Personal injury laws vary from state to state. While the general concepts are the same in most states, there may be important differences in your state. If you or a loved one has been injured in Arizona, it is important that you speak to an experienced Arizona personal injury attorney, to find out if you have a case and what steps you should take.
Time limits
Every state has a time limit for filing a lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for most personal injury cases in Arizona is two years. There are some special circumstances which can affect when the two year period begins, and certain types of lawsuit have a shorter time limit.
For more in depth information about time limits in Arizona read our Arizona Statute of Limitations page.
Compensation
If you have been injured in the state of Arizona you may be entitled to compensation for you losses including:
- Past and future medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Property damage
- Permanent disability
- Permanent disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- Other costs that were a direct result of your injury
Fault
Most personal injury cases in Arizona require that you prove negligence, in order to prove fault. Negligence means that the person at fault failed to use reasonable care, thus causing your injuries. There are four elements which must exist in order to prove negligence:
- The person who caused your injuries owed you a duty
- The person failed to uphold that duty
- That failure caused your injuries
- You suffered damages
If you were injured by a defective product, the maker of the product may be held responsible under strict liability rather than negligence. Under strict liability you must prove that:
- The product was unreasonably dangerous, even if used properly
- You did, indeed, use the product as it was intended to be used
- The product caused your injury
- You suffered damages
Comparative Negligence
Arizona adheres to the doctrine of pure comparative negligence. If you were partly responsible for your injuries you can still receive compensation, but it will be reduced by the portion for which you were responsible. So, if you were 20% responsible for your injury, you can only recover 80% of the damages. However this also means that if you were 95% responsible, you can still recovery five percent of your damages from the negligent party.
Several liability
Often in a personal injury cases there are two or more responsible parties. When that is the case in Arizona, several liability applies. Each responsible party is responsible for their share of the damages and only their share. No party is responsible for another party’s failure to pay. You must collect the compensation you are awarded individually from each responsible party.
Personal injury laws vary from state to state. If you live in Arizona and believe you have a personal injury claim, you should contact a personal injury lawyer in Arizona to evaluate your claim
