Phoenix Negligence Lawyer

Negligence Attorneys in Phoenix

Negligence is a term that every lawyer will use almost right off the bat in your initial consultation. It is the bedrock on which your injury case rests. If you cannot prove someone else’s negligence, you usually cannot receive financial compensation for your injuries.

You cannot prove negligence by just giving your version of events. You will need an experienced attorney to investigate your accident and build your case, including evidence to convince the insurance company or jury that the responsible party needs to pay you compensation.

If you need to prove negligence to financially recover for a personal injury, you want the legal team of Gallagher & Kennedy on your side.

Our Phoenix negligence lawyers know the accidents and injuries that can occur in the Valley of the Sun, including:

• Truck accidents on I-17 and I-10
• Drunk driving accidents in Downtown Phoenix
• Medical errors at University Medical Center
• Property hazards in Fry’s or Walmart

These are only a few examples of how negligence causes injuries, and our attorneys can assess your specific situation.  Please reach out to learn how we can help you.

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The Law of Negligence

Negligence is another way to say someone injured you when they did something wrong.

Not every person in an accident acts negligently. You often need a car accident lawyer to prove who caused the crash. You need Gallagher & Kennedy.

Negligence Cases Involve a Four-Part Test

Every case that involves negligence must meet a four-part test.

• The defendant owed you a duty of care to act reasonably under the circumstances.
• The defendant breached the duty of care by doing something that a reasonable person would not do (or they failed to do something that a reasonable person would have done)
• You suffered an injury.
• You would not have suffered an injury had it not been for the other person’s actions.

Examples of Negligence in a Personal Injury Case

Here are some things that a court may consider negligence:

• A bus driver does not correctly check their blindspot when pulling over to pick up or drop off passengers and sideswipes another vehicle.
• A passenger car driver does not see a car in front of them because they look down at their phone and rear-end the vehicle.
• A truck driver causes an accident when speeding because they want to travel as far as possible before taking a mandatory rest.
• A property owner does not take action to fix a dangerous condition on their property that is a fall risk, and someone suffers an injury in a slip and fall.
• A property owner does not properly inspect and maintain equipment such as an escalator, and you suffered an injury in an accident.

Negligence Is All About How a Person Acted

To determine negligence, you do not need to prove someone acted intentionally. Instead, you need to compare the defendant’s actions to those of a reasonable person.

The legal system does not expect defendants to make superhuman efforts to prevent any possibility of an accident. But a reasonable person travels the speed limit, inspects their property for hazards when they open it to the public, and keeps their equipment in good repair.

You Must Sufficiently Prove Negligence

Negligence cases do not come down to what you say someone else did. They come down to what you can prove they did. A negligence claim is all about the facts. You must show what they did wrong.

In personal injury cases, everything depends on the evidence. That will show an insurance company or a jury that someone else did something wrong. The challenge for you is finding the evidence to prove your case.

You may run into these challenges:

• You are dealing with your injuries after the accident and cannot act to gather your own proof.
• Personal injury evidence can disappear very quickly after an accident.
• Some of the evidence may be in the hands of the defendant, who does not want to give it up, knowing that you can use it to sue them.

How an Experienced Negligence Lawyer Can Prove Your Case

An experienced attorney will investigate your case as soon as you hire them. The lawyer will conclude who you can blame for your accident. They may identify more than one defendant in a negligence case, including a company. Then, your lawyer will gather the necessary evidence to prove what happened and pursue a claim against them.

To prove negligence in a personal injury case, your lawyer can use:

• Eyewitness testimony from people who saw the accident
• Video camera footage that shows what happened
• Pictures of the scene of the accident
• Corporate documents that can show what the defendant did to uphold their duty of care
• Testimony from an accident reconstruction expert who can give your opinion about your case
• Circumstantial evidence that should show negligence by inference
• The police report from the accident

We have achieved six-, seven-, and eight-figure settlements and verdicts for our clients. Utilizing our experienced team will be to your benefit.

Your Compensation in a Personal Injury Case

Compensation is often a more significant issue in your claim than whether the insurance company needs to pay it. Many cases will eventually settle because the insurance company accepts liability. They may haggle over how much liability they will accept.

The win is not when you settle your case but if the agreement pays you what you deserve.

Your personal injury claim needs to cover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover the actual money that the negligence has cost you.

These include:

• The entire cost of your medical bills
• Lost wages for being unable to work, either because you cannot physically work or you cannot do the same job as before the accident
• Property damage (such as damage to your car or motorcycle)

Your economic damages should include both the present and the future. Although it is difficult to see into the future, your lawyer can estimate the money you need while living with the effects of your injury.

Non-Economic Damages in a Negligence Case

Your economic damages are only part of what you deal with after the accident. The experience of the accident is an ordeal in many ways. You may suffer physical or emotional discomfort. These damages can be every bit as real as economic damages.

Non-economic damages can include:

• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Emotional trauma
• Embarrassment
• Scarring and disfigurement

You may have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence. In that case, your family’s injury is the loss it suffered. Your family can recover damages for your loved one’s loss.

Arizona law determines who can file a wrongful death lawsuit, and your family will need to work together to get justice and fair compensation for losing your loved one.

The Insurance Company Will Force You to Negotiate

An insurance company is an intermediary between their policyholder and you. They stand in the shoes of the responsible party because of their contract with their policyholder.

The insurance company is not on your side. They are not even on the side of their policyholder. They are on the side of their own pocketbook.

The process of negotiating compensation can take some time. Chances are that you will start the settlement process far apart. The insurance company will likely offer a fraction of what your case is really worth. Like every negotiator, they want to see what they can get away with and what you will accept. They may try to catch you unaware of what your case is worth. If they start low in a negotiation, you may feel happy when they raise their offer even a little.

Your attorney will negotiate with the insurance company for you and knows all the tricks an insurance company may use. If the initial settlement offer (or any subsequent offer) is too low, your lawyer will advise you to reject it.

Contact a Phoenix Negligence Lawyer Today

The personal injury lawyers at Gallagher & Kennedy handle many cases that involve negligence, so we know what it takes to prove your case. If you suffered an injury, focus on recovering your health while your lawyer handles your legal battles.

It all starts with your free consultation, and we will work from there if you choose to hire us. To discuss your case, you can contact us online or call us today at (602) 530-8400.

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Gallagher Kennedy – Phoenix Office

2575 E Camelback Rd, Suite 1100
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Tel: (602) 530-8400