Car Accident Attorney in Phoenix

If you’ve been in an accident through no fault of your own, the negligent party’s insurance should compensate you for your injuries and damaged property. But that’s not what usually happens.

Instead, insurance companies will try to low-ball you, offering a fast settlement that won’t entirely reimburse you for damages. Or, sometimes, they will refuse to pay altogether, claiming that:

• Your injury was preexisting, exaggerated, or doesn’t exist at all
• The treatment you received was unnecessary
• You don’t have sufficient evidence to back-up your claim

Morgan & Morgan attorneys are ready to take on unscrupulous insurance companies. We know how debilitating a car accident can be, which is why we fight for the victims. Our attorneys can:

• Review documentation, including medical bills and accident reports
• Conduct our own investigation, interviewing witnesses, reviewing traffic cameras, etc.
• Initiate negotiations with the insurance company
• If negotiations fail, take your case to court

Many law firms don’t have the resources to take the bullies to trial and so will settle out-of-court for less than you deserve. Not us. With over 1,000 attorneys and 3,000 support staff, we’re not afraid to present your case before a jury. 

We rarely get there, however, because insurance companies know that our jury awards are 20 times higher than what is originally offered and so are much more willing to negotiate. 

When you sit down with a Phoenix car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan, one of the first items on the meeting agenda concerns determining the cause of the vehicle collision. From reading the formal police report to reviewing the statements made by witnesses, your attorney should determine the cause of your injuries.

Let’s review the most common causes of car accidents.

Reckless Driving

Because of the open roads and highways that run through the low desert, far too many drivers think the vast open space is an invitation to operate a motor vehicle at speeds that far exceed state and federal laws. Speeding gives a driver less time to react to different scenarios and can become a huge threat on the winding roads and highways that traverse the nearby mountain ranges. According to a 2018 study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSHA), speeding caused more than 25 percent of all fatal vehicle collisions. Another type of reckless driving involves running red lights and stop signs.

If another driver committed one or more traffic violations that caused you harm, your Phoenix car accident lawyer might be able to build a strong enough case for negligence.

Distractions

Arizona law prohibits texting and driving, as well as speaking on a cell phone and driving, unless the driver operates a hands-free electronic communication device. Unfortunately, most drivers ignore state law and continue to operate a motor vehicle while texting and driving. Distractions also include eating, applying makeup, and reaching for something stored in the glove compartment box while operating a motor vehicle. 

To prove another party caused a car accident because of a distraction, your attorney must rely on witness accounts and/or the footage captured by a traffic camera.

Driving Under the Influence

Like other states, Arizona has made drinking and driving an unlawful act. The same applies to a driver who is under the influence of illegal drugs. Drinking alcohol and using illegal drugs dramatically slows down the reaction time drivers need to make adjustments. For example, a legally intoxicated driver cannot perform the same evasive maneuvers to avoid making contact with another vehicle as a sober driver can. Driving under the influence also leads to making poor decisions, which can cause serious and even life-threatening car accidents.

Your Phoenix car accident lawyer reviews the formal police report to see if the responding officer conducted a breathalyzer test that yielded a result greater than 0.08 percent of blood alcohol content (BAC).

How you handle the aftermath of a vehicle collision goes a long way toward determining the success of an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Call 911

Unless you get involved in a minor fender bender, you should call 911 to get the nearest law enforcement department involved. Even if the crash has not produced any serious injuries, a law enforcement agency sends officers to the scene to secure the area. One of the most important reasons to call 911 regards the formal police report submitted by the responding law enforcement agency. The formal police report contains all the information your Phoenix car accident lawyer needs to determine how to proceed with your case.

Get Medical Attention

Depending on the severity of your injuries, you can receive emergency medical care right after the accident or get medical attention for relatively minor injuries after you gather physical evidence and get the contact information of witnesses. You should act with a sense of urgency to receive medical care. Otherwise, the other party’s attorney might claim you did not sustain serious enough injuries that warranted medical care. Getting medical care is not only a step to improve your health, but you also receive the copies of medical bills and records you need to include when you file an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Contact a Phoenix Car Accident Lawyer

Before you contact the appropriate insurance company, meet with a Morgan and Morgan personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation. Insurance companies love to take advantage of policyholders that do not retain legal representation during the processing of a claim. If you do not retain the services of an experienced Phoenix car accident lawyer, the insurance company you have to interact with might deny a valid claim or approve a claim for a value that is much lower than what you deserve. Working with an attorney also helps you decide whether the other party committed one or more acts of negligence.

One of the most important types of legal support provided by your Phoenix car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan concerns filing a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Every state has set a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, with most states establishing a statute of limitations between two and four years. However, a few states grant plaintiffs as long as six years or as short as one year to take legal action. Arizona gives plaintiffs two years to initiate a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. The clock starts to tick for the statute of limitations on the day of the car accident, but you might receive an extension if you sustained an injury that developed delayed symptoms.

Two years is more than enough time to take legal action, but that does not mean you should procrastinate when filing your personal injury lawsuit. The most compelling reason to act quickly involves the rapidly mounting medical bills that you have to address. Healthcare providers do not wait for car accident victims to gain approval for insurance claims or win favorable legal judgments to send out bills. The faster you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, the faster you receive compensation to take care of every bill associated with your case.

If you do not file a personal injury lawsuit before the two-year statute of limitations imposed by Arizona expires, you can expect the court clerk processing your case to dismiss it.

The most important type of legal support provided by a Phoenix car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan is to get you the compensation that you deserve. For most car accident cases, your attorney seeks three types of monetary damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages, which also are called special compensatory damages, represent the tangible costs associated with your case. You have the right to request compensation to cover the costs of diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. If applicable, you also should ask for compensation to cover the costs associated with prescription medications and the use of an assistive device like a wheelchair. Damage to your car can run into thousands of dollars, which a favorable legal judgment should cover as well. If your injuries forced you out of work, you should ask for compensation to recover lost wages.

Non-Economic Damages

Not all of the costs associated with a vehicle collision are tangible. Car accidents can leave lingering negative emotions behind, such as fear, anxiety, and depression. Anxiety is an especially negative emotion, as it can make it difficult for you to operate a motor vehicle. Your attorney must calculate a fair value for non-economic damages or run the risk of forcing the judge hearing your case to award a much lower value for compensation. Calculating a fair value for non-economic damages involves using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.

Punitive Damages

Unlike economic and non-economic damages, punitive damages do not cover the costs associated with your case. Instead, punitive damages punish the defendant for committing one or more acts of negligence. Punitive damages also act as a deterrent to prevent the defendant from committing future acts of negligence. If the judge determines the defendant committed at least one act of intentional negligence, the judge might award you a value for punitive damages that exceeds the combined value of economic and non-economic damages.

Learn more about how a Phoenix car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan can help you recover financial losses by scheduling a free case evaluation.