Car Accident Lawyer in Phoenix

It is important to note that every Phoenix car accident lawsuit is different. The first steps of a car accident claim will be to gather evidence for your case and calculate past and future expenses. An experienced attorney can help you complete those steps.

Once your attorney has that information, they can meet with the party responsible to achieve a settlement. This is when the responsible party’s insurance agrees to pay or “settle” for what your attorney believes your case is worth. If the insurance and your attorney can’t reach an agreement, the case will go to court. The court will then decide what the compensation amount should be based on the evidence presented.

If you aren’t sure if you have a personal injury case or don’t know how to proceed, get in touch with our car accident lawyers today. Our team has decades of experience and a successful track record that includes recovering millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. We have the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to help you support and secure the compensation you deserve. We also know that accidents don’t always occur during office hours; that is why we are available 24/7 to review your case free of charge.

Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence rule, which determines compensation depending on each person’s level of fault. Arizona assigns fault percentages to all parties involved in the accident. After determining fault percentages, a judge will award damages based on each person’s fault.

For example, if a court finds someone 35% at fault for an accident, they can still recover 65% of the awarded damages. If the damages were $30,000, the person would receive $13,500. This means that even if you are partially at fault for the accident, you can still receive compensation for your injuries.

After an accident, the police and attorneys involved will gather evidence to determine the fault percentages of every party involved. They will gather photographs of the vehicle, road conditions, witness statements, and each driver’s account of the accident. Since determining who is at fault after an accident is vital to receive compensation for your injuries, it is important to have an experienced car accident attorney on your side.

In short, passengers injured in Uber, Lyft, or other ridesharing accidents have the right to pursue just compensation through personal injury lawsuits. In fact, an injured passenger can sue the driver for causing the accident but may have the right to sue the company that also employs the driver.

However, you shouldn’t expect ridesharing companies to payout insurance claims without a fight. Therefore, if you were injured in a rideshare accident, you should talk to a knowledgeable personal injury attorney about your case.

It’s important to note that rideshare passengers can share liability for personal injuries. For example, if a passenger fails to put on a seatbelt, he or she could be found partially liable for injuries sustained.

Negligent driving is any form of driving seen as irresponsible by the general public. It is important to note that careless driving does not have to be illegal to be actionable in a personal injury claim. While some negligent driving methods are illegal, others are perfectly legal in the eyes of the criminal justice system. Therefore, negligent actions are not necessarily unlawful actions, but they are actionable in personal injury claims.

With this definition in mind, negligent driving manifests in a variety of forms:

• drunk driving;
• speeding;
• distracted driving;
• racing;
• drowsy driving.

As you can see, drowsy driving is negligent driving!

As a passenger’s safety is wholly reliant on the driver’s ability to operate a vehicle, it’s been legally established that a driver has a duty of care to the passenger(s) riding in the vehicle. Therefore, a driver is responsible for keeping passengers safe while they are driving.

If a driver’s negligent actions (speeding, distracted driving, etc.) result in an accident, the driver may be found liable for damages sustained in the accident.

A driver may be liable for the following after an accident:

• Personal injuries of pedestrians;
• Property damage;
• Personal injuries of other drivers;
• Vehicle damage;
• Personal injuries of passengers.

Thanks to a driver’s duty of care, a driver who injures passengers by causing an accident may be liable for passengers’ injuries.

Even though you were not the driver involved in the accident, you are still entitled to compensation for your injuries. Regardless of who was at fault for the accident – whether it was the driver in your vehicle or another driver, you can seek compensation.

You can seek monetary compensation for the following:

• Medical Bills: you can seek compensation for all past and future medical bills related to the injuries sustained during the accident. The more severe your injuries, the greater your compensation should be. For such reasons, it is vital that you seek medical attention immediately after an accident, even if you think you’re fine. Injuries can appear days or weeks after an accident.
• Lost Wages: If you’ve had to stay at the hospital or at home to recover, you likely couldn’t go to work – causing you to lose wages. Seeking compensation can help you recover the income you lost while you were recovering from your injuries.
• Pain & Suffering / Non-Economic Damages: A car accident can also take a mental toll on survivors. For such a reason, you can also seek compensation for pain and suffering even though it’s not linked to an economic loss.

Car accident cases fall under the personal injury statute of limitations in Arizona. The Arizona Revised Statutes states that those injured have a two-year deadline to file a civil lawsuit to seek compensation for their loss.

A civil claim doesn’t have to be filed only if a person suffers injuries in a car accident. A civil suit can also be filed to seek compensation for property damage or wrongful death. The person injured in an accident has the right to file a claim against the responsible parties.

The two-year period you have to file a claim starts the day the accident takes place. Filing a car accident claim requires extensive investigation and development to increase the chances of obtaining a favorable outcome. For such reasons, it’s important to file a claim as quickly as possible after a car accident. The sooner you file, the higher the chances you’ll have to obtain the best possible results for your case.

• Whiplash: Whiplash is the general term for any muscle, ligament, or tendon injuries experienced during an accident. Typically, whiplash happens when your head suddenly moves backward and then forward, causing harm to the neck. This soft-tissue injury can limit your movement and usually takes time to heal.
• Traumatic Brain Injuries: TBIs can cause a permanent change in the way your brain functions and can leave you with lasting side effects such as memory loss and headaches. As they’re hard to self-diagnose, you should always seek medical attention following a crash, and let the first responder know if you’ve hit your head.
• Broken Bones: If you’ve been severely impacted during an accident, there is a chance that you could have broken a bone. The most common bones that are broken or fractured after an accident include ribs, arms, legs, hips, or shoulders. Broken bones can happen during any kind of car crash when intense pressure is put on your body.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Not all pain experienced during a motor vehicle accident is physical. Being in a crash can leave lasting effects on your mental health. This can make things that were once part of your routine, such as driving with others, feel more taxing.

Phoenix car accidents are one of the leading causes of injuries and deaths during pregnancy. If you’re pregnant and have been in a car accident, it’s important to seek medical attention right away, even if you don’t think you’ve been injured.

Pregnant women are more susceptible to car accident injuries because of the changes in their bodies. The pregnancy’s extra weight can strain the back and neck, making it more likely to be injured in an accident. Additionally, the increased blood flow and hormones can make it more difficult for the body to recover from an injury.

If you’ve been in a car accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries if you’ve been injured in a car accident while pregnant. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and options. At Suzuki Law Offices, we have more than 25 years of experience handling car accident cases. We understand the challenges that individuals face after being injured in an accident, and we will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.

While the state of Arizona requires all drivers to have insurance, it’s common that the driver at fault in a Phoenix car accident is either uninsured or underinsured — meaning that their insurance does not cover the damage.

Immediately after the accident, you should make sure that everyone is safe and that you and any other parties involved have been seen by law enforcement and emergency medical response if necessary.

Additionally, while still at the scene of the accident, you should:

• Exchange contact information with the other driver
• File a police report and gain a copy of it so you can use this for your insurance claim.
• Take detailed photos of each car.

The type of attorney you need for a car accident is usually a personal injury attorney who regularly handles motor vehicle collision claims. These lawyers pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain, physical limitations, and other losses while handling communications and negotiations with insurance companies.

You should look for an attorney with substantial experience handling auto accident claims, not simply a lawyer who accepts occasional injury cases. Collisions involving commercial vehicles, rideshare drivers, uninsured motorists, disputed fault, or several injured people may require additional investigation and insurance analysis.

Our Phoenix car accident lawyers at Suzuki Law Offices represent injured people in Arizona and build claims around the evidence, available insurance coverage, and the full effect of the collision.

Yes. A personal injury attorney is generally the right type of lawyer needed for a car accident when another person’s carelessness causes a collision, and you suffer injuries or financial losses as a result.

A personal injury attorney may pursue compensation for:

• Emergency care and hospital bills.
• Follow-up appointments and rehabilitation.
• Future medical treatment supported by evidence.
• Income lost while you could not work.
• Reduced future earning ability.
• Pain, discomfort, and loss of normal activities.
• Vehicle damage and other accident-related expenses.

At Suzuki Law Offices, our role is to investigate the collision, identify all potential sources of compensation, document your losses, and respond when an insurance company challenges fault or minimizes your injuries.

We also handle communications with adjusters so you are not pressured into providing statements or accepting an offer without understanding its effect.

You should consider hiring a lawyer when the collision caused an injury, required medical treatment, forced you to miss work, or created symptoms that may continue. Legal representation may also be warranted when fault or insurance coverage is disputed.

You may benefit from an attorney when:

• The police report is inaccurate, incomplete, or unfavorable.
• The other driver denies causing the crash.
• More than two vehicles were involved.
• A commercial truck or company vehicle was involved.
• The at-fault driver was working at the time.
• The collision involved a rideshare vehicle.
• The other driver had no insurance or insufficient coverage.
• An insurer denied the claim or delayed its investigation.
• The settlement offer does not account for your documented losses.
• You suffered a permanent injury or require ongoing treatment.

Evidence can disappear, recordings may be overwritten, and witnesses can become harder to locate. Early investigation gives Suzuki Law Offices an opportunity to preserve evidence and identify legal or insurance issues before they interfere with the claim.

A car accident lawyer develops the evidence needed to establish fault, insurance coverage, and damages. That work may begin with the crash scene and continue through settlement negotiations or trial.

Our attorneys may:

• Review crash reports, photographs, recordings, and witness accounts.
• Obtain medical records, bills, and employment documentation.
• Investigate the drivers, vehicle owners, and involved businesses.
• Analyze available liability, uninsured motorist, and underinsured motorist coverage.
• Work with medical professionals and other qualified witnesses.
• Prepare and submit a supported settlement demand.
• Negotiate with insurers and defense counsel.
• File a lawsuit and present the case in court when appropriate.

Arizona uses comparative fault. An insurer may argue that you share responsibility for the crash in an effort to reduce your compensation. We examine whether the evidence supports that claim and respond with the facts surrounding the collision.

You may not need a lawyer when the collision caused only limited vehicle damage, no one was injured, liability is clear, and the insurer agrees to pay the documented repair costs. A property-damage-only claim can sometimes be handled directly with the insurance company.

Be cautious about treating a collision as minor before you know whether you are injured. Concussion symptoms, neck pain, back pain, and other conditions may not be fully apparent immediately. Seek appropriate medical attention and avoid signing a bodily injury release before you understand your condition.

A consultation may be appropriate when symptoms develop, the insurer disputes fault, repair costs exceed available coverage, or the adjuster requests a broad medical authorization or recorded statement.

Our car accident attorneys use a contingency–fee agreement. Under this arrangement, the attorney’s fee is calculated as an agreed percentage of the recovery rather than billed as an upfront hourly fee.

The percentage, litigation costs, and method of calculation should be stated in a written agreement. Arizona professional rules require written, client-signed contingency agreements that explain how the fee will be determined and whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee is calculated.

Ask our attorneys to explain:

• The percentage charged if the claim settles.
• Whether the percentage changes after a lawsuit is filed.
• Which expenses may be deducted.
• Whether costs are deducted before or after the fee.
• Whether you may owe expenses if there is no recovery.