Zachar Law Blog

Who's fault is it if I got rear ended and I hit the car in front of me?

“Fault” is premised on the issue of “wrongdoing”. 

Wrongdoing:  Doing something that you should not, or not doing something that you should.

So, the above heading suggests a 3 vehicle accident. Who are the wrongdoers?

Car #1 was stopped, and hit when you were pushed into it.  Did nothing wrong.  No fault.

Car #2 was slowing or stopped, hit from behind and pushed into Car #1.  Did nothing wrong.  No fault.

Car #3 did not slow/stop in time, hit Car #2 and pushed into Car #1.  Wrongdoing:  Not paying attention, too fast for traffic conditions, unsafe speed, not enough following distance, texting (?), etc…

Car #3 is at fault.  However…..

It is very common for Car #3 driver to lie to try to push fault onto Car #2 )”Oh, Car #2 hit Car #1 first, then I hit Car #2).  Just beware of this.

What is considered a good settlement for a lawsuit?

A “good” settlement is entirely dependent upon the client’s needs at the time the client decides to settle.   In determining whether a settlement is good, a client should ask himself the following:  “Am I better off accepting the terms of the potential settlement now, or litigating this matter for a future resolution to be decided by eight strangers?”  The client must consider the decision from a monetary and non-monetary perspective while considering their present economic situation.  While more money is always better than less money, sooner is also better than later.

The client and not the attorney is the authority for settling or litigating.  The attorney can only advise the client of the risks and benefits of settling versus litigating.  The ultimate decision remains solely with the client.  While the only remedy in civil litigation is money, there are many other considerations that the client should address when choosing to settle, including the time involved, the client’s financial condition and the stress of having to participate in the litigation process.

While the decision to settle is dependent on the needs of the client at the time he or she must make the decision; there are some universal monetary attributes of a “good” settlement.  First, are all the medical bills, legal fees and costs capable of being fully paid under the terms of the settlement?  Second, are all the potential future medical bills contemplated by the terms of the settlement?  Third, will the client’s lost wages or future lost wages be paid by the settlement?  If most or all of these damages are paid, and the client receives e-money after all of these damages are paid, then in most instances the decision to settle was a “good” decision. 

Why do personal injury cases take a long time to settle?

There are no two personal injury cases that are exactly alike.  That is because injuries affect everyone a bit differently.  While we all have the same parts, the effect of trauma on those parts is individual to each of us.

That is one reason personal injury cases can take awhile—because the evolution of personal injury cases and the time to present an injury case depends on the extent and duration of the injury.  In other words, until a person’s injury resolves with medical care, the claim is not ripe for presentation for settlement.  

 

The other reason injury cases can take time is due to the fact that we have to deal with insurance companies.  We know that insurance companies want to hold on to their money for as long as possible.  No matter how much or hard we push and prove the case to be worthy of a settlement, Insurance company personnel most like the words “no, no and no”.  Getting insurance company personnel from “no”  to “yes” often takes work, and time.  

 

Many attorneys (the big advertising attorneys) often don’t want to take the time required to get the right settlement for their clients.  Get it done, out the door and onto the next one—that’s how they make their money and are able to handle so many cases to pay for their big advertising budgets.  

 

Sometimes, it takes more.  It takes time—and filing a lawsuit, working and proving your case and making the insurance adjuster “blink”.  As a trial lawyer, we know that the case needs to be properly investigated, worked and proven to the insurance people.  Doing this is the only way to making them pay the value of the case.

 

Trial lawyers know this and are willing to do what it takes.  Most of the big ad firms don’t want to file lawsuits, and the insurance companies know this.  As such, they offer less money because they know the big ad firms will take it, then move on to the next one.

 

Want a fair settlement for your case?  Find a Law Firm that is willing to file a lawsuit for you and your case.  If not, look elsewhere.  The term “fight for your rights”?  That comes from filing lawsuits—not merely buckling to the last offer because you have a big ad budget to pay for.

 

After almost a dozen attempts, will Arizona ban texting while driving?

For more than a decade, some Arizona lawmakers have tried to ban texting while driving. They have failed every time.

On Tuesday, that effort started again and a bill to bar drivers from texting cleared its first hurdle. Backers hope 2018 will be the year a ban finally happens.

The Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology unanimously approved the proposal, which now moves to the Rules Committee before going to the full Senate.

Senate Bill 1261 would impose a fine of between $25 and $99 for a first offense and between $100 and $200 for a subsequent offense.

If texting while driving causes serious injury or death of another person, the defendant would be charged with a class 2 misdemeanor and receive a fine of up to $4,000.

If passed into law, Arizona would join the 47 other states with similar legislation. As of Tuesday, only Arizona, Missouri and Montana have yet to pass a statewide ban.

The vote came after more than 1 1/2 hours of often tearful pleas from members of the public, many of whom have lost family members because of distracted driving.  For some families, speaking to legislators is an annual affair.

Last year, Susan Huff wept as she asked lawmakers to extend the proposed texting ban for teen drivers to all drivers. Her father, Tom Hall, was killed in Yavapai County when his motorcycle was hit by an adult driver who was reportedly reaching for her phone.  She returned this year, showing the same photo of her father.

"I can tell you right now, this is a whole different atmosphere," Huff said through tears. "When I was here then, I had no hope that this was going to pass."

Cynthia Schneider brought a photo of her 16-year-old daughter, Chloe Schneider, who was killed in November 2016. Chloe was riding her mountain bike when she was struck from behind by a woman who was speeding and on her phone, her mother told legislators. Schneider on Tuesday said her daughter's killer received a speeding ticket and a $1,000 fine.

"My daughter never came home," she said. "To me, that is … I don’t even know how that is legal."

Just before casting his vote, committee Chairman Rep. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, apologized to the public for taking so long to move the bill forward.   "Sometimes it just seems like our political ideology gets in the way of common sense," he said.

The bill mirrors one that passed last year in Texas, one of the final holdout states. Its passage followed a horrific crash in rural Texas, where 13 people were killed after a pickup truck driver collided with a church minibus.  Just after the crash, the truck driver reportedly acknowledged he had been texting.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, has pushed for similar legislation since 2007, but he consistently met with resistance from the likes of former Senate President Andy Biggs, who argued that the state's existing distracted-driving laws sufficed.

But there are actually no distracted-driving laws on the books. 

Farley hopes the 12th time is a charm.  

 

At Zachar Law Firm, on behalf of EVERYONE in Arizona, we hope so too.