Personal Injury FAQs in Arizona

If you have suffered physical or financial harm because a person, business, corporation, or other entity harmed you through their actions or their failure to act, our Phoenix personal injury attorneys with Phillips Law Group want to help you receive the compensation you deserve.

• What is personal injury?
• Who can file a personal injury lawsuit?
• Can I file a personal injury lawsuit at any time?
• How does personal injury law compensate victims?
• Do I have a personal injury case?

What is a personal injury?

The term personal injury is typically defined as an injury to ones mind, body, or emotions. In other words, its an injury to the person, as opposed to an injury to property. When property is harmed in conjunction with the personal injury, compensating for that harmed property becomes part of the personal injury lawsuit.

Personal injury law is an area of law that seeks to compensate the victims of personal injury and punish the offenders through monetary awards, known as compensatory and punitive damages. The goal of our Phoenix personal injury attorneys is to win compensation for the victims of personal injury, and we have won millions of dollars for our clients.

It is important to choose personal injury attorneys with knowledge of the various rules and courts, as each state has different laws regarding personal injury lawsuits, and each court has different rules for filing claims. Our Phoenix personal injury attorneys have significant litigation experience and are very familiar with the different court rules and systems in Phoenix, Arizona, the surrounding areas, and the federal court system.

There are many types of personal injury lawsuits, including car accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, product liability, defective drugs including Vioxx, birth injury and cerebral palsy, slip and fall litigation, rape and unsafe buildings, insurance disputes, nursing home abuse, animal bites, lead paint exposure, construction accidents, air bag injuries, plane crash, tire tread separation cases, railroad accidents, road design defects, head or brain injury, and catastrophic injury. Our experienced Phoenix personal injury attorneys can help you regardless of which type of personal injury case you have.

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Who can file a personal injury lawsuit?

Once you retain one of our Phoenix personal injury attorneys, he or she will file the lawsuit on behalf of someone, usually the victim of the personal injury. If the victim is deceased or found to be mentally incompetent, the lawsuit can sometimes be brought by a family member or legal guardian. Others indirectly harmed by the personal injury may also have a cause of action. Our personal injury attorneys with At Phillips Law Group will review your case to determine who is/are the proper party or parties to bring the lawsuit.

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Can I file a personal injury lawsuit at any time?

No. The time to which to file the personal injury lawsuit is controlled by what is called the statute of limitations. The Phoenix personal injury attorneys at Phillips Law Group will help you determine what the applicable statute of limitations is for your case, but it is important to discuss your case with our attorneys as soon as possible after the personal injury occurs. If your personal injury case is filed after the statute of limitations has expired, it is very likely that the lawsuit will be dismissed, and you will have no recourse or method for monetary compensation, legal or otherwise.

The Phoenix personal injury attorneys at the law firm of Phillips Law Group can help you determine if you have a personal injury lawsuit and what your statute of limitations for filing your lawsuit is. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your case.

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How does personal injury law compensate victims?

In a typical personal injury lawsuit, two types of damages are awarded – compensatory damages and punitive damages. Each state has its own individual laws that dictate how these damages are handled. Our Phoenix personal injury attorneys can help you understand your compensation rights.

Compensatory damages

When your personal injury attorneys prove your case at trial or settle your case with opposing counsel, you are usually awarded compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are meant to compensate the victim for the injuries he/she suffered in the accident.

To calculate compensatory damages, a monetary value is assigned to victims physical harm and property loss as a result of the personal injury. This monetary value can be actual or estimated. Actual losses include medical bills, repair bills for an automobile or other property that was harmed as a direct result of the personal injury, and lost wages or earned sick or vacation time. The most typical estimated value is pain and suffering.

Indirect victims of the personal injury may also have a legal claim to compensatory damages. Spouses, for example, can often file suit to recoup monies lost due to loss of affection or loss of the spouses contribution to the household. Our personal injury attorneys will help you determine the correct parties of your lawsuit.

Punitive damages

Punitive damages differ from compensatory damages in that punitive damages are awarded to punish the perpetrator of the personal injury, not compensate the victim of the personal injury. The goal of punitive damages is to convince the defendant to change his/her harmful behavior by punishing the defendant economically. Punitive damages are not awarded in every personal injury case.

Many factors go into determining what amount of compensatory and punitive damages the plaintiff of a personal injury lawsuit should ask for; therefore it is important to have representation from competent, experienced personal injury attorneys. The attorneys with the Phoenix firm of Phillips Law Group have several cumulative years of personal injury experience, as well as highly developed litigation skills.

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Do I have a personal injury case?

Not all injuries result in a personal injury case. For those that do, every personal injury case is different. Whether or not you have a personal injury case depends upon the facts of your situation and usually only an attorney can tell you if you have a viable case. But keep in mind that because of the statute of limitations, time is of the essence.

If you have been injured, please contact our Phoenix, Arizona personal injury attorneys at Phillips Law Group to discuss your situation and your legal rights.

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