CALL (800) 863-5312 today to speak with an experienced Arizona truck accident lawyer
Trucks cause thousands of accidents in Arizona each year, many of which result in devastating injuries and fatalities. If you or a loved one has been in a truck accident in Arizona, call Zinda Law Group at (800) 863-5312 for a free consultation today with our Arizona truck accident lawyers. A truck accident lawyer can guide you through the legal process and evaluate your case.
At Zinda Law Group, our Arizona truck accident lawyers are experienced, dedicated, and compassionate. You deserve the maximum amount of compensation possible for the hardships you have experienced, and that is exactly what our Arizona personal injury lawyers fight for. So don’t wait; call us today.
Truck accident faq
If you or a loved one has been in a truck accident, you probably have a lot of good questions, like “Why do I need a personal injury lawyer in Arizona?” or “Why do these kinds of accidents happen?” Below we have answered a few common questions, but if the answer you are looking for isn’t there don’t worry, our Arizona personal injury attorneys are just a phone call away.
What are Common Causes of Truck Accidents?
Truck accidents happen in Arizona for a wide range of reasons, but some of the more common causes are:
- Blind spots
- Distracted driving
- Driving under the influence
- Fatigue
- Failing to use reasonable care and obey traffic signs and signals
- Inexperienced or poorly trained drivers
- Unbalanced or too-wide loads
- Tire blowouts
- Improper vehicle maintenance
- Reckless driving
- Failure to adjust driving to the road and weather conditions
- Speeding
- Equipment failures
- Malfunctioning breaks
These are just a few of the many causes of truck accidents. If you think the accident that you were in was caused by something else, don’t let that stop you from calling Zinda Law Group. Our experienced Arizona personal injury lawyers are ready to hear you story and help you assess your case.
Who Would I Sue?
This is a really important question, and one that in part depends on which of the above causes is the reason for your accident. If the truck driver was acting negligently, such as by being distracted while driving or speeding, then you would likely sue the driver. However, if the driver was in the course of his or her employment when the accident happened, you may be able to sue the driver’s employer as well under a doctrine called respondeat superior.
Suing the employer trucking company is beneficial because it is much more likely that they will be able to pay you the compensation you deserve, and because it motivates the company to ensure that their drivers are behaving safely and responsibly. Sometimes there will be other parties who are responsible instead of or in addition to the driver and his or her employer. For example, say the mechanic improperly fixed the trucks brakes, or the manufacturer made a mistake when manufacturing the brakes.
It can be difficult to figure out who is the right person to sue, which is why reaching out to an experienced Arizona personal injury lawyer is so important. An experienced attorney can hear your story and make sure that you hold everyone who was responsible liable for your injuries.
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Send Request NowWhat Kind of Injuries do Truck Accidents Cause?
Vehicle accidents involving trucks can cause many kinds of injuries varying in severity. Below are a few common injuries that result from these accidents, but if your injury is not on this list, that does not mean you aren’t entitled to compensation.
Some of the most common injuries from truck crashes are:
- Back and neck injuries
- Broken bones and fractures
- Spinal injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries/concussions
- Internal injuries
- Burns and lacerations
- Amputations and disfigurement
- Wrongful death
Call Zinda Law Group’s personal injury lawyers in Arizona to talk about your injuries and how you received them. We can also explain how you might be compensated.
Read More: Common Causes of 18-Wheeler Truck Accidents: Driver Error
Why Do I Need a Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me?
If you have been in a truck accident in Arizona, you may want to save the hassle of going through an attorney and just handle the aftermath yourself with the defendant’s insurance company. However, doing so could extremely reduce the amount of compensation you could receive, or entirely prevent you from receiving compensation at all.
The insurance company for the defendant has one major goal: to make a profit. This means they will do everything in their power to keep you from getting the compensation you deserve. They may try to elicit certain responses from you so they can argue that you were at fault, or they may try to convince you to accept an amount well below what you deserve.
An experienced Arizona personal injury attorney can help you negotiate with the insurance company to make sure their offer is one you deserve. And, if their offers are not sufficient, your attorney can help you prove your case in court for a jury who may award you damages.
Additionally, our personal injury attorneys are experienced at investigating cases and figuring out who was responsible. Sometimes it isn’t obvious, and without an attorney by your side, you may be missing the person who was the most liable and the most capable of paying the compensation you are entitled to. Thus, retaining an Arizona personal injury lawyer is vital to the success of your case.
CASE RESULTS
How Can I Be Compensated After a Truck Accident?
It is impossible for your attorney to predict exactly the amount you may be entitled to, but generally plaintiffs in these kinds of actions can recover three kinds of damages: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages, which are sometimes called “exemplary” damages. To recover costs that stemmed directly from the accident, such as your medical expenses or the time you had to take off work, a jury would award you economic damages. Non-economic damages are a bit more speculative, but they include compensation for things like your pain and suffering; both of these damages together are referred to as “compensatory damages.”
Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for their negligent conduct and can be awarded in large amounts. Arizona, unlike other states, doesn’t cap the amount of punitive damages you could receive from your truck-related accident, although as a general rule they cannot be more than nine times the amount of compensatory damages.
How Long Do I Have to File Suit?
In Arizona, plaintiffs for these types of personal injury lawsuits have two years to bring a lawsuit, starting from the date of the accident. Although two years may feel like a good amount of time, it tends to fly by when you are dealing with the aftermath consequences of an accident. Plus, the earlier you reach out to an Arizona truck accident lawyer, the more time they have to prepare for your case.
Proving negligence in a truck accident case
Generally, the type of action you would be bringing is a negligent cause of action, although sometimes it might be a products liability claim or something of that sort, depending on who was at fault. Negligence lawsuits require the plaintiff to prove four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Duty
The plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a legal duty to use reasonable care; basically, you need to prove that the defendant was obligated to ensure your safety by acting in a rational manner. Truck drivers have a duty to others on the road to operate their trucks in a safe and reasonable way. Moreover, truck driving companies have a duty to make sure that their drivers are properly vetted and supervised, to ensure the safety of other drivers like yourself.
Breach
The plaintiff then must prove that although the defendant had this legal duty, they breached the duty by failing to conduct themselves safely and reasonably. For example, if you could prove that the truck driver was speeding or texting when the accident occurred, that would be considered a breach of their duty.
Causation
Third, the plaintiff has to prove that the breach of their duty was the cause of their injuries; this means that if something else was really the cause of your injuries—say, for example, you were not wearing your seatbelt—then that could make this element difficult to prove. However, an experienced Arizona truck accident lawyer knows how to investigate the matter thoroughly to prove this element in court.
Damages
Lastly, the plaintiff needs to prove that the injuries actually cost them damages; damages cover a wide net of costs, such as medical costs and costs for your mental anguish. Even if you can prove the first three elements, if you can’t prove that the injury created damages, then you will not be able to prevail.
This may feel like a really complicated lawsuit, and in some ways it can be. However, at Zinda Law Group, our accident lawyers are well versed in this field of law and can help by walking you through every step of the process.
PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWSUITS
If our Arizona truck accident lawyers were to conclude that you may have a product liability case, then that lawsuit would look different. A products liability lawsuit happens when the injury was caused by a defective product that made its way onto the truck. Common examples of this are brake failure or issues with the hitch that connects the trailer to the truck.
Successfully winning a product liability suit generally requires that the plaintiff prove three elements:
1. The part was defective and unreasonably dangerous;
2. The part was being used as the manufacturer intended; and
3. The condition of the party had not changed since it was first purchased.
In Arizona, these lawsuits can be based on strict liability, which can make it easier for plaintiffs to win. Essentially, strict liability makes it so that the manufacturer of the defective product is liable for the injuries regardless of the actions he or she took to prevent the product defect. In a product liability suit, plaintiffs can be awarded the same kinds of damages that they would be in a negligence action: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.
WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUITS
Unfortunately, fatalities are not uncommon occurrences for trucking accidents. If you have lost a loved one due to an accident, we are so incredibly sorry for your loss. We want to help in the best way we know how: If you were to decide to bring a lawsuit, we could help you, and it would likely be a wrongful death lawsuit.
Succeeding in a wrongful death claim requires the plaintiff to prove that if the defendant had acted in a reasonably safe and careful way, your loved one would not have passed away. Additionally, the plaintiff would need to prove that because of the loss of their loved one, they have suffered a financial loss.
In wrongful death actions, plaintiffs can recover different types of damages than those in negligence and product liability suits. A plaintiff may be eligible to receive compensation for things like funeral costs and loss of anticipated earnings in addition to compensation for medical bills and punitive damages, if awarded.
THE PROCESS
Regardless of the legal claim you have, generally, the process you will experience if you retain a Zinda Law Group truck accident attorney near you can look something like this:
- First, you will have a 100% free consultation with our attorneys, where you can explain what happened to you and we can determine what kinds of legal claims you might have.
- Then, we conduct our investigation; this means we gather medical records to prove your injuries, see if there is any camera footage of the accident, analyze police reports, interview your doctor, and much more.
- After completing our investigation, we will negotiate with the legal team of the defendant’s insurance company to see if we can come to a settlement agreement; if they make an offer that you are comfortable with, we can accept it.
- If the insurance company is unwilling to agree to a reasonable amount, we then can file your suit in court. After filing, we will litigate any necessary pre-trial motions at court before eventually going to trial in front of a jury. However, the insurance lawyers can change their minds and make a settlement offer at any time up to the jury deliberations, and we can accept if they make one you are comfortable with.
- Last, and most important, we finally win you the compensation you deserve so you can get your life back on track and put this tragic accident behind you.
To get started, call our Arizona truck accident lawyers today.
Take the first step to getting the compensation you deserve; call the Arizona truck accident lawyers at zinda law group today
Any kind of accident can have devastating consequences, but that is especially true when it comes to trucking accidents. Trucks, due to their size and mass, can cause grave injuries when their drivers behave negligently or when the manufacturers of their vehicle parts produce products with defects.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, call the Arizona truck accident attorneys at Zinda Law Group today; our experienced attorneys can help you assess your claims and set your expectations for the lawsuit. What’s more, our attorneys know that you have struggled financially, which is why we offer 100% free consultations and work on a contingent fee basis. That means you only have to pay us if you win; that is our “No Win, No Fee Guarantee.”
To take advantage of this offer and to take the first step of taking your life back into your own hands, call us today at (800) 863-5312.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How to handle Arizona Royalty Truck Insurance claim?
- How to handle Progressive Truck Insurance Claim?
Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.
Additional Links:
- Chandler Personal Injury Lawyers
- Flagstaff
- Gilbert Personal Injury Lawyers
- Glendale Personal Injury Lawyers
- Lake Havasu City
- Mesa
- Peoria Personal Injury Lawyers
- Phoenix 18-Wheeler Accidents Lawyers
- Prescott
- Tempe Personal Injury Lawyers
- Tucson 18-Wheeler Accidents Lawyers
- Yuma Personal Injury Lawyers
Our Awards
AWARDED TO JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA BY THE NATIONAL TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (2016-2020)
AWARDED TO JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA (2009, 2011-2012, 2014-2021), JOE CAPUTO (2019-2021), BURGESS WILLIAMS (2019-2020), & NEIL SOLOMON (2020-2021)
AWARDED TO JACK ZINDA (2016-2020), JOE CAPUTO (2016 – 2020) & BURGESS WILLIAMS (2016-2017)
LIFETIME MEMBERS JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA & JOE CAPUTO
