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If you or somebody you care about has been injured as a result of the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity, you will likely be able to recover compensation through an insurance settlement or as a result of a personal injury lawsuit. However, there are several mistakes that individuals make when they are going about recovering compensation for their losses. Here, we want to talk about the most common mistakes you need to avoid making when you are working to secure compensation after sustaining an injury.
Believe it or not, one of the main reasons that people fail to seek legal assistance after sustaining an injury caused by somebody else is because they think that they cannot afford an attorney. However, most skilled and experienced personal injury lawyers in Arizona will take these cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that the client will not have to pay any upfront or out-of-pocket costs related to the case. In fact, individuals will not have to pay a dime in legal fees until after they recover the compensation they are entitled to.
Insurance carriers are notorious for coming to an injury victim with an early settlement offer in an effort to make the case go away. Please understand that early settlement offers are usually far below what the injury victims should actually be receiving for their claim. It is understandable to want to take an early settlement offer, particularly when medical bills and other expenses are piling up. However, the first settlement offer should be used as a starting point for negotiations for a higher amount
Most people think that they will have to go all the way to trial if they pursue a personal injury claim. The reality is that most personal injury cases in Mesa, AZ, are resolved through settlements with insurance carriers. Only if a settlement is not acceptable or if a claim is denied will a personal injury lawsuit have to be filed. Even after a personal injury lawsuit is filed in civil court, it is very rare for the case to go all the way to trial.
It is crucial to file a personal injury claim as soon as possible in order to make sure an injury victim can recover compensation. The Arizona personal injury statute of limitations is two years from the date an injury occurs. Filing a personal injury claim after this time frame will result in the victim being unable to recover compensation. However, cases involving insurance carriers need to be filed much sooner than this if you plan on recovering compensation through an insurance settlement.
Some injury victims do not understand their rights under the law, and they give up on pursuing injury claims too soon. The reality is that you may very well still be able to file a lawsuit, and a skilled attorney needs to examine your case to determine whether or not the statute of limitations has expired.
Even if you are partially responsible for causing an injury, you may still be able to recover compensation for your losses. Arizona operates under a “pure comparative negligence” system, which means that individuals can recover compensation even if they are up to 99% at fault for causing their own injury.
It can be very difficult to properly calculate total losses after sustaining an injury. It is crucial to work with a skilled Mesa personal injury lawyer who can enlist the assistance of medical and economic experts to properly place a value on your injury claim.