Introduction
An attorney can help protect your legal rights after suffering from a car accident that wasn’t your fault. Arizona Revised Statute 28-667 allows a licensed attorney to represent you in the case of an accident regarding “any civil, administrative or arbitration proceeding in any court or government agency or before any self-regulatory body”. The self-regulatory body, in this case, is the insurance agency. When we think of attorneys, we can sometimes think of them as only representing people in court that were accused of committing crimes or did some sort of wrongdoing. This is not always the case. Attorneys can be strong advocates for you when facing civil issues as well.
Establishing Fault in a Car Accident
After having been in a car accident, police may or may not come to the scene to record what happened in a report and mediate the transfer of insurance information and identification. When they do, however, they can be the best resource in helping clear you of fault in the accident. According to ARS 28-667 Section B Part 2(D), police must create a report and take down all parties’ accounts of what took place.
After, the police will make their own report in writing based on these accounts and their own observations along with a diagram of the scene. From there, their report will place either partial or complete responsibility onto the party at fault. It is important to note that in the state of Arizona, a driver can receive partial responsibility. For example, police reports can say that one party is 80% at fault and the other 20%.
Filing a Claim with the Insurance Company
Upon calling an insurance company to file your claim, you may face some resistance from them to admit fault even when the police report has cleared you and the accident was not your fault. Insurance companies do not always side with police reports and, instead, conduct their own independent investigation into how the accident took place to determine how reimbursement amounts are appropriate. Insurance company investigations are conducted by taking extensive account of both sides of the accident and using complicated questioning tactics that can at times confuse the person being questioned. With having to contact the right person, being placed on hold, and spending extended periods of time repeating the same information to both insurance companies, this is a long process that can cut into your life.
Until they are done, they can refuse to provide you with alternative forms of transportation like rental cars to get on with your job and daily responsibilities. This can leave you stranded until car repairs are completed or replaced if the car was totaled. An Arizona car accident lawyer can help you avoid these issues.
Finding the Right Arizona Car Accident Attorney
Because of these circumstances, it is not always the best avenue to talk to an insurance company on your own. An Arizona attorney experienced with insurance companies’ tactics can better maneuver through these conversations with more ease and keep your insurance claim reimbursement from being cut short. If you have suffered from a car accident, don’t be left at the mercy of insurance company decisions.
Covering Accident Expenses
An attorney can skillfully negotiate with the insurance companies to cover all of the expenses that you incurred due to the accident. Collecting evidence to support your case is an important step in this process. Because the attorney wants to compensate your case as fairly as possible, a wide variety of factors and expenses are taken into account to present to the insurance company.
Work missed due to accident
Recording the amount of time you lost that you could have used to work due to the accident can be reimbursed with your claim by the insurance company.
Medical expenses
Any medical expenses brought on by the accident can also be reimbursed when filing a claim. This is helpful for any person to avoid being sunk by unexpected medical bills, but can tighten a budget until the reimbursement takes place.
Car and Property Damage
All damage to your car and your property inside of the vehicle at the time of the accident should be repaired by the insurance company. Work with an experienced Arizona Car Accident lawyer to negotiate with the insurance company for alternative forms of transportation until the car is repaired. If the car was totaled, an independent appraiser will determine the value of the vehicle before it was damaged and order a reimbursement for that exact amount. It is also important in this situation to have an alternate form of transportation when waiting for your car total reimbursement.
Pain and suffering
Although this seems like an abstract concept that is not possible to be measured, insurance companies must take into account the pain and suffering that you experienced due to an accident that wasn’t your fault. Writing about and explaining what you went through can best explain how your life was disrupted. With the help of experienced Personal Injury lawyer, Jared Everton, you can receive effective help in making your case to the insurance company.
Call our Personal Injury team at (480) 467-4392 to discuss your case today.