Arizona against injured victims and, in too many cases, people are given the impression that personal injury lawyers will charge a substantial fee for settlements that could be made without a lawyer’s help. This said, the insurance industry knows that according to its own studies that people who hire personal injury lawyers get more compensation than those who do not.
This brings up the issue about how an Arizona injury victim should decide whether to hire a personal injury attorney. It is our opinion that a person needs to get answers to certain questions before deciding whether to proceed. We also know that, though we are very able personal injury lawyers and have done nothing but personal injury for many years, we are not the only good Arizona personal injury attorneys. However, we also know that there are unethical personal injury lawyers who will encourage families and injured parties to file claims that are not in their best interests as well as those lawyers who may not understand all the nuances of personal injury law.
That is why we invite all people who have questions about a personal injury case to contact us, as we do not just offer information to those for whom we are sure have a case. What is most important is for a person with a potential personal injury case in Arizona is to speak to a knowledgeable Arizona personal injury lawyer.
“A little bit of driver negligence has led to serious injuries,” a member of the Arizona Department of Public Safety stated concerning a woman seriously injured when both a truck and an SUV rolled through stop signs, crushing the woman’s car in between their two vehicles. This Phoenix auto accident closed down a section of Loop 303 in the West Valley while an innocent woman sustained severe injuries and six others were sent to the hospital.
We should remember this quote. We all drive, most of us every day. Cars and roads are vital elements in Arizona’s transportation system, and this is why safety issues such as wearing seat belts any time a vehicle is in motion, stopping completely at stop signs, stopping at red lights, and going the speed limit are just as important. One moment of negligence can result in a serious injury or wrongful death.
We have too often seen people’s lives destroyed by “a little bit of driver negligence.” We have seen too many incidents of wrongful death happen because of someone’s momentary carelessness.
Besides lawsuits, personal injury claims and monetary compensation, the driver at fault also has to live with the fact that they have caused someone else extreme pain and hardship due to their own neglect.
For the woman severely injured in this accident, finding the best car accident lawyer in Phoenix for her situation has become a very real issue. She now has to deal with huge medical bills, wage loss, and other financial hardships related to this incident, not to mention the fact that her life changed horribly in an instant due to “a little bit of driver negligence.”
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.
