Zachar Law Blog

What will you have to do if your personal injury claim turns into a lawsuit?

What exactly is my role in a Phoenix personal injury lawsuit? Do I need to do anything if my case reaches that level?

Your primary role is to communicate with your attorney when necessary.  This includes apprising the attorney of any changes to the following:  (1) changes with medical providers; (2) changes with health insurance; (3) changes to your employment; (4) changes to contact information (address, emails, and phone numbers).  In addition, you will be required to answer questions posed by the defendant’s attorneys, either on paper (such as interrogatories) or in-person (such as a deposition).  While we will assist in preparing answers and responses as well as preparing you for in-person examinations, you must be available to meet with your attorney when necessary and provide information to your attorney when asked. 

You may be asked to provide signatures to allow us (or defendant) to obtain information and you need to be available to discuss your case when needed. You may be required to attend depositions, mediations, arbitrations, or medical exams.  You will be asked to discuss settlement offers and make decisions about the disposition of your case.  You may be asked to assist in providing the names of potential witnesses as well as providing us with the evidence you may have gathered (photos you have, notes you took, diaries you kept, etc).   The further the case proceeds the more involved you will need to be in communicating or meeting with your attorneys.   Clients tend to be less involved with their case before a lawsuit is filed.  Once a lawsuit is filed, the rules governing the procedures applicable to lawsuits necessitate more client involvement. 

If you have any questions regarding your claim, it's wise to get in touch with an experienced Phoenix, Arizona personal injury lawyer. Get the facts. Stop guessing. 

Who exactly will be handling my personal injury case?

Who exactly will be handling my case—legal assistants, or an experienced personal injury attorney?  

At Zachar Law Firm, your case is always handled by our experienced, Phoenix personal injury attorneys. Though the attorneys need help in the early stages of a case, after you meet with the attorney to discuss your case, the paralegals will provide help by checking in on you to see how you are doing. They report back to the attorney about your treatment. The attorney and paralegal work as a team to discuss what evidence is necessary to make the best case for you. The paralegals help gather records and make sure that the evidence we need is complete. The attorney will draft your demand letter to the insurance company and negotiate your case.

Above all:  The attorney is always available to discuss your case with you at any time.      

It is very common in other law firms to have a huge staff to handle your case. You may never even speak to an attorney! The staff member makes decisions regarding all aspects of your case.  This does not happen at Zachar Law Firm.

Our experienced, Phoenix personal injury attorneys are integral and always involved in assessing your case, making the proper decisions, and using their legal experience and skills get you the best settlement or recovery. Most of the “advertising firms” do not file lawsuits for their clients (but they will never tell you this). If the staff members who negotiate the cases don’t accept the “top number” from an insurance company, they cannot take the next step and file a lawsuit, since they are not attorneys. So, they simply accept the insurance company’s last offer, and tell you “this is the best we can do”. 

They are right.  It is the “best they can do” because they are not willing or able to take the next steps that we take at Zachar Law Firm:  Filing a lawsuit to get for you the real best number from the insurance company.  at “best number” even though it may not be the top value for your case.

Indeed, many of these law firms that are run by paralegals refer cases to Zachar Law Firm to file the lawsuits to get better results for their clients.    

Do not be fooled by the advertisers. They are primarily staffed by and run by non-lawyers. Your case will likely be handled from beginning to end by a non-lawyer.

Think about Zachar Law Firm, with our experienced, Phoenix personal injury attorneys.    

Choose wisely and find the lawyers who will go the distance for you!

How long does it take to resolve a personal injury case in Phoenix, Arizona?

Typically, how long does it take to resolve a personal injury case? Is this something that is going to be long and drawn out?

Although every personal injury case is different, the factors of each case are generally the same:

1. Nature of injuries;

2. Extent of injuries

3. Duration of injuries

4. Amount of medical expenses and other out-of-pocket losses.

Though these factors to consider are generally the same, every accident is different and every accident victim is different  There is no one universal truth as to how long a personal injury case will take.

As these factors vary far and wide, the amount of time needed for every personal injury case is just a little bit different.

How to know for sure?  Easy.  Just ask.

Other good questions:

Will you be handling my case personally or will you pass it off to one of your assistants?

Will I be able to communicate directly with you during my case, or will you be guarded by your assistants?

Do you have the experience to handle my case?

If the insurance company does not make a fair offer, will you be willing to file a lawsuit, to get me the best possible result?

These are all questions your attorney should be willing to answer and be willing to follow up on to always get you the best possible result in your case. If the attorney’s answers seem evasive, then best to look elsewhere.

Looking for the right Phoenix personal injury attorney?  Looking for a law firm that will fight for you, including filing a lawsuit if necessary to get you the best result?

Call Zachar Law Firm today regarding your case.  Getting our clients the best results is what we do, and we do it very well.

We have been helping personal injury victims and their families in Arizona for more than 30 years. Call us today to get started with your personal injury case.

The National Trial Lawyers Announces Christopher Zachar as One of Its Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Arizona

For Immediate Release:

The National Trial Lawyers is pleased to announce that Christopher Zachar of Zachar Law Firm, P.C. in Phoenix has been selected for inclusion into its Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Arizona, an honor given to only a select group of lawyers for their superior skills and qualifications in the field.  Membership in this exclusive organization is by invitation only and is limited to the top 100 attorneys in each state or region who have demonstrated excellence and have achieved outstanding results in their careers in either civil plaintiff or criminal defense law.

The National Trial Lawyers is a professional organization comprised of the premier trial lawyers from across the country who have demonstrated exceptional qualifications in criminal defense or civil plaintiff law. The National Trial Lawyers provides accreditation to these distinguished attorneys and provides essential legal news, information, and continuing education to trial lawyers across the United States.

With the selection of Christopher Zachar by The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100, he has shown that he exemplifies superior qualifications, leadership skills and trial results as a trial lawyer. The selection process for this elite honor is based on a multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third-party research. As The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 is an essential source of networking and information for trial attorneys throughout the nation, the final result of the selection process is a credible and comprehensive list of the most outstanding trial lawyers chosen to represent their state or region.    

To learn more about The National Trial Lawyers, please visit: http://thenationaltriallawyers.org/.

What exactly will hiring a personal injury lawyer in Arizona do for my case?

It is legally not required to have a lawyer to make a personal injury claim but handling a personal injury case without a lawyer is a risky decision for many reasons. First, a lawyer knows what to look for to present a proper case.  This includes reading the details of a police report, analyzing photographs, interpreting medical records, understanding insurance policies and coverages for the at-fault drivers or your own policy, and confirming the statutes of limitations and deadlines for making claims.  Many people do not understand or know where or how many sources from which you can recover with a claim.

Second, most people don’t know what documents to gather in order to maximize the recovery on a claim. A lawyer knows what evidence is necessary to make a proper claim and to present it well.  A lawyer understands the pieces that make up the puzzle the insurance companies will respond to.  A lawyer has connections to obtain the documents efficiently and economically.

Third, a lawyer knows what is missing in a claim, what evidence doesn’t help a claim, and how best to avoid the “negative” evidence for your case.   Lawyers are trained to present evidence in the best light and to present logical, legal arguments, with supporting case law, if necessary, to best present a case.  A lawyer also knows the ways to lessen or “mitigate”  the poor aspects of your claim or the parts that may work to your disadvantage,

In the end, without a lawyer’s help, you don’t know what you are missing, lacking, or wrongly presenting to a company.   These errors are likely to result in either no offer for your claim or a very low offer which insurance adjusters are trained and skilled at convincing you is a “good offer.”    Insurance companies will attempt to persuade a claimant not to hire a lawyer because a lawyer will take part of settlement proceeds– but what they don’t tell you is that you are likely to obtain a much higher settlement with someone on your side, who knows how to handle an insurance adjuster.  You are much better off with a skilled lawyer on your side rather than fending for yourself in the legal arena.

How can I afford to go up against insurance companies after an accident, on my own?

If you have been in any type of incident or accident, suffered injuries and now face the prospect of presenting insurance claims for your property damage, medical bills, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket losses, how does this work?  Can you afford to try to go up against the insurance company on your own?

Handling your own Phoenix, Arizona personal injury case on your own is a bit dangerous. This is because the people you are up against (insurance companies) have been in the business for years.  This might be your first claim.

Do you know what to say? Do you know what not to say? What if you make a mistake – could that seriously harm your case?

In dealing with the other insurance company on your own, you are playing with fire. The first thing the insurance company will want to do is to deny your claim and pay you nothing. If they are unable to completely deny your claim, then they will focus their efforts to pay you as a little as possible. They do this by getting information from you, which would they will then use against you later to pay you as little as possible.

What can you do?

If you have no experience in this area at all, then do not attempt to handle your own personal injury case on your own. Say the wrong thing or say too much, and I could seriously damage your case.

Look for an experienced Phoenix personal injury attorney to assist you with your case.

At Zachar Law Firm, in dealing with insurance companies:

WE control communications.

WE tell insurance companies what

WE want them to know and when WE want them to know it. 

We don’t provide unnecessary information at any point in time.  We control the flow of information and therefore, we control the manner in which your claim will be presented to the insurance company.  They are not entitled to know everything (even though they think they are).  And unfortunately, without having experience on your own in this area, it is very difficult for you to know the difference.

Questions?

Please feel free to call Zachar Law Firm, your experienced Phoenix personal injury law firm, for a free consultation to discuss your case.

Having problems getting a fair settlement offer in your Phoenix personal injury case?

Insurance companies care first and foremost about themselves and their money.  We know this.

If they can deny a claim and pay nothing, they will.

If they cannot deny a claim because liability is clear, then they will try to pay as little as possible.

In these difficult times, with COVID19 and many people out of work, insurance companies know that car accident victims are vulnerable.  As such, settlement offers are bring purposely delayed, or the insurance companies are intentionally lowballing injured victims with settlements offers.  Insurance companies are trying to take advantage of the current harsh financial circumstances and will try to get you to settle your accident claim quickly and cheaply, or just cheaply.

What can you do?

First, find an experienced Phoenix personal injury law firm that is willing to file a lawsuit if necessary for you and your case.

There is no substitute for a lawsuit.  None.  Insurances companies hate it.  When a lawsuit gets filed, they 1) must pay an attorney to defend them and 2) they lose control of the result. 

So, to get the best offer, your attorney must be willing and able to do this, and willing to fight all the way.  If insurance companies do not believe that you and your attorney are willing to fight to the end, you will never get their best offer.  But…

Most personal injury law firms do not file lawsuits for their clients.  They see it is expensive and unprofitable.  Sad, but that is the truth.

Not at ZACHAR LAW FIRM.  In fact, Not Even Close.

We have 4 litigation teams, working together, to get our clients the best results.  Here is just a small summary of what we have done:

Client                         Last Insurance Offer                     Final Resolution

WM                            $10,000.00 (mediation)              $545,000.00 (post-trial settlement)

DD                              $0                                                       $600,000.00

MI                               $0                                                       $40,000.00

MV                             $0                                                       $60,000.00

SA                               $0                                                       $300,000.00

MC                              $0                                                       $550,000.00

SL                                $75,000.00 (mediation)              $525,000.00 (settlement during trial)

LC                                $10,000.00 (pretrial offer)         $400,000.00 (jury verdict)

 

At Zachar Law Firm, WE KNOW that filing lawsuits for our clients, rather than accepting the insurance company’s last, low offer, will get BETTER results.

Of course, there are no guarantees, but you will never know until your case is in the hands of an experienced Arizona litigation lawyer, and at Zachar Law, we have four of the best!

Have a case and have questions?  Not getting the answers or results you want?  Insurance company delaying or lowballing your case?

Call us.  We are personal injury/wrongful death lawyers.  It’s what we do.  In fact, it’s all we do.

RIGHT AND WRONG WAYS TO NEGOTIATE WITH AN INSURANCE COMPANY AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT

Before discussing this issue, it is important to first inform the reader that seeking out a Phoenix personal injury lawyer for representation as early as possible is the best way to address your potential claim. 

In order to understand how to properly negotiate with an insurance company after a car accident, you must first know what and when to negotiate.  The only topic of discussion early on should be about your vehicle.  While the insurance company will try to address your injury claim, you should refrain from discussing your injuries until a later date.  You should inform the insurance company that you were injured and provide no further information about your injuries at the outset.  Because you will need a new vehicle or your vehicle repaired right away, all early discussions with the insurance company should be limited to your vehicle. 

Waiting to negotiate your injury claim is important for several reasons.  The most important reasons are as follows:  (1)  You will likely not know the nature and extent of your injuries until well after you have been treating with medical providers; (2) a settlement is final- meaning you cannot renegotiate with the insurance company after you have settled your personal injury claim. Thus, if you settled your claim while not having a comprehensive understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries, your opportunity to address later discovered injuries or the impact of those injuries is foreclosed. 

In order to properly negotiate your personal injury claim, it is important to understand what you are legally entitled to claim.  If you do not know this, you are negotiating in the dark and may think you are entitled to compensation when you are not and vice versa. 

The law provides that tort victims are entitled to claim the following damages:  (1) nature, extent and duration of the injury; (2) pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement and anxiety already experienced and reasonably probable to be experienced in the future as a result of the injury; (3) reasonable expenses of necessary medical care, treatment and services rendered and reasonably probable to be incurred in the future; (4) loss of earnings to date and any decrease in earning power or capacity in the future; (5) loss of enjoyment of life, that is, the participation in life’s activities to the quality and extent normally enjoyed before the injury. The law also permits other types of damages that may apply for certain types of fact situations (such as loss of consortium, etc), though these are not generally applicable for most injuries and cases.  The case law in Arizona provides for the following (citations excluded):  Unlimited recovery for actual damages, expenses for past and prospective medical care, past and prospective pain and suffering, lost earnings and diminished earning capacity; all expenses and for the value of services reasonably made necessary by the harm.  Once the right to damages is established, uncertainty as to the amount of damages does not preclude recovery. Pain and suffering are separately compensable damages from “loss of enjoyment of life” which compensates victims for the limitations resulting from the defendant’s negligence or the injured person’s ability to participate in and derive pleasure from the normal activities of daily life.  In other words, any injury that the victim can prove is proximately caused by the acts of the wrongdoer. 

In addition to understanding what you may be entitled to, you must also consider what you can prove or not prove when negotiating.  The law requires the victim to prove the damages claimed, which invariably requires evidence from not only the victim but other witnesses such as the victim’s physicians.  Even if essentially proved, a jury or arbitrator (depending on the nature of the case) is still the only entity that determines which damages the victim proved and most important- the amount or value of the damages.  Thus, the law may permit compensation for alleged damages but only a jury can determine which, if any it will decide to award, and the amount to award.  Consequently, understanding what a jury in the relevant jurisdiction may award should be the basis from which to determine a settlement value and therefore a range from which to negotiate.

The wrong way is to negotiate too early or to negotiate blindly, i.e. without knowing what you may be entitled to or not.  Knowledge is power and it alone is what separates the right way from the wrong way in negotiating. 

How Coronavirus is Affecting Auto Accident Insurance Settlements

As we see it at Zachar Law Firm, there are several ways the Coronavirus is affecting auto accident insurance settlements.

First and foremost, delay….delay…..delay.  There are so many people out of the office, trying to work remotely, and connectivity is affected.  Email and cell phones still work, but a delay in getting messages through, combined with a delay in being able to access information needed, is affecting everybody.

Ultimately, communication is going to improve but it is going to improve slowly.  In the meantime, along with every other aspect of our lives, a little more patience is needed in getting cases settled.

The other manner in which personal injury cases and settlements will be affected by the Coronavirus will be the inability of people to obtain the medical care that they need for their personal injuries.  Many medical offices are closed and many people who need ongoing treatment and therapy are not able to get it right now. How long will medical offices be limited or closed is unknown, and whatever the amount, it is expected that treatments and therapy will be extended for that same amount of time.

Zachar Law Firm is a Phoenix Personal injury law firm dedicated to helping injured people and their loved ones get the settlements and compensation they deserve.

Zachar Law Firm is open, although most of our employees are working remotely. We are still here for your calls and your emails.  If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call us to discuss.

We are trying to remain patient through this process, and we ask that everyone do the same.

If my personal injury claim has been denied by an insurance company, do I have any recourse? What do I do?

You find yourself having been in an injury-causing incident or accident in Phoenix, Arizona, you tried to handle the claim on your own with the at fault party’s insurance company, and they have denied the claim.

What if anything can you do?

The first great thing you need to know is that you live in the United States of America!  In the United States of America, we have a justice system that doesn’t require you to accept the insurance company’s decision.

You can fight it.

The next step is to find an experienced Phoenix, Arizona personal injury trial attorney to represent you.  The experienced personal injury trial attorney will file a lawsuit for you.

Question:  Is this bad?

Answer:  Absolutely not.  In fact, did you know that the entire purpose of our court systemis to “resolve disputes”.  

You now have a dispute with the insurance company. They see it their way, and you see it your way.

So, find an experienced personal injury trial attorney, and get the help and the result your case deserves.

More Questions?  Zachar Law Firm has been filing lawsuits and litigating cases for our clients for more than 25 years. Our track record of success speaks for itself, and is second to no one.

Call us today, and see how we can help.