Car Accidents

HomeCar Accidents

Phoenix Car Accident Attorneys

Your life can be irrevocably altered in a split second in a car crash. You may need medical care, and you may need to take time off from work. If you have been injured in a car accident caused by someone else, you may be able to recover compensation by bringing a personal injury lawsuit. Often, a careless driver was at fault for a car accident, but the insurer for that driver may look for ways in which the accident was your fault. It is important to consult an experienced Phoenix car accident lawyer before talking to an insurance adjuster for the other driver or another potentially responsible party. Attorney Freddy Saavedra can assert your right to damages.

Asserting Your Rights After a Car Accident

In order to hold a driver responsible, you will most likely need to prove the driver’s negligence. You will need to show that the defendant owed a duty of care, the defendant breached the duty of care, causation, and caused you damages. Drivers can breach the duty of care in many different ways, including speeding, weaving, texting while driving, tailgating, driving aggressively, drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs, failing to obey traffic signals or signs, and driving while overly fatigued. For example, if another driver is speeding and runs a red light and T-bones your car in an intersection where you had the right of way, it is likely that you can hold the other driver liable under a theory of negligence.

Arizona follows the doctrine of comparative negligence. This means that a defendant may assert that you were partially or fully responsible for your own injuries. The defendant will need to establish that your conduct met the elements of negligence. The jury can evaluate the arguments and evidence, determine your total damages, and assign both parties a percentage of liability. Your total damages as a plaintiff will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if the damages are $100,000, and you were 25% responsible, you can recover $75,000 from the defendant driver. A skilled car accident attorney can help Phoenix residents preserve their right to damages against allegations of comparative negligence.

There are more complicated car accidents in which another driver’s liability is not clear. Sometimes it is necessary to bring in multiple parties to share responsibility for injuries sustained in a car accident. Other potentially responsible parties could include the owner of a road, a car manufacturer, multiple drivers, or a repair person. Arizona follows the rule of several liabilities. Under this rule, you need to be sure to bring in every party potentially responsible for the accident and collect damages from each of them based on that party’s proportion of fault. Each of the parties is liable only for the damages allocated to the defendant proportionate to his or her degree of fault, and separate judgments are entered against each of the defendants.

Statute of Limitations

You only have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit for damages after a car accident. Similarly, you only have two years from the car accident to sue for wrongful death if somebody died in the car accident. You should consult a Phoenix car accident lawyer promptly because most claims are barred after the two-year window passes.

Damages

If you can establish liability, you should be able to recover damages. Damages are usually compensatory and can be made up of both intangible and tangible losses. The tangible losses are fairly straightforward; often, they are documented in writing. They can include medical bills, lost wages, replacement services, and property damage. Intangible losses can include pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost earning capacity, and loss of enjoyment of life. The amount of damages will depend on the strength of the evidence in your case and your attorney’s ability to build persuasive arguments for you.

Consult a Trustworthy Phoenix Attorney Following a Car Crash

Often, insurers for the responsible party look for ways in which an accident victim was to blame for his or her injuries. While an adjustor may seem friendly, they are not on your side. It is vital to consult an experienced car accident lawyer in the Phoenix area before negotiating with insurers if you have suffered injuries in a crash. Freddy Saavedra represents accident victims throughout Maricopa County. Call us at 602-878-6625 or complete our online form for a free consultation.

contact us for a free consultation

For the people of Phoenix.
Multi-million dollar results.

Determine what your case is worth.

If your insurance company isn’t providing the answers you need, contact us for a free consultation. We don’t charge you unless we win.

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit?

In legal terms, the “statute of limitations” is the amount of time that you have to submit a damages lawsuit against the party you believe to be at fault. It is recommended that you speak with a car accident lawyer in Phoenix, Peoria, or Maricopa County, AZ, who accident victims rely on, like the attorneys from Saavedra Law Firm, PLC, as soon as you’re able so that you can discuss all of your options while you still have them. The statute of limitations varies by state, but in Arizona, two years is the amount of time you have until you can no longer file a lawsuit. This is not as much time as it sounds like when you consider that you are recovering from an accident.

What documentation should I be gathering from my car accident?

Any and all documentation that you have related to your accident should be saved. This includes documents like medical bills, police reports, doctor’s notes on your injuries, photos from the accident or recovery, journal entries detailing events, dates, feelings, etc., and work communication or documentation of missed work. These kinds of materials can help your Phoenix, Peoria, and Maricopa County, AZ, car accident lawyer establish damages and put a monetary value on your claim as well as serve as proof of your damages.

Should I settle with the insurance company?

It depends. There are multiple factors to consider when you are offered a settlement for your car accident from the insurance company, and you will want to discuss them thoroughly with your car accident lawyer from Saavedra Law Firm, PLC. The insurance company will likely do everything it can to get away with paying out as little as possible, so it may be to your advantage not to accept the first offer from the insurance company.

Why do I need a car accident lawyer?

Whether you’re considering a settlement offer from an insurance company or filing a lawsuit for your car accident, there are valuable benefits to having the experience of a car accident lawyer in Phoenix on your side and working for you. The car accident lawyers from Saavedra Law Firm, PLC, have been through this many times and know how to advise you and what outcomes to expect. Having a lawyer will help you make legal decisions with confidence.

How can I prepare for my consultation with a car accident lawyer?

To be prepared for your first meeting with your lawyer from Saavedra Law Firm, PLC, have all of your documentation from the car accident prepared for your lawyer to review, consider putting together a timeline of events, do your best to focus on the details and suppress emotions so that your lawyer can get as much information as possible, and make a list of all of your questions so that you don’t forget any of the things that you want to ask. Your lawyer is likely going to have questions for you, too, as they work to get a solid understanding of the case, so be ready with details and keep a summary of all the documentation in front of you so that you can keep the meeting productive.

Contact Us For A
Free, No Obligation
Case Evaluation

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
×