What Is Personal Injury Law? Here’s what you should know.
We’ve all heard of Personal Injury Law. Driving around our city streets here in Phoenix, Arizona, it’s hard to miss the brightly-colored billboards and bus wraps advertising car accident lawyers.
But what is Personal Injury Law, anyway? What do car accident lawyers even do??
Personal Injury laws give rights to individuals injured in accidents and allow them seek the financial compensation and medical care they need. These laws are in place to hold the responsible party financially accountable for having caused harm.
That’s a pretty broad definition, so let’s break it down:
What are Personal Injuries?
Personal Injuries are injuries to the body or mind incurred during an accident or other harmful situation.
These injuries may be caused by:
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- Car, truck, or motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Medical malpractice: negligence or omission by a medial professional, causing injury or death
- Wrongful death: the death of a human being as the result of a wrongful act of another person
- Defective products: manufactured products that cause injury or death based on their design, production, or marketing
- Intentional harm by another person or entity
- Defamation: communication that injures a person’s reputation
The True Cost of Personal Injuries
We all know that dealing with injuries of any kind is expensive, but it may be worse than you realize:
In 2020 alone, the U.S. experienced over 55 million preventable* injuries, and almost 201,000 preventable deaths. Guess how much those injuries cost: $1,158.40 Billion.
Yes, you read that right: in 2020, preventable injuries in the US cost over one trillion dollars. Nearly half of those injuries were caused by car accidents.
The cost of medical treatment is what most people consider to be the true cost of Personal Injuries. However, while medical care is a huge portion of damages incurred by accident injuries, it’s not that simple!
When calculating the cost of a personal injury, several factors must be accounted for:
- Medical expenses
- Vehicle or property damages
- Wages or productivity loss (Did you miss work because of your injuries?)
- Pain and suffering (physical and emotional damages)
- Administrative expenses incurred by insurance companies
As you can see, accident injury costs add up quickly!
Who pays for the cost of personal injuries after an accident???
According to Bankrate’s July 2021 Emergency Savings Survey, 51% of Americans do not have enough money in savings to cover 3 months of expenses. This shows that most people are not financially prepared to cover the cost of an accident injury.
So… what happens if we’re injured in a car accident? Who will cover those costs?
That’s where Personal Injury Law comes in.
What is Personal Injury Law?
Personal Injury Law is the portion of our legal system that allows an injured person to seek compensation from the party responsible for their accident.
Remember those astronomical costs incurred by preventable injuries in 2020? Under Arizona’s Personal Injury laws, those injured people likely have the right to seek financial compensation.
When an injured person files an injury claim, the parties can then negotiate a financial settlement to cover the costs associated with the injured person’s suffering. Often, these claims can be handled with negotiations, and without ever having to go to court.
However, if the parties are unable to come to an agreement, the injured person does have the option to file a civil law suit. At that stage, the case will be litigated in court and may even go to trial.
What does a Personal Injury Lawyer do?
Personal Injury Lawyers represent individuals with accident injury claims. In doing so, they work to obtain the compensation and care their clients are legally entitled to. They communicate with the insurance companies, and other involved parties, to negotiate financial settlements on their clients’ behalf.
Additionally, in cases where the parties are unable to negotiate and agree upon settlement, Personal Injury lawyers will represent their clients court and fight for the best possible outcomes there.
Personal Injury Claim Negotiations and Settlements
Although in some cases litigation is unavoidable, the personal injury lawyer’s goal should always be to settle a claim outside of court. Litigation is time consuming and expensive, and if the case goes to trial, it leaves the final outcome up to a judge.
Conversely, successful pre-litigation negotiations result in saved time and money, and allow both parties more control over the final resolution.
Here at Tait & Hall, our Personal Injury attorneys exercise sharp negotiation skills to reach winning settlements for our clients. Our clients’ best interests are always top of mind. As such, we handle accident injury claims with great care and efficiency, avoiding litigation whenever possible.
Should I hire a Personal Injury lawyer if I’m injured in a car accident?
The short answer: yes. We always recommend consulting with a lawyer if you’ve been injured in a car accident. At the very least, they’ll help you understand your options for recovery and settlement.
Even better: a lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company for you—and aim to reach the highest possible settlement available to you.
Remember this: Insurance companies are not your friends!
Unfortunately, more often than not, insurance companies bully those injured in accidents and do all they can to avoid responsibility. At best, they’re always reluctant to pay out the full dollar amount of a policy limit– even when it’s obviously warranted by the degree of the victim’s suffering.
If someone’s hurt in an accident and files an injury claim, they’re usually acting in good faith—simply seeking compensation for their suffering. Meanwhile, we find that the responsible party’s insurance company typically acts with greed-– to stubbornly avoid paying any amount of coverage.
If you’ve dealt with an insurance claim, you know it can be incredibly frustrating. By hiring a Personal Injury attorney to negotiate on your behalf, you can let someone do the hard work for you. Plus, you’ll be far more likely to reach a settlement that aligns with the full scope of your injuries.
Injured? We can help.
The cost of being injured is high. You don’t have to face that alone. Hiring an attorney to handle your case will help ensure someone is fighting for your rights.
Led by our Founding Partner, AJ Hall, Tait & Hall’s Personal Injury team has the people you’ll want by your side after your car accident injury.
A Personal Injury Team as Unique as You Are
Tait & Hall’s Personal Injury team is uniquely qualified to handle your accident injuries to the highest degree of care:
Our attorneys work from a wealth of knowledge and experience handling difficult claims that have resulted in high-dollar settlements. Moreover, Tait and Hall has a medical director that serves as a resource to our team– allowing us to take a more well-rounded approach to winning settlements.
Helping our clients receive both high-quality healthcare attuned to their needs – AND reaching winning financial settlements for them – is our #1 priority.
We are ready to walk you through your claim with compassion, thoroughness, and professionalism.
*These statistics don’t represent intentional injuries or deaths. You can read more about those statistics here.
