Many people wonder how much they will receive from their insurance company or lawsuit after an Arizona car accident. Until your Phoenix car accident lawyer examines the evidence, they cannot provide an estimate of your settlement for a car accident. There are certain factors, though, that can affect the amount you may receive.
An Accident Claim Could Result in a Wide Range of Damages
Car accidents can result in thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost wages for several weeks, and extensive repairs to the vehicle.
You can collect economic, non-economic, and punitive damages under Arizona’s fault insurance laws:
- Your economic damages include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and property repair costs.
- Various non-economic damages include pain and suffering, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Arizona courts award punitive damages if the at-fault driver acted maliciously, such as if they intentionally harmed you in a fit of road rage, or they knew they were committing a dangerous act and but did so anyway, such as by driving drunk.
Several Factors Influence Settlements in Arizona Car Accidents
Depending on the collision’s severity, settlements for car accidents can range from a couple of thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
The compensation you can expect in your claim depends on:
- Insurance claims versus lawsuits: The amount of your award may be less if you file an insurance claim. Compensation cannot exceed the coverage of the at-fault driver. However, if you file a lawsuit, these policy limits will not apply, and your award will likely be higher.
- The severity of injuries: Your settlement will be higher if your injuries are severe. A severe injury may require long-term medical care, result in more extended recovery periods and time away from work, and can be emotionally and physically traumatic.
- Liability issues: You may risk your settlement if you cannot clearly prove the other driver’s fault. Insurance companies will try to reject your claim if they think you are at fault.
- Your work capability: Your pain and suffering award may also be impacted by your lost wages and the amount of time you miss from work. You will likely receive a higher settlement for your injuries if you are away from work for an extended time. If you cannot work because of a permanent disability, you may recover more money.
A Car Accident Lawyer in Arizona Can Help
Finding the best path to maximum compensation is essential when filing a car accident claim. You can obtain the settlement you need after a car accident by hiring a lawyer to represent your claim.
Our lawyers can evaluate your claim and estimate your settlement based on several factors, such as expert testimony, long-term care needs, and pain and suffering. If you do not receive a fair settlement offer, your lawyer can negotiate for a higher one on your behalf.
Get medical attention for your injuries as soon as possible after your accident. Then, contact an Arizona car accident lawyer.
The Importance of Seeking Medical Care
Medical care must be sought immediately by anyone injured in a vehicle accident. When you seek medical care after an accident, you accomplish two things. As a first step, this ensures that a reputable doctor who can treat your injuries promptly evaluates you. In addition, this establishes a strong link between your injuries and the accident.
Car accident injury victims who fail to seek medical treatment will have a much more difficult time obtaining compensation through an insurance settlement or personal injury lawsuit.
How Much Can You Expect to Receive When Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Arizona?
Several factors determine the value of your claim: your medical expenses, property damage, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Less severe cases may settle for only a few thousand dollars, but more serious cases often settle for much more. A legal professional can give you a more accurate estimate once you have discussed your case in detail.
Get in touch with an experienced attorney to learn more about the value of your case.
Examples of Personal Injury Settlements
A personal injury case’s value depends on medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
The cost of medical care can quickly add up. In addition to ambulance fees, emergency room expenses, prescriptions, surgery, and ongoing treatment, other factors determine how much you can receive.
Assume you were involved in a car accident and needed immediate medical attention. It costs about $860 to ride in an ambulance in Phoenix. In addition to ER treatment, you may require prescriptions and ongoing care for a broken bone. You may have to pay $2,500 for the nonsurgical treatment of a broken arm or leg. Your lawyer will total your expenses and future costs. A request for reimbursement will follow this.
It looks like the accident has damaged your vehicle quite a bit. It will cost you around $12,000 to repair your car. In addition, you lost $3,000 in wages due to missing a month of work because of your injury. To receive compensation for lost income, you must provide proof from previous pay stubs.
As a result of the accident, you also seek compensation for pain and suffering. In the absence of a bill, this amount is harder to estimate. Assume your doctor says you will need six months to recover. For the pain and suffering you experienced, your lawyer may request $250 per day. The total cost comes to $46,000 when multiplied by the number of days it will take to recover.
Depending on the circumstances, your settlement amount might reach $65,000. There may be a great deal of variation in these figures for back and spine injuries.
A Lawyer Gets What Percentage of a Settlement?
Many personal injury attorneys won’t charge you unless you win a settlement. The attorney will charge a contingency fee based on the amount you receive in that case. If additional expenses occur during the claim process, they will deduct them from that amount.
Depending on the complexity of a case, a lawyer’s percentage from a settlement can fluctuate. The percentage will also depend on how long it takes to settle. The lawyer will tell you what percentage they charge before you agree to hire them.
How Do Settlements and Trial Verdicts Differ?
There is a difference between a settlement and a verdict. Where and when they occur are the most significant differences between them. A settlement is an agreement reached before the case goes to trial. Also, they take place outside the courtroom. The money agreed upon by both parties to cover your car accident injury is called a settlement. You and your lawyer must decide how much damages you should receive, and the other party must agree to it.
A jury decides a fair and reasonable verdict. Trial verdict amounts are typically higher than settlement amounts although a verdict is not guaranteed. Trials often take longer than a settlement, whereas a settlement could represent a faster, more certain process.
Settlement Time For Personal Injury Cases
It’s just as difficult to determine when a settlement will occur as it is to predict the amount accurately. Several factors determine your case’s lifespan. A person’s accident and injury severity is the most influential factor. It is impossible to know how much your medical bills will be if you are still in treatment.
Settlements for complex injuries can take much longer than those for less complex ones. While it may take only a few weeks for a minor injury to heal, significant injuries can take a long time to settle.
Contacting an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident is the best way to ensure your case moves as quickly as possible.
Arizona Personal Injury Settlements
You can seek compensation for damages when you suffer a personal injury in Arizona. Speak directly with a lawyer about your case to determine potential personal injury settlement amounts.
When an Accident Causes Whiplash, You May Seek Compensation. Whiplash is a severe injury that you must seek treatment for immediately. Whiplash injuries can occur in a variety of ways. Whiplash occurs when the body jerks back and forth suddenly and rapidly from an outside impact.
Multiple signs and symptoms may develop in the upper back and neck from this stretching of ligaments and muscles. Vehicle accidents are the most common cause of these injuries. Additionally, these injuries can result in significant medical bills, lost wages if the victim cannot work, and other costs.
Any individual who has suffered a whiplash injury in Arizona because of the carelessness or negligence of another person can recover compensation.
When a person sustains a whiplash injury due to an accident, no specific guidelines determine how much compensation they will receive. Even though Arizona doesn’t have whiplash settlement guidelines, that doesn’t mean a victim will not receive any compensation.
Depending on the accident’s severity, whiplash injury victims may receive different compensation totals after their injuries.
Seek Medical Care
Medical care must be sought immediately by anyone injured in a vehicle accident.
An insurance settlement will be much more difficult to obtain if a whiplash victim does not seek medical care for their injuries. The fact that whiplash injuries may not manifest until hours or days after a crash further complicates seeking medical care.
You Can Get Help With Your Case By Working With an Attorney
Car accident compensation amounts in Arizona can differ significantly. In some serious cases, settlements for car accidents can exceed one million dollars. Courts typically correlate settlement amounts with the severity of injuries caused by accidents, meaning that more severely injured people may recover larger compensation.
Suppose you or someone you love has suffered an injury in a vehicle accident caused by someone else’s negligent actions. In that case, you need to talk with an experienced Arizona car accident attorney as soon as possible. Working with a lawyer gives you access to resources and legal experience required to take on aggressive insurance carriers and at-fault parties.
Now, suppose you suffer a whiplash injury caused by the negligence of another individual. In that case, you can receive compensation, and an attorney won’t quit until you receive compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket losses, and pain and suffering.