Zachar Law Blog

What's the difference between compensatory damages and punitive damages?

Phoenix Injury Lawyers, go over the differences of Compensatory and Punitive Damages.

If you have been injured by the fault or negligence of another, the law allows you to seek "damages" for your harm.  There are two categories of damages:  1) Compensatory and 2) Punitive.

Compensatory Damages:  This type of award is intend to compensate you for the harm caused. These types of damages include medical bills, property damage, lost wages, expenses incurred along the way (mileage, airfare if necessary, etc...) and pain and suffering.  

The purpose of compensatory damages is to provide a recovery commensurate with the losses you sustained in the case.

Punitive Damages:  An award of punitive damages is reserved for cases when the at fault party's conduct is egregious, spiteful, intentional or done in a manner that completely disregarded causing harm to another.  

Examples include assault, impaired (alcohol or drugs) driving or a circumstance where a dangerous condition is completely ignored and serious injury occurs.  

The purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the victim, but rather to punish the wrongdoer.  As such, the financial condition of the wrongdoer is important.  

The more the wrongdoer is worth, the higher the award should be in order to get the message across.  

Not sure what damages you may be entitled to for you case?  Ask an experienced phoenix personal injury lawyer to explain your rights. Get more information at http://zacharassociates.com

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If you decide to try to handle your injury claim on your own, how should you deal with adjusters?

Politely and businesslike.

You may not agree with what they tell you.  

You want a monetary settlement and it is their job to pay as little as possible.  Can you be nice, even if they aren't being nice?

Try. Remember, they control the checkbook.  For insurance companies, it is a business transaction. Period.

There is no need to get angry. Try not to make it personal. It won't do you any good to get on the wrong foot with the adjuster.  

They can end the negotiation at any time, and where does that leave you?

Ok, but how nice do you need to be?  Does this mean you simply need to give in to everything they say?  Hardly.  

It just means that you should keep the communications businesslike.

What happens when they are not nice?  Not polite or businesslike?  They have it all wrong.  They lowball you.

Perhaps then, it is time to seek a "no fee" consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Phoenix, Arizon. Get some information.  

See if the lawyer has a plan that makes sense.  With no fee, you can't beat the cost.  What do you have to lose?

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UBER: The Tool That Can Help Fight Drinking & Driving.

UBER is a venture-funded startup and transportation network company based in San Francisco, California, that makes mobile apps that connect passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire and ridesharing services.

The company arranges pickups in dozens of cities around the world. Cars are reserved by sending a text message or by using a mobile app—the latter can also be used by customers to track their reserved car's location. 

Initially, UBER drivers used cars such as Lincoln Town Cars, Cadillac Escalades, BMW 7 Series, and Mercedes-Benz S550 sedans.  After 2012, UBER launched UberX, following the addition of a wider selection of cars to appeal to a broader cross-section of the market. 

In 2012, UBER announced a plan to expand its operations to include ridesharing in non-taxi vehicles.

Have you ever used UBER?  It is simple and it is pretty awesome. 

You sign up for the App, and when you register and put in your information, you also provide information for a credit card. 

When you are ready to use UBER, you just tap the App; you see all cars in your area, and you tap to request one.  It is dispatched to the GPS location on your phone and you can track the path of the vehicle on its way to you via the driver’s phone GPS. 

When it arrives, you tell the driver where you want to go.  Upon delivery, you get out of the car and go on your way.  No bill.  No tip.  Approximately 20 minutes after you get an emailed receipt.  

A great service, right?  Here’s the next suggestion:

Tweet: For those of us who have teenagers who are in high school and drive, we are ALWAYS concerned about sending them on the road.

This concern is compounded when they are going out with friends. 

What will they really be doing??   Have you had the conversation with your teen about drinking and driving?  You know, the “call me anytime and I will come get you if needed” conversation? 

Are you worried that he/she will need you and won’t call, for fear of the backlash?  (Of course you are).  Is there a solution?

How about UBER? A click, a car and a ride home without needing a nickel in his/her pocket.  Will there be a “discussion” after he/she safely arrives home? 

You bet there will be.  But, the point is that he/she WILL ARRIVE HOME SAFELY, and that “discussion” will take place. 

(A friend suggested this idea at a coffee meeting yesterday.  He told me that his teen has already used UBER twice.  He has had the “after discussion”, and is thrilled with his and his teen’s decision-making on this subject.)

We will never encourage our teens to get into a situation where they need UBER,but should it occur (we are not so naïve to think it cannot happen), if using UBER is the only alternative to making a dreaded phone call to mom and dad, then we are happy to have it. 

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Arizona not alone to allow motorcycling without helmets

Arizona is among one of 30 states that allow operators of a certain age to leave their helmets at home, according to consumerreports.org. (Note: Arizona is not the state with the most lenient law)

In Arizona and 19 other states, motorcycle operators 17 years and younger are legally required to wear the head gear. Florida and Kentucky are among the seven states states that mandate helmets for those 20 and younger.

Illinois and New Hampshire have no helmet laws at all, according to Consumerreports.org.

"Besides getting a ticket for not wearing a helmet in certain states, there is even more incentive—not properly protecting yourself could increase your risk of injury or even death," consumerreports.org said. "They are about 37 percent effective in preventing deaths and about 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries from motorcycle crashes ...

"Rider fatalities have grown even more rapidly, especially compared to cars. In 2012, over 4,900 motorcyclists died on the roads -- that is, 15 percent of the total highway fatalities and an increase of 33 percent from 2003-2012."

While riding helmet-less may provide riders the sense of freedom they want, it also may well harm their chances for a recovery should an accident occur.

Most motorcycle accidents are not the fault of the motorcycle rider, but the driver  of another vehicle who fails to see or notice the motorcyclist until it is too late. 

Head injuries are common—more common for helmetless riders.

In Arizona, although the law does not require helmet use, given that it is a widely known fact that helmets save injuries and save lives, it is the law that the helmetless motorcycle rider may be found to be responsible for his/her own head injuries in failing to wear a helmet---even if the accident was not his/her fault.  Does this change your mind? 

Perhaps not, but it is a factor you should strongly consider before you decide to get on the bike and risk traffic.

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AZ had a death rate of 2.66 deaths for every 100 million miles of travel in rural areas.

Arizona's rural roads have a fatality rate more than twice as high as all other roads in the state, according to a report released last week. 

Arizona's rural roads rank as the seventh-most deadly in the country, according to the "Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America's Heartland" report from TRIP, a national transportation research group based in Washington, D.C.

The study used the Federal Transportation Administration's definition of rural roads, which are roads that pass through areas with a population of 5,000 people or fewer. Rural areas are considered counties that lack an urban area with a population of at least 50,000 people or do not have a large number of commuters from an urban county. 

In 2012, Arizona had a traffic fatality rate of 2.66 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles of travel on rural non-interstate roads, compared with 1.11 fatalities per capita on all other state roads.  There were 2.21 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles driven in the United States as a whole.

The state with the fewest fatalities per capita on its rural roads was New Hampshire, with 1.16 deaths.

Numerous factors can contribute to deadly rural roads, including inadequate roadway safety features, said Carolyn Bonifas Kelly, the associate director of research and communication for TRIP.  Officials from the Arizona Department of Transportation say they are constantly trying to improve roads and promote safer driving. 

(As an attorney who is litigating MULTIPLE cases against the State of Arizona, let me say this:   We’ll believe it when we see it.)

"We can't engineer our way to better traffic safety," said Mark Poppe, an ADOT traffic engineer. "It requires all four 'Es' — engineering, enforcement, education and emergency response."  Poppe cited numerous current ADOT projects to improve safety, such as widening lanes on U.S. 93 that goes from Wickenburg to Las Vegas and installing "rumble strips" or "wake up grooves" along the sides of roads to make noise if a driver starts driving out of his or her lane.

(What about median barriers on the State’s highways to prevent crossover traffic deaths????)

He added that distracted or drowsy drivers and longer emergency-vehicle response times to the state's remote areas also could contribute to the fatality figures.

(Yep.  It is ALWAYS the drivers’ faults.  People are dying on the Arizona highways.  There are relatively easy fixes.  Still, the State only talks a good story….)

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What if a person dies before bringing a personal injury lawsuit?

When does a Phoenix personal injury lawsuit turn into a wrongful death claim?

When a person is injured in an accident caused by another, he has the right to recover all damages.  If he were to pass away prior to getting a recovery, his family members could seek almost all the same damages from the responsible party.  

However, there is one exception:  Pain and suffering.

Under Arizona law, as no one else can experience another's pain and suffering, no one else can seek a recovery for it.  In this sense, a legal claim for pain and suffering dies when the person who suffers it dies.  There are certain exceptions, but these are very limited and very specific.  

Keep in mind:  If a person has passed away as a result of injuries sustained in an accident, their claim for pain and suffering dies, but the recovery for wrongful death for the survivors is created.  

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in such a situation, it really is imperative that you see the counsel of inexperienced Arizona wrongful death attorney.  

These matters can be very complicated.  An experienced wrongful death Attorney will be able to answer all your questions, and guide you and your family through this process.

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How do car accident insurance claims work when you don't have any info on the other driver?

Hopefully, there is a Police Report by whatever law enforcement agency investigated the collision.

It should identify the other driver, their contact information, and insurance information. If it doesn’t, or if you are the victim of a hit & run, you can still repair your vehicle if you have your own collision coverage.

Collision coverage pays for your repairs (or total loss) minus your collision deductible. Rental coverage will pay for a rental vehicle during repairs or total loss evaluations.

You can also still make an injury claim against your own carrier (standing in the shoes of the defendant) if you have UM (uninsured motorist) coverage. UM claims can include medical care, medical bills, out of pocket expenses such as lost wages, and pain & suffering.

These coverages are options available for purchase and are recommended for these very reasons.

Alternatively, sometimes skip traces can locate a named defendant for whom you’re lacking an address/phone), while sometimes, a private investigator can locate parties to an accident

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Another Important Message about Texting and Driving

This morning, my 16 year old son sent me the following photo:

Honestly, I was confused.  I have always understood "LOL" to be text slang for "laughing out loud".  Clearly, this image of a roadside memorial is no "laughing" matter.  This one took me some time.

I asked my son what he thought it meant. Was it intended to be sarcastic (therefore, not funny), or something else.  He believes something else.  

He believes it is intended as a statement as to how fast a mistake can become a permanent mistake.

Taking our eyes off the road for something so quick as "LOL" can result in a fatal, lifetime mistake. This memorial may provide some insight as to what happened here.  

I am proud to know my 16 year old boy is thinking about this, and even sooner than I, understood the point of this photo.

Let's hope the same translation reaches far and wide.

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How does the insurance company decide how much to make in its initial offer?

You’d have to ask an insurance claims adjuster.

If I had to guess, I would presume that adjusters evaluate a claim just as an attorney evaluates a claim (review severity of the accident and injury, the reasonableness of the treatment and medical bills, etc).

However, they may look as several different factors in calculating their evaluation.

Just as a plaintiff’s attorney will often make an initial demand significantly higher than their case evaluation range, the adverse adjuster likely make an initial offer significantly less than their evaluation range.

Once each side has put forth their initial demand and offer, the parties begin negotiating towards a number that hopefully falls with the range of both side’s evaluation.

Dealing with insurance companies can sometimes get complex. There are many variables that are involved with dealing with an insurance company. Unfortunately, many folks try to handle dealing with an insurance company on their own to avoid paying lawyer fees and it doesn't turn out in their favor. 

Make sure you have the right law firm handling your case. It's crucial.

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Car Accident FAQS: Who pays my medical bills and lost wages?

You're in a car accident and now you have medical bills piling up and you can't work because you're injured. Who is responsible?

The at-fault party is responsible for paying for your medical bills and lost wages. However, they must first accept fault, or be proven at fault, for causing your injuries.

Secondly, they will generally not make any payments until you have completed any accident related treatment and submitted a settlement demand package that includes your medical records, bills, and documentation of lost wages.

To claim lost wages, a doctor must take the plaintiff off work and the employer confirms the corresponding time missed from work.

Alternatively, a plaintiff must prove they missed work because of attending the medical appoints, which the employer confirms as well

These types of situations occur more often than not. That's why it's crucial that you get in touch with the right personal injury law firm to represent you. It will make all the difference in your case. Protect your rights!

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