Individuals injured in automobile accidents and sustained injuries might seek compensation for said occurrences. That said, there are certain issues that need to be established before a personal injury victim can recoup some or any award for experiencing such an unfortunate event. Tobler Law, a team of personal injury lawyers serving the citizens of Arizona invite interested parties and prospective clients to read the following short blog regarding the important issues of fault determination and comparative negligence.
Arizona’s Fault Regulations
Arizona is an at-fault state. This means that the claimant (the individual initiating the personal injury claim) and said person’s attorney must demonstrate that other parties to the accident were responsible for causing said event. If the claimant fails to do this, said individual stands at risk of not receiving any compensation for the injuries and damages sustained in the offending incident.
Proving fault requires that certain issues clearly be demonstrated. Said matters include:
1. Demonstrated Negligence
The injured party must demonstrate that the driver(s) in question displayed some form of negligence that precipitated the accident. Common negligent acts amongst motorists include but are not necessarily limited to speeding, reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or some illicit substance and failing to stop when necessary.
2. The Duty Of Reasonable Care
The claimant much prove that the defendants had a duty of reasonable care. This means demonstrating that defendants were indeed driving the vehicles in involved in the mishap and bared a duty to act in a careful or cautionary manner but failed to.
3. Damages And Accident Must Be Correlated
Successful personal injury claims also hinge on the claimant’s ability to undoubtedly prove that their injuries were caused by the unfortunate incident in question and that said injuries are the reason for the damages sought by said individual. In other words, injuries cannot be tied to any other physical injury or illness.
4. Comparative Negligence
Arizona also follows the comparative negligence principle. This legal provision gives adjudicating bodies the authority to assign a specific percentage of blame on all parties to a given accident. Such a principle is of significant importance to personal injury claimants.
For example, after reviewing the evidence and hearing participant, witness and expert testimony, an adjudicating body rules that the incident in question was 75 percent the fault of the defendant(s) and 25 percent the claimant’s fault. If the claimant sought $100,000 in damages, said person’s compensation would be reduced one-quarter and would only receive $75,000.
Contacting Us
Individuals who were involved in and sustained injuries in a car accident are encouraged to contact us. Our professional personal injury lawyers at Tobler Law can review the case and might be able to help prospective claimants win compensation for their damages.
