What is a Phoenix Personal Injury Claim?
by Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer - Mark Breyer
As Phoenix AZ personal injury lawyers, we are asked this question a lot. Many people do not know if they have a legitimate personal injury claim. Thousands of people are injured every day due to the negligence of another individual. Personal injury law is based on proving that another person was negligent, which means at-fault. After you prove the person was negligent, you must show that the at-fault person caused injury to another person.
What Types of Claims Are Personal Injury Claims?
Car accidents are the most common form of personal injury claims. The reason for this is that many people can be negligent when driving. Negligence when driving can include things such as running a red light, failing to yield at an intersection, or rear ending the car in front of you. Typically, when you do a negligent act when driving, it causes injury to the people that you collided with when you were not paying attention. In addition to Phoenix car accidents, there are other types of negligence claims such as: slip and falls, construction site injury accidents, defective products, motorcycle injury accidents, bus accidents, pedestrian injury accidents, and bike accidents.
Below is a list of personal injury claims:
Phoenix car accidents
Phoenix motorcycle accidents
Phoenix construction accidents
Phoenix bike accidents
Phoenix pedestrian accidents
Phoenix nursing home abuse claims
Phoenix trucking accidents
Phoenix slip and fall accidents
Phoenix drunk driving accidents
Phoenix hit and run car accidents
Phoenix rollover car accidents
Phoenix dog bite accidents
Tips on Deciding Whether or Not You Should Pursue Your Personal Injury Claim
Make sure you do not miss the statute of limitations for your personal injury claim. The first thing you need to consider is whether or not you have missed your statute of limitations. Statute of limitations can vary from state to state. Beyond that, a statute of limitations can also vary in Arizona and depends on what type of injury claim you have and who caused the negligence. Statute of limitations can even vary depending on whether you were working at the time of the accident. The statute of limitations has been instilled by the law so that people have a definitive time within which they must file a lawsuit or settle their claim.
In Arizona, the statute of limitations for personal injury and negligent injury cases typically varies from 180 days to 2 years and is dependent on a variety of factors. If a minor sustains an injury, the statute can be very different as some negligence claims allow minors to have the ability to litigate a claim until their 20th birthday. However, you should never rely on an article such as this one to determine the statute of limitations in your personal injury claim.
The statute of limitations is usually a set in stone law and cannot be altered. We have had many people call us, including family members of individuals who sustained fatal wounds from car accidents to people who are injured and sustained over $500,000 worth of medical bills, whom we have regrettably had to tell that they missed the statute of limitations. Dealing with a serious injury claim or the wrongful death of a loved one can be very traumatic, but if you can see a light at the end of the tunnel it is best to call a top rated Phoenix personal injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure that you too do not miss your statute of limitations.
Don't let anyone but an experienced Phoenix injury lawyer tell you that you missed the statute of limitations for your injury claim.
In contrast, we have also had people call us who think they have passed the statute of limitations for their injury claim, only to find for them that their claim is still valid.
For a Phoenix accident injury claim you must show that the adverse party was at-fault and that the fault caused your injuries.
The second thing that will determine whether or not you have a valid personal injury claim is deciding whether you can prove that the injury was caused by the actions or negligence of another person or corporation. In order to win a personal injury claim in Phoenix, you must be able to show that the other party was at-fault. If you cannot show that the other party was negligent, then you will not be able to win your personal injury claim.
A third factor to consider is whether or not you can prove that your injuries were caused by the negligent actions of the at-fault party. In other words, you need to show that the negligent act caused your injuries. This can be particularly difficult to prove if you have pre-existing injuries, you were not wearing your seatbelt, you were not wearing your motorcycle helmet, or you did not seek medical care until some time after the accident. These are just some examples of how causation(proving the negligence caused the injuries) can be arduous to prove in a personal injury claim.
What Should You Do to Protect Your Personal Injury Claim?
If you have been injured and are considering filing a claim, it is important to take the following steps to make sure you have the best chances of reaching a successful settlement.
- Report the accident to the authorities.
- Make sure there is some documentation as to what happened.
- File an incident report.
- Keep a paper trail as much as possible.
- Ask for witnesses’ names and phone numbers.
- Seek medical attention right away for your injuries.
- Keep track of your medical care.
- Have someone take photographs of the scene of the accident.
- Never agree to give to a recorded statement.
- Do not talk to the insurance adjustor.
- Never sign any medical authorizations for the insurance adjustor.
- Do not agree to meet the insurance adjustor in person.
- Do not let the insurance adjustor come to your home or the hospital.
- Tell medical providers to bill your health insurance.
- Talk to an experienced Phoenix personal injury attorney.
Do You Have Enough Knowledge to Handle Your Own Personal Injury Claim?
Sometimes it is obvious who is at-fault, but that does not mean that the insurance adjustor is not going to later deny the claim or offer you a very minor settlement. We have had many instances where we speak to a potential client and they try to handle their injury claim by themselves, and only later at settlement time do they say the adjustor changed their tune and now will not offer a fair settlement. This is very typical. What if the victim is partially at fault? What if the person responsible say they do not have insurance? What if the person responsible does not have enough insurance?What if medical providers file medical liens against the settlement? How do you handle Medicare liens or AHCCCS liens if you have these types of health insurance? What if your private health plan wants to be reimbursed for the medical bills they paid out? What if your disability carrier wants to be reimbursed? What if you have a trucking accident claim and need to understand federal regulations? What if you need payment for future medical bills or will have permanent injuries? Worse yet, what if you have a family member who died due to the negligence of another individual and that person was the sole breadwinner of the family? These questions are all examples of why if you are seriously injured or have a loved one who has a wrongful death claim, the most important step is finding and hiring a knowledgeable Phoenix accident injury attorney.
Why Hire Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys Alexis and Mark Breyer?
Phoenix injury lawyers Alexis and Mark Breyer of the Breyer Law Offices have been practicing personal injury law for a decade and a half. We have handled all types of personal injury claims. There is no doubt that filing a personal injury claim can be complicated. When you have been seriously injured in an accident because of another person’s negligent actions, you owe it to yourself to speak with an attorney. Many people are not sure that they want to speak to personal injury lawyer and want more information about whether or not they should be filing a claim. We can answer all these questions for you. We have told many people that they do not need an injury attorney; we give honest answers to questions and do not take cases that we do not think merit an attorney. If we think you can handle your own case and do a great job, we will give you all the information you need to know to handle your own personal injury claim.
If you are still in the early stages of deciding whether or not to file a claim or hire a Phoenix accident attorney, call Breyer Law Offices. We offer a free consultation and if we do not choose to take on your case, we can offer you advice on your next step. We also offer a no-fee guarantee, which means if we do not resolve your case, you do not pay a fee. If you are debating whether or not to file an injury claim in Phoenix, you have nothing to lose - so call us today to discuss your case and your options.
