In the Arizona court system, a large number of personal injury lawsuits pass through on a regular basis, and for many residents, Dana Hogle is the personal injury lawyer in Mesa, AZ that they want representing them. Though unfortunate, Hogle explains that an increasing number of personal injury cases have recently involved motorcycle accidents. The combination of motorcycles and motor vehicles sharing the road as well at the lack of a helmet law for riders in Arizona often results in serious injuries when accidents occur.
While your health is of the utmost importance after an accident, hiring an attorney is an important step if you want to collect damages from the ordeal. You can even contact an attorney while you are in the hospital if you want to get things started right away, Hogle explains.
Whenever you are involved in a personal injury case, in order to collect damages, you need to prove four things:
- That the other party had a duty to protect you. This is a duty that all drivers assume once they get behind the wheel.
- That there was a breach of duty when the other party failed to drive safely.
- That the lack of care exhibited resulted in the accident and was the cause of your injuries.
- That damages resulted from the event. These could include physical, monetary, emotional, consequential, compensatory, and punitive damages.
While you would probably like to find a resolution and have your medical bills, missed wages, and emotional stress paid for without the involvement of lawyers, that is, unfortunately, not a viable option any longer. Years ago, Hogle explains, if you had a minor car accident where the damages or injuries were not too significant, you could often times resolve everything on your own with a reasonable result. Now, however, that’s no longer the case because insurance companies have tightened the belt on how they deal with personal injury claims.
It is best that you hire an attorney very early on, Hogle advises, following an injury. You should also avoid making any statements to the other party’s insurance agency. Conversations between you and an insurance agent are being recorded, he warns, and insurance companies will use everything they can get out of you during those initial discussions against you in the future. Their goal is to award you as little money as possible, so you need someone (your lawyer) to lobby for you. Typically, Hogle does not allow communication between his clients and insurance companies about injuries. However, he says, discussing damage to your vehicle is generally permissible.
Hogle adds that if he had a nickel for every client who had previously tried to represent himself and then came to The Hogle Firm when he ran into trouble, he would truly be rich. Often times, he says, delaying the process of hiring a lawyer to try and resolve the issue on your own can do more harm than good.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.