Sahuarita Personal Injury Lawyer

Sahuarita Personal Injury Attorney

Unfortunately, there are several circumstances where you may get hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault. By filing an injury claim, you can hold the liable party accountable and recover the damages and losses you incurred as a result of your injury. Allow a Sahuarita personal injury lawyer to handle your case while you focus on recovering from your injuries.

Types of Personal Injury Cases

Here are just a few examples of common harmful accidents that individuals may choose to file an injury claim for:

• Motor vehicle traffic collisions: Car accidents are exceedingly common, leaving injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians wanting to pursue recompense for the damages they incurred. This also includes traffic incidents involving motorcycles, trucks, and bicyclists.
• Premises liability: Premises liability refers to the law mandating that property owners of public places and private property must ensure the premises are safe and free of hazards to any guests or lawful visitors or see to it that they make reasonable efforts to do so.
  If a guest was injured due to an unmarked spill, insufficient lighting, broken staircases, debris on walking paths, etc., then the property owner is liable to provide compensation if proven negligent.
• Dog bites: Under strict liability law, owners are held accountable for any bite injuries someone may have sustained, even if it was the dog’s first time biting someone, as long as they meet the legal criteria. This includes individuals who were bitten lawfully on private property (not trespassing) and did not provoke the dog beforehand.
  If someone was attacked but not bitten or the statute of limitations for strict liability has passed, they may file a standard injury claim.
• Construction and other workplace incidents: Employees working in construction, manufacturing, or other potentially dangerous industries are usually able to apply for benefits through workers’ compensation.

Injured workers are additionally able to file a personal injury claim to recover damages not addressed by workers’ comp or if there’s a conflict with their employer for requesting compensation.

How to Prove Liability in an Injury Claim

Most cases of personal injury require that negligence be adequately proven in order to establish the accused party was liable for the accident and the victim’s injuries and other damages. In order to effectively prove negligent misconduct, the plaintiff’s attorney must provide evidence of the offender’s duty of care, that they breached their duty, and that this breach directly caused the victim’s injuries.

The accused person’s duty of care refers to their assumed responsibility to take reasonable care and precaution to guarantee the safety of those around them or the people in their charge. The exact duty of care varies according to the type of accident. Examples include property owners being responsible for their premises being safe for guests and all drivers having a duty of care to adhere to traffic law and drive in a manner so as to not endanger those around them.

It must then be proven that the defendant breached their duty (of care). This can mean that they either took action that they should not have or failed to take action that the circumstances necessitated. For example, if a driver chose to speed or failed to use their turn signal– this would be a breach of duty.

Finally, the plaintiff’s representation must ascertain that the accused individual’s breach of duty was what undoubtedly led to the victim’s injuries. This is often the most difficult component to prove, but without establishing all three elements of negligence, the defendant cannot be held liable. In a car accident, this may be proven by describing how the accident that caused bodily harm would not have happened if the liable driver was not driving recklessly or following traffic law.

Damages You Can Recover Through Compensation in AZ

If your injury attorney is successful in proving the guilty party’s liability for the injurious accident, you will receive a compensation payout that is the sum of your economic damages and non-economic damages. The amount you may receive in a compensation award will vary depending on several factors, such as the severity of bodily injury, the extent of mental suffering, if there is shared fault for the accident, the capability and experience of your lawyer, and more.

Economic damages refer to all costs you spent, or lost, as a result of your injury and your damaged property caused by the accident. This includes costs from emergency room visits, doctor’s appointments, any surgeries or other necessary procedures, medications, rehabilitation, and physical therapy along with any other past or future medical expenses related to injuries from the accident.

Economic damages also include the cost of replacing or repairing damaged property– such as a car after a traffic collision– in addition to any wages lost during the time needed to recover from the injury before returning to work if the injuries are so severe that the person’s ability to work effectively is impacted. If they are unable to return to their job at all, lost capacity to earn income is included among the damages the victim must receive compensation for.

Non-economic damages, also called pain and suffering damages, are harder to measure since there are no mandates specifying the monetary value of an individual’s experienced physical pain or mental anguish. It usually takes compelling evidence to prove the extent of someone’s pain and suffering, such as a therapist’s testimony or a journal that serves as a record of your experience. Non-economic damages also include any permanent disfigurement, like paralysis.

Under certain circumstances, you may also be awarded punitive damages that are meant to penalize the offending party. These damages are typically only given in personal injury cases where the liable party’s misconduct was found to be especially egregious, meaning they were malicious/intentional in their behavior or the degree of negligence was particularly severe.

Pure Comparative Negligence Laws in Arizona

Arizona personal injury law follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence. This means that if the party who is pursuing compensation for their injuries and other damages is found to be partially at fault for the accident, their settlement payout will be reduced. For example, if the victim was 20 percent liable for the incident, they are still able to recover 80 percent of the compensation they are entitled to.

Other states bar individuals from receiving any compensation if they are more than 50 percent liable for the accident, but this is not the case under pure comparative negligence. Even injured persons who are up to 99 percent at fault can still receive 1 percent of compensation.

Besides this comparative negligence mandate, there are no laws that limit or cap how much an individual may receive from an injury settlement payout.

FAQs

Q: What Will My Cost Be for a Personal Injury Lawyer?

A: Most injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning the payment for their services comes from the awarded compensation. Before your injury attorney begins working on your case, they will discuss their costs with you, and then you will both sign an agreement.

At Bleaman Law Firm, P.C., you will not need to pay fees upfront, but instead only pay a percentage of your settlement if we are successful in obtaining one.

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury in Arizona?

A: In Arizona, the vast majority of personal injury cases have a statute of limitations of two years from the date of injury. Some exceptions include claims against government entities, medical malpractice, and dog bite injuries under strict liability law (rather than negligence). These instances require the injured person to file a claim sooner than the usual two years, typically one year from the date of injury.

Q: Can You Sue for Emotional Distress in Arizona?

A: Yes, you can recover damages from emotional distress in Sahuarita and other areas in Arizona. Emotional distress falls under pain and suffering damages, a non-economic loss. Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove and assign value to since concepts like emotional distress, mental anguish, psychological trauma, physical pain, etc., are subjective.

Compelling evidence that speaks to the degree of pain and suffering may help in determining compensation. Examples include journal entries around the time of the accident and testimonies from family members or a therapist.

Q: Do I Need to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

A: The law doesn’t require you to hire a personal injury lawyer after getting into an accident or should you choose to take legal action. However, individuals who are considering filing an injury claim should always consult with a qualified attorney.

An injury lawyer is an invaluable resource to have when pursuing compensation. They will collect strong evidence, represent you in court, negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf, and provide you with honest, experienced legal advice.

An Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Who Will Fight on Your Behalf

Contact one of our legal professionals at the Bleaman Law Firm, P.C., if you or a loved one was injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault. We have extensive experience assisting wronged clients receive compensation for their medical bills, lost wages, emotional suffering, and more.