Car accidents can be terrifying experiences for those involved. This is particularly true for anyone who sustains an injury caused by a collision. When an injury occurs due to a car crash, victims are usually able to obtain compensation through a settlement with insurance carriers. However, that is not always how it works out. It may be necessary for victims to file personal injury lawsuits against the alleged negligent party in order to recover compensation. Here, we want to discuss some basic facts you need to know about personal injury claims following a car accident in Arizona.
The vast majority of personal injury claims are resolved through settlements with insurance carriers. This includes claims involving car accidents, premises liability incidents, slip and fall accidents, dog bite incidents, workplace accidents, and more.
It is certainly true that insurance carriers do not like to make large payouts for injury claims. However, after back and forth with an injury victim and their attorney, insurance carriers usually end up offering an adequate settlement.
There are times when insurance carriers refuse to offer a fair settlement or even deny a claim altogether. When this happens, it may be necessary for an injury victim to file a personal injury lawsuit against the alleged negligent party in civil court. However, even claims that reach the lawsuit level usually do not go all the way to trial.
There are various phases in a personal injury lawsuit that the case has to go through, including an investigation, the discovery phase, and possible mediation. Attorneys for both sides will continue to attempt to reach an out of court settlement before a trial date is scheduled. If a settlement cannot be reached, a trial date will be set, and the case will be heard by a personal injury.
In Arizona, the personal injury statute of limitations is two years from the date an injury occurs. This means the car accident victims have a two-year window with which to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent party, or they will not be able to recover the compensation they deserve.
Determining liability in the aftermath of a personal injury can be complicated. These cases regularly involve significant investigations in order to prove what happened to insurance carriers or a personal injury jury. Often, personal injury victims lack the resources necessary to conduct these investigations on their own, which is why a personal injury attorney is so invaluable in these cases. An attorney can use their resources to obtain the following:
If necessary, an attorney will work with trusted accident reconstruction experts who can use the evidence obtained, along with science and mathematics, to paint a complete picture of what happened and testify before a jury or insurance carriers.
If more than one party shares fault for an incident, this could alter how much compensation is available. Injury victims can still recover compensation even if they are partially at fault for the incident that caused them harm. Arizona operates under a pure comparative negligence system, which allows victims to recover compensation even if they are up to 99% at fault. However, the total amount of compensation they receive will be reduced based on their percentage of fault for the incident.
