Most accidents in Phoenix occur because someone was careless or reckless, and no one should be made to suffer the consequences of another person’s negligence. Anyone who has been involved in an accident resulting in, or witnessed a loved one struggling to recover from, a serious or catastrophic injury, knows that these types of injuries can change the entire course of a person’s life in an instant. Traumatic brain injuries and other catastrophic accident injuries can result in significant and costly losses, including temporary or permanent disability requiring extensive treatment and ongoing medical care, and lost wages due to missed time at work, among other losses. When you suffer serious or catastrophic injuries in a Phoenix accident, you need the help of a knowledgeable personal injury attorney with experience handling these types of cases, and when it comes to filing a personal injury claim in Phoenix, there is little time to waste. Contact our legal team at Personal Injury Attorneys, PLLC right away to find out how to recover the compensation you and your loved ones deserve.
Reputable Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys
Any time you have been seriously injured in an accident in Phoenix, it can be difficult to know what to do after the accident, where to turn to get the help you need and how best to proceed to obtain financial compensation for your injuries and other losses. At Personal Injury Attorneys PLLC, our attorneys have handled a wide variety of serious and catastrophic injury cases and we know how to help clients maximize their recovery following a severe, debilitating injury. Contacting an attorney and filing a personal injury lawsuit may be the very last thing on your mind after suffering a devastating injury, but Arizona law is specific about the amount of time you have to file a claim. This is known as the statute of limitations, and in the state of Arizona, the general statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years from the date the injury occurred, though it may be even shorter in some cases. By contacting our personal injury attorneys immediately after your accident, you can get the legal help you need to file a claim and avoid missing the deadline to recover the compensation you deserve, so don’t wait.
Accidents Causing Serious and Catastrophic Injury
Motor vehicle accidents are one of the most common causes of serious, debilitating injuries in Phoenix, and this is due in large part to the sheer size and weight of commercial trucks, buses, and other vehicles on Phoenix roadways. Motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to serious injuries in a Phoenix motor vehicle accident due to the lack of protection they have, and the more forceful the accident, the more severe the injuries they are likely to sustain. In addition to motor vehicle accidents, there are other types of accidents that can result in catastrophic injury, including slip and falls, construction accidents, elevator accidents, and other workplace, products liability and premises liability accidents. Some other possible causes of serious injuries in Phoenix include the following accidents:
- Falls from heights on construction sites
- Collisions between passenger cars and commercial trucks or buses
- Crashes involving pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles
- Slip and fall accidents on hard surfaces
- Accidents involving malfunctioning or defective elevators or elevator parts
- Vicious dog attacks
- Train accidents caused by a signal failure, derailment, and other problems
Examples of Serious and Catastrophic Injuries
As you can see, serious and catastrophic injuries can result from virtually any type of accident. When a person falls from a great height or is struck with significant force, the resulting injuries are bound to be considerably more serious, and these types of injuries tend to be sudden and unexpected, which makes them even more devastating for injured victims and their loved ones. Our personal injury attorneys have experience handling a wide range of serious and catastrophic injury cases in Phoenix and throughout Arizona, including those involving the following
**Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Brain damage
- Head injury
- Vision loss
- Internal bleeding
- Amputations
- Nerve damage
- Permanent scarring
- Permanent disfigurement
- Back injury
- Severe burns
- Paralysis
Expenses Associated with Catastrophic Injuries
Any individuals who suffer injuries caused by the negligence or carelessness of another person or company have the right to be fairly compensated for the associated medical bills and other expenses they incur as a result of their injuries, especially if the accident occurred through no fault of their own, but victims who sustain serious and catastrophic injuries in Phoenix are particularly deserving of reasonable compensation, especially since the losses these injured victims incur tend to pose more of a physical, emotional and financial burden. The following are some of the most common types of expenses Phoenix accident victims who suffer serious or catastrophic injuries may face in the weeks, months and years after the accident:
Medical Devices and Supplies
- Special bed
- Wheelchair
- Prosthetics
- Oxygen tank
- Emergency alert system
Medical Care
- Emergency room visits
- Hospitalizations
- Surgeries
- Physical therapy
- Nursing home care
- In-home nursing care
- Doctor visits
- Specialist visits
- Medication costs
In addition to medical care and medical devices and supplies, victims of serious and catastrophic accident injuries in Phoenix may be unable to return to work for a period of time, or possibly even permanently, which can result in a significant loss of income, as well as a potential loss of the ability to earn an income in the future. If you or a loved one sustains a catastrophic injury that makes working, earning a living and supporting your family difficult or impossible, the mounting medical bills and other daily living expenses, like mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, car payments, and grocery bills, can become even more of a financial burden.
Pursuing Compensation for Catastrophic Injuries
Injury-causing accidents take place in Arizona and across the country every day and some of these accidents are serious enough that they result in catastrophic injuries that end up being life-changing for injured victims and their family members. These injuries often require a lifetime of medical care and rehabilitation, which can result not only in costly medical bills and lost wages, but other losses that aren’t so easily quantifiable, such as loss of companionship and consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, and pain and suffering. Accurately calculating the total amount of damages suffered by the injured victim and his or her loved ones is one of the most important aspects of any personal injury claim, as these damages are intended to make the victim “whole” again, or to fully compensate the victim for the harm he or she suffered as a result of the accident.
Recovering damages in your personal injury case will not make up for the fact that you have suffered a catastrophic injury, nor will it automatically put you back to where you were before the accident, but it can help you cover the cost of your medical bills and the money you lost by not being able to work, among other related losses. Some of the economic and non-economic damages you can pursue by filing a Phoenix personal injury claim include the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of the ability to earn an income
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Property loss
- Property damage
- Wrongful death
Determining Liability in a Phoenix Personal Injury Case
If the negligence or carelessness of another person or company was the cause of your catastrophic injuries, it may be in your best interests to file a personal injury claim holding that person or company accountable for your injuries, so you can receive the compensation you need to cover your medical expenses, lost wages and other losses. Determining liability, or legal responsibility is the key to holding the negligent party accountable for his or her actions, seeking justice for the harm you have suffered and claiming monetary damages for yourself and your loved ones. If, for instance, you were seriously injured in a Phoenix car accident with another driver and the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, he or she can be held liable for your damages. If your injuries occurred because you slipped on an icy sidewalk at your apartment complex and hit your head on the concrete, it would be your legal right to file a claim against the property owner or the person or party responsible for ensuring that the property is kept reasonably safe.
The Importance of Proving Negligence
Once you have determined who is at fault for your catastrophic injuries, the next step in your case is proving negligence, or proving that the person or party against whom you are pursuing a claim (the defendant) failed to uphold a specific duty of care he or she owed to you, thereby causing your injuries. This can get complicated, depending on the nature of the accident and how many parties are involved, but to make it easier to understand, negligence can be broken down into four basic elements, all of which your attorney must establish:
- Duty of care – The defendant owed a duty of care to you, meaning he or she had a legal responsibility to ensure your safety or take reasonable care to avoid causing you harm,
- Breach of duty – The defendant breached, or violated, that duty by failing to exercise reasonable care,
- Causation – The defendant’s actions caused your serious or catastrophic injury, and
- Damages – There is some way you can be compensated for your injuries.
How Our Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help
It is always a good idea to hire a personal injury attorney after suffering any kind of injury in an accident due to another person’s negligence. But especially after sustaining a serious or catastrophic injury that adversely impacts your quality of life or your ability to work and care for your family, contacting an attorney with experience handling these types of cases is critical to receiving the maximum recovery for your losses. Many Phoenix personal injury claims are settled out of court, but whether you settle your claim or go to trial, you need an attorney who will devote the time, energy and resources necessary to get you the compensation you deserve. Our attorneys at Personal Injury Attorneys PLLC are familiar with the tricks insurance companies use to deny legitimate claims and we can help improve your chances of recovering the compensation your injuries warrant.
Even in personal injury cases that seem fairly straightforward, meaning one party appears to be 100% at fault for the other party’s injuries and losses, unforeseen complications may arise that can affect the injured victim’s ability to recover the full amount of damages he or she expected to receive. For instance, if you suffer serious, debilitating injuries in an accident in Phoenix and you are found to be partly at fault for the accident, your damages could be reduced by the percentage of your fault, pursuant to Arizona’s pure comparative negligence law. Whatever the circumstances of your Phoenix accident, we will be your advocate in pursuing fair and timely compensation for your injuries, whether that means negotiating with the insurance company on your behalf to secure a reasonable settlement or obtaining a judgment at trial.
Contact Our Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys Today
Whether your injuries occurred because of a car accident, a workplace accident, a slip and fall, or another type of accident caused by the negligent or careless actions of another person or party, you deserve to recover damages in an amount that reflects the suffering you have and will continue to endure as a result of your injuries. That is why our legal team at Personal Injury Attorneys, PLLC works so hard to protect the rights of accident victims and the loved ones of those who suffer catastrophic injuries – so they can begin the process of recovering from their injuries and moving on with their lives. Our attorneys have years of experience handling serious personal injury cases in Phoenix and across Arizona, and we will go above and beyond to take the stress out of filing a claim for compensation. Contact our law firm today to find out how we can help.
