When you sustain injuries from a drunk driving accident and want to file a claim, one of the first things you will need to know is the kind of damages you qualify for.
What are Damages?
“Damages” is a legal term used to refer to compensation awarded to you in court and are generally classified as either compensatory or punitive damages. Compensatory damages are intended to compensate you for the economic and non-economic losses you suffered.
Types of Compensatory Damages
There are plenty of types of compensatory damages you can qualify for in a drunk driving accident. This will include compensation for the following:
- Medical Expenses: If you have medical bills, you can file for compensation to cover the costs you incurred.
- Loss Wages: If the injuries that resulted from the accident have rendered you unable to fulfill your responsibilities and duties at work, then you can lose your salary. You are entitled to compensation as a result.
- Loss of Future Earnings: If you sustain lifelong disability that will prevent you from seeking employment in the same field or job positions you occupied in the past, then that constitutes the loss of future earnings. Personal injury lawyers can help you seek out compensation for that loss.
- Household Expenses: If you can no longer work, you will have a hard time covering the cost of your household expenses. That may include home maintenance bills. If the accident affected your present and future earning capacity, then you are entitled to compensation.
- Pain and Suffering: Surviving a bad a car accident, one that resulted in lifelong disability or disfigurement, often leaves victims struggling with trauma. Dealing with the accident itself can be harrowing enough. Add the difficulty of coming to terms with a disability or disfigurement that can affect one’s self-esteem and confidence as well as ability to get a job or earn a living– that’s going to mean tremendous pain and suffering for the victim of the car accident. The aftermath is more consequential if it resulted in the death of a family member or the family’s breadwinner.
Punitive Damages
- Punitive Damages: Punitive damages are different from the compensatory types of damages listed above and are designed to “punish” a wrongdoer. Punitive damages are not available in all kinds of auto collisions, but can become available in accidents involving drunk drivers. One of the ways they become available is when someone “consciously pursued a course of conduct knowing that it created a substantial risk of significant harm to others.” When someone knows, or should know, that they have drank too much but they decide to drive anyway and cause a collision, punitive damages can often be pursued in addition to the compensatory damages listed above.
For further information, get legal help. Consult with auto accident lawyers in Phoenix AZ from Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer.
Finding a Good Medical Malpractice Attorney
Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in America, causing approximately 250,000 deaths a year. If you believe you or a loved one are a victim of medical negligence, finding legal help is the first step to getting the justice you and your family deserve. Here are the best ways to find a good medical malpractice attorney to help with your case.
Start with Referrals
If you already know someone in your circle who has faced this issue and has any experience in hiring a personal injury lawyer, contact that person and ask for advice. Referrals often save you a lot of time and trouble when looking for legal counsel. Reach out to people whose opinion you know and trust and ask them for recommendations.
Search Online
If you are unable to reach out to individuals who have been in your situation, the internet is filled with reviews and referrals from people all around the world who have been in your exact shoes. See what others have to say about local lawyers in your area. It is ideal that you hire someone who is familiar with the justice system in the Phoenix area.
Do Your Homework
If you already have a list of prospective attorneys, start narrowing down your options. Dig into the lawyer’s background. Start by finding out how much experience s/he has.
Consider Specialization
Not all law firms are going to be right for your case. When you seek out legal help, choose a medical malpractice law firm that has years of experience in settling and winning medical malpractice cases in court.
Test the Lawyer’s Response Rate
Medical malpractice cases need to be filed within a given window. That’s why it is important to hire a lawyer who is responsive to your emails or calls. If the lawyer is hard to reach or if it is hard to communicate with the attorney, then you are better off looking for assistance elsewhere. Put these tips to good use to make sure justice is served and that you get the maximum compensation you are entitled to. For questions, contact Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer and talk to a medical malpractice attorney in Phoenix AZ today.
Reasons to Hire a Car Accident Attorney
It can be overwhelming to deal with the aftermath of a car accident. While seeking a doctor and getting checked out should be high on your list, so is finding legal help. Here is why.
You Are Filing for a Claim
If you believe the car accident was not your fault and you want to file a claim, then you will need legal help. Personal injury lawyers can help you get the legal ball rolling. If you know next to nothing about how to file a claim or seek out a settlement, get the legal help you need by hiring the services of a seasoned attorney. This is especially true if you believe your claim is against or involves some sort of government agency.
You Are Hounded by Agents
Lots of insurance companies will want to pay as little as possible to cover the costs of the damages. Agents will keep on hounding you, trying to get you to admit fault or say something that could compromise your chances of winning the case. Do not let that happen. Injury attorneys can help by fending them off. Your lawyer can field off those questions and handle any correspondence or calls from insurance agents, so you will not be hassled anymore.
You Need Proof of Liability
When you are still recovering at the hospital, you have no one to help you find the proof you need to prove the other party’s liability. When you hire an attorney, though, you can rely on your lawyer to unearth details and information that can prove the other party’s guilt. Proving fault or negligence is much easier when you have competent legal counsel on your side.
You Need to Present Your Case
Hiring an attorney means you have someone to represent you in court. A good one will take steps to ensure that your rights and interests are protected. Also, a lawyer who has been in practice for years knows the best way to present your case to the court, and that is going to help tip the results in your favor.
You have a Settlement Offer
Lawyers know what damages you can get a claim for, so they have a clear idea how much you can receive for your compensation. Let your lawyer review the terms, conditions, and amount. By letting your lawyer advise you, you will not fall for an unfair settlement offer. If you get into an accident, get medical help first, but then contact an experienced auto accident attorney in Phoenix, Arizona with Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer.
Is the Daycare Liable For My Child’s Injuries?
33% of children under the age of five receive child care from nonrelatives. Their families trust daycares and child-care facilities not only to educate and entertain their children but keep them safe. Unfortunately, many children each year are victims of daycare injuries, and families find themselves asking, “Who’s to blame?”
Daycare Hazards
Not all daycare injuries result from an abusive employee. They’re often due to unsafe facilities. Examples include:
- Unsafe sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots
- Unsafe walkways, hallways, and doorways
- Unsafe playground equipment
- Unsafe toys
- Unsecured bookshelves and television stands
- Ungated pools
- Ladders that aren’t put away
- Medication left out in the open
- Accessible chemicals
- Loose stair handrails
- Wet floors
- Falling objects
Waivers
Daycare waivers often state that parents forfeit rights to sue in the event their child is hurt on site. However, those clauses rarely hold up in court as it’s against public policy to promote negligence. Daycares who include these clauses in their waivers are either uninformed or attempting to scare parents. Parents have every right to compensation if their child is injured on site.
Daycare Injury Case
A family in Alabama was awarded $30.3 million in compensatory damages that occurred to their son while he was at a daycare. Christian, almost two years old, was napping on the floor in front of an unsecured dresser that held a television. Another child tripped on an unsecured cord which caused the television to fall on top of him. Christian suffered permanent brain damage from a fractured skull and intracranial bleeding.
Seeking Legal Help
Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer recently secured a $115,000 settlement in a premises liability case involving a resident of an apartment complex who was injured when a stair broke. Have you or a loved one been injured at a daycare or other place of business? Contact us for a free consultation.
In October of 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced all of his company’s vehicles would be fully self-driving. For the first half of 2017, Tesla Autopilot 2.0’s over-the-air software updated around every three weeks. Since then, the updates have been sporadic (in October of 2017, it had been nearly five months since the last autopilot update).
How these Updates Affect Safety
Many of the features from the previous version of ADAS (advanced driver assist system) are still missing. As a result, Tesla vehicles built since October of 2016 lack safety models enabled in older makes. At the beginning of 2017, Musk promised those features would come out soon. They didn’t.
The Settlement
In April 2017, owners of Tesla’s Model S Sedans and Model X SUVs sued Tesla, alleging their semi-autonomous driver assist system was “essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous.” Tesla originally called the suit “disingenuous,” “inaccurate,” and “sensationalist.” However, the company came under scrutiny after several fatal crashes involving their autopilot system made headlines. As of May 2018, Tesla settled and has agreed to pay those who purchased the autopilot upgrade between 2016 and 2017 $20-$280. Their spokesperson stated, “…it eventually became clear that it was taking us longer to roll out these features than we would have liked or initially expected. We want to do right by those customers, so…we’ve agreed to compensate customers who purchased Autopilot on Hardware 2 vehicles who had to wait longer than we expected for these features.” Have you or a loved one suffered personal injury involving a Tesla or any other vehicle? Leave your case in Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer’s hands. This May 2018, we secured a $100,000 policy limits settlement involving a client who suffered a lumbar herniation and whiplash following a rear-end automobile collision. We’ve fought to receive the best possible results for each of our clients, and your case will be no different. Contact us for a free consultation today.
Driving While Drowsy May Be Fatal
June is known as National Safety Month. During this month, it’s important to be aware of one of the largest causes of personal injury—auto accidents. Statistics show that 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, an average of 3,287 deaths a day. Many causes contribute to this horrifying statistic—alcohol, texting while driving, etc. A lesser known cause? Driving while drowsy.
Research
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that drowsy driving contributes to 10% of all motor vehicle related crashes. This came as shocking news as federal agencies estimated this percentage to be 1-2%. AAA released a video showing drivers falling asleep behind the wheel for only a few seconds. Some drivers veered out of their lanes and off the road, while others crossed into oncoming traffic.
Prevention
Getting a good night’s rest seems like obvious advice, but it’s surprisingly ignored. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite that 35% of U.S. drivers get less than the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep a night. According to the AAA Director of Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research, “…missing just two to three hours of sleep can more than quadruple your risk for a crash, which is the equivalent of driving drunk.” Forgoing a few hours of sleep each day is not as harmless as it seems; it can put you and others in danger.
Tips
AAA recommends:
- Drive during normal awake hours.
- Don’t rely on your body for warning signs of fatigue.
- Take breaks every two hours or 100 miles.
- Drive with an alert passenger and take turns driving.
- Don’t take medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment before driving.
Have You Been Injured?
Unfortunately, your safe driving doesn’t affect others’ recklessness. Have you been injured in an auto accident because of a “drowsy driver”? Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer has represented hundreds of auto accident victims and fought for their compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.
June is National Safety Month
During National Safety Month, Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer wants to help keep you and your loved ones safe. We’re not just just dedicated to helping individuals after they’ve suffered an injury. We want to provide you with information about the safety hazards you encounter daily and how you can prevent them.
Auto Accidents and Distracted Driving
Nearly 20-50 million people are injured or disabled due to auto accidents. It’s estimated that seatbelts save over 13,000 lives every year. Additionally, the most recent reports from the Department of Transportation state that in 2015, 3,477 people died and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes caused by distracted drivers who were either texting or using their cell phones. Put the cell phones down while driving, it can wait.
Motorcycle Accidents
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcycles have a higher fatality rate per unit of distance traveled compared to automobiles. Helmets saved an estimated 1,859 lives in 2016.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Falls are the third highest cause of unintentional death. Commercial establishments are responsible for using wet floor signs and keeping their property safe from defects and dangerous conditions that could cause injuries.
Semi-Truck Accidents
In 2016, 3,986 people died in large truck crashes, many due to truck driver fatigue. Most semi-trucks have black box recorders which record crash information.
Bicycle Accidents
722 bicyclist deaths occurred in 2012. Helmet use in bicycle accidents is estimated to reduce the odds of head injury by 50% and neck or face injury by 33%. Therefore, it is important for bicyclists to wear helmets while riding to help protect themselves from potentially fatal head and neck injuries in the event of an accident. Helmets can significantly increase the chances of surviving a bicycle accident and reduce the severity of injuries sustained.
Dog Bites
Dog bites send 368,000 victims to emergency rooms per year. In Arizona, dogs are never permitted to go at large.
Boat Accidents
In 2015, the Coast Guard counted approximately $42 million dollars of damage to property because of recreational boating accidents. Alcohol use is a leading contributing factor to fatal boating accidents. Have you or a loved one been wrongly injured? At Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer, we fight for those who have been personally injured or even suffered a wrongful death every day. We believe you or your loved one deserves justice. Contact us for a free consultation.
Accidents Involving Uninsured Drivers
No one ever wants to be in any sort of car, motorcycle, or bicycle crash, but if you are, ideally the at-fault driver carries an adequate amount of liability insurance coverage. They cover your expenses, and you don’t pay a dime. Research shows though that 20% of Arizona drivers are uninsured. That’s a 1 in 5 chance of getting into an accident with someone with no insurance. In that case, what do you do?
Uninsured Coverage
You have the right to add uninsured coverage to your own car insurance policy. This coverage can be used when the at-fault driver doesn’t have any liability coverage, or in unique situations where their auto policy does not cover them even though they were at fault for causing the crash. Uninsured coverage can even be used in hit-and-run situations where you are not sure who the at-fault driver was. When you use your uninsured coverage, it covers the same sorts of expenses you would expect the at-fault driver to cover, such as your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Filing a Lawsuit
Unless you live in a no-fault car insurance state, you have the option of filing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Arizona is not a no-fault car insurance state. Individuals who attempt to file a lawsuit without an attorney often find themselves at the end of a losing battle. Most people who aren’t insured don’t have much in the way of assets, and there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to collect any money. This is why carrying uninsured coverage as part of your own automobile policy is so important.
Hiring an Attorney
If you’ve been in a serious accident with an uninsured driver seek an attorney immediately. A good lawyer can obtain necessary evidence related to the collision and your damages, evidence that you may not even know you need. A good injury lawyer will be able to properly negotiate a possible settlement for you. They understand the worth of the case, and how much it will take to fully compensate you for your damages.
What to Do
Have you been seriously injured in an auto accident involving an uninsured driver? Contact Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer today. We understand your case and will pursue every option available to you so you’re compensated for your losses. Contact us for a free consultation today.
Auto Accident Claims Involving Uber and Lyft
Approximately 75 million riders use Uber, and 23 million riders use Lyft. These ridesharing services are convenient, but can cause complications regarding accidents. If your Uber driver gets into a car crash, who’s to blame? If you’re injured by a Lyft driver, can you file a claim? Here’s what you need to know about ridesharing and personal injury.
Insurance
Both Uber and Lyft have coverage to ensure the protection of passengers. If you’re injured in a ridesharing service, you may not be able to file a claim against your driver’s personal policy. Personal auto insurance companies can deny injury claims if they become aware the driver was graining profit from a driving service and did not carry applicable coverages. Therefore, Uber and Lyft cover injury damages for their passengers up to $1 million, even if the driver is uninsured. If an Uber or Lyft driver gets into an accident while on duty but while awaiting a pick up request, and does not have passengers, the insurance typically covers at least:
- $50,000 per person for bodily injury
- $100,000 per accident total for bodily injury
- $25,000 per accident for property damage
Scenarios:
Passenger Injury
In this scenario, the ridesharing service should cover up to $1 million if your rideshare driver is at fault for causing the collision, or if your driver is not at fault but the at-fault driver is either uninsured or did not carry enough insurance to compensate you for your damages. If your injuries exceed $1 million, that’s when it gets complicated and an in-depth investigation of all possible insurance policies needs to take place.
Bystander Injury
An investigation needs to take place to determine if the rideshare driver was on duty and awaiting a pick up request, in route to a pick up request, or had already accepted a pick up request. These facts determine to what amount of coverage Uber/Lyft may be responsible for versus the rideshare driver’s own personal policy. If the driver is off duty, the accident should be treated as any other car wreck and your claim would be made against the rideshare driver’s personal policy.
What to Do
Claims involving rideshare drivers can be very complex. If you were injured while using Uber or Lyft or by a rideshare service driver, it’s important to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer is not afraid to take on big insurance companies and fight for your right to seek compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Dog Leash Laws
It’s important for both dog owners and victims of dog bites to be informed on dog leash laws in Arizona. Dog owners must ensure the public’s safety, no matter how harmless they believe their dogs are.
Phoenix City Code 8-14
Laws
- Dogs are NEVER permitted to go at large (at large meaning not in captivity or confinement).
- Dogs older than 3 months must wear a collar or harness with a valid license tag when off the owner’s property.
- No person in charge of any dog shall permit such dog in a public park or upon any public school property unless they are physically restrained by a leash, enclosed in a car, cage, or similar enclosure
- In a rabies quarantine area, no dogs shall be permitted at large. Each dog shall be confined within an enclosure on the owner’s property, secured so that the dog is confined entirely to the owner’s property, or on a leash not to exceed six feet in length and directly under the owner’s control when not on the owner’s property.
Exceptions
- Dogs that are used for the control of livestock, being used or trained for hunting, being exhibited or trained at a kennel club event or engaged in races approved by the Arizona racing commission, and or being transported to and from such events, need not wear a collar or harness with a valid license attached provided that they are properly vaccinated, licensed and controlled.
- Dogs are permitted in public parks and school property without restraint if they are being exhibited or trained at a recognized kennel club, public school, or park sponsored event.
Penalties
The penalties for disobeying dog leash laws depend on how often the dog owner offends. They can vary from:
- Misdemeanor charge(s)
- $250 – $5,000 charge
- 5 day imprisonment
If you’ve been a victim of a dog bite, you every right to contact an attorney. At Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer, we’re more than prepared to face the dog owner’s insurance head on and get you the recovery you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation.
