No matter how safe you are and no matter what kind of vehicle you are operating, an accident can occur anywhere in Arizona, including Glendale, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise, and Sun City. While you cannot stop others from engaging in careless and reckless acts on the road, lake, or golf course, you can protect your legal rights by contacting an experienced attorney from Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C..
Our law firm has decades of combined experience with helping Arizona accident victims and their families. We know what it takes to pursue a full recovery for our clients. We strive to assist our clients in successfully overcoming the challenges created by the negligence of others after a crash. To discuss how we can assist you, contact us today or reach us online. We will review your case in a free and confidential consultation. Auto accidents remain a leading cause of U.S. injuries and deaths.
More than 30,000 Americans die and another 2.3 million are injured each year in traffic crashes.
In Arizona, crashes claim around 750 lives and injure roughly 35,000 people annually.
What To Do If You Are In a Sun City, Arizona Car Accident
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As you consider your next steps after an accident, we suggest that you make the following a priority:
 | Get medical treatment – Nothing is more important than your welfare. Do not wait to visit the emergency room or see a doctor. You may have a serious brain injury, spinal cord damage or other internal injuries that you do not immediately realize. |
 | Get a copy of the accident report – The accident report will provide key information in your case. If you were involved in a road accident involving an automobile or golf cart, contact the city or county law enforcement agency that responded to your crash or the Arizona Department of Public Safety to request a copy of the report. If you were in a boating accident, you can contact a law enforcement agency or the Arizona Game & Fish Department. For accidents involving a golf cart at a golf course, check with the golf course or country club to see if a report was prepared. |
 | Keep all of your photos and records – Save every photo or document related to your case, including hospital bills, vehicle rental, or repair invoices as well as receipts for other expenses arising from your accident. You should also keep any correspondence with any insurance companies, either your provider or the provider for the other party. |
 | Talk with a lawyer before an insurance company – Contact a lawyer and ask him or her to report your accident to the insurance company and to handle all communication with insurance adjusters and attorneys. Never accept a settlement offer before your lawyer has reviewed it first. |
 | Focus on the positive – Getting into a vehicle accident of any kind can be highly stressful. Be positive. With an attorney by your side, you can be assured your rights are protected, and someone you trust is working hard to seek the best possible recovery for you. |
What Are Some Types of Car Accidents in Sun City?
The accident lawyers of Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C. have the skill, experience, and resources to assist clients in a wide range of cases, including:
| Car accidents | Truck accidents | Motorcycle accidents | Bicycle accidents |
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| Pedestrian accidents | Golf cart accidents | ATV accidents | Boat accidents |
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Our attorneys treat each accident case seriously and strive to provide a result that will improve our clients’ lives.
What Are Some Common Types of Injuries from an Arizona Car Wreck?
A car accident case can result in a range of injuries from minor to severe or fatal. Our attorneys can help accident victims who have suffered injuries such as:
- Broken bones;
- Burns;
- Amputations;
- Scarring and disfigurement;
- Spinal cord injuries;
- Traumatic brain injuries; and
- Mental anguish (including post-traumatic stress disorder).
Our attorneys can further help the surviving family members of someone who is fatally injured during an accident. We understand the unique medical care and treatment that these injuries involve. We strive to ensure that our clients’ medical needs are met while their case is pending and in any financial recovery we obtain on their behalf.
Is Arizona a ‘Fault’ State for Car Accidents?
Yes, Arizona is a “fault” state. What this means is that to recover compensation in an accident case in Arizona, you must prove that another party – a person, company, or even a government agency – was at fault in your accident.
In other words, you must establish that another party:
- Owed a duty of care to you;
- Breached that duty of care;
- That breach caused or was directly related to your injuries; and
- You suffered actual damages.
Our car accident lawyers will work hard to establish your right to a recovery, including conducting a thorough investigation and consulting with experts from a variety of fields.
We will seek compensation through a settlement or verdict for damages that include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income; and
- Pain and suffering.
If an accident resulted in the death of a loved one, we may seek wrongful death damages that include funeral and burial expenses, the income that the deceased would have provided if he or she had survived, and the loss of his or her services, care, and companionship.
What is the Relation Between Older Arizona Drivers and Accidents?
The West Valley and Phoenix are known for their warm weather that attracts retirees. Maricopa County has around 400,000 senior citizens (aged 65-79 years old) and 123,000 “super seniors” aged 80 or older—both highs for Arizona counties. Americans are driving less on the whole, but senior citizens are driving more than ever. Compared to previous generations, older Americans are extending their time behind the wheel. Barely half of Americans 65 and older held a driver’s license in the early 1970s. Today, 84% of seniors have a license. There is much to laud about this trend. Older drivers tend to drive less and are involved in the lowest proportion of alcohol-related fatal crashes among all age groups. On the other hand, people 80 and older are involved in 5.5 times as many fatal crashes as middle-aged drivers. Furthermore, two-thirds of drivers age 65 and older take 5 or more daily medications that can affect their ability to drive safely. These medications include narcotic pain pills, tranquilizers, antidepressants, antihistamines, and decongestants. Physical, cognitive, and visual abilities may also decline as age advances. These declines, in combination with medicines that can impair driving ability, create unique driving risks for many seniors. Most are cautious about regulating driving behavior while on medication, and age-related changes in driving ability vary widely among drivers. And compared to drivers under 25, drivers over 65 are much less dangerous. Still, regardless of age and health, drivers have a legal duty to safely operate a vehicle.
Frequently Asked Questions About Arizona Car Accidents
You should take two important steps in the immediate aftermath of a crash. First, you should check for injuries to you, your passengers and those in the other vehicles. Call 911 right away so that police and EMT’s can arrive to secure the scene and provide any necessary emergency treatment. EMT’s can also transport those who are seriously injured to the nearest hospital. (If you are not taken away in an ambulance, make sure to visit the emergency room or your primary care physician as soon as possible after the accident if you think that you may be injured.) Second, you should focus on preserving evidence. If possible, take photos of the cars, debris, skid or brake marks and surrounding area. You can use a cell phone camera. Try to get photos of both the exterior and interior of any vehicles involved in the crash. You should also get the name, contact and insurance information of the other driver(s). Finally, get the names and contact information of any eyewitnesses before they leave the scene.
After a crash, you may be contacted by another driver’s insurance company within a few days – maybe even within a few hours. Insurance companies often try to reach crash victims when they are in their most vulnerable state. The insurance adjuster may try to get a recorded statement from you or make a settlement offer. Do not give a recorded statement. Anything you say could – and likely will – be used against you by the insurer. Also, never accept a settlement offer before a lawyer has reviewed your case first. The best thing to do is to decline to speak with the adjuster, and instead, refer the adjuster to your lawyer.
Insurance companies frequently want to avoid paying claims or to pay as little as possible. So, it is common for insurers to deny liability. If this occurs in your case, then you should get help from a Phoenix accident lawyer right away (if you have not already done so). An attorney can investigate your case and prepare a formal settlement demand that seeks full and fair compensation for you. If the insurer continues to deny liability, a lawyer can proceed with filing a lawsuit and preparing your case for court, where liability can be established before a jury. Keep in mind: As a case progresses, and liability becomes clear, the insurer may change its mind about settling your claim.
Arizona requires drivers to carry minimum amounts of liability insurance. Currently, the minimum required liability policies are $25,000 for the bodily injury of one person ($50,000 for two or more people) and $15,000 for property damage. Unfortunately, many drivers on our roads lack this mandatory insurance. If you are in a crash with such a driver, you can file a claim through your uninsured motorist (UM) policy. If the driver’s insurance fails to fully cover your losses – this can readily occur if the driver has only the minimum mandatory amount of liability coverage – then you can file an underinsured motorist (UIM) claim. Medical payments, collision, and other types of coverage may be available to you as well. A lawyer can carefully review your auto insurance policy and sort through your options.
The amount you may recover will depend on the unique facts of your case, including the extent of your losses and the amount of available insurance coverage. Generally speaking, under Arizona law, you can seek “compensatory” and “general” damages such as past and future medical expenses, lost earnings and decreased future earning power, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of consortium. In some cases, you may be entitled to seek punitive damages as well, which are aimed at punishing the driver and deterring the driver and others from similar conduct in the future. A lawyer will try to gather and examine all evidence in your case properly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your claim.
At Mushkatel, Robbins & Becker PLLC, we will provide you with a consultation. If we choose to work together on your case, we will charge no legal fees unless we obtain a financial recovery for you. This is called a “contingency fee” agreement. If we obtain a recovery for you, we will simply deduct our agreed-upon fee from the amount recovered.
Is There a Time Limit to Filing an Injury Lawsuit in Arizona?
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