Arizona Car Insurance and Car Accidents

There is a reason why Arizona has mandatory minimum insurance coverage for all drivers. Car accidents can be very pricey and insurance helps pay for the costs of property damages and medical expenses should there be injuries. Arizona isn’t unique in its requirements for automobile insurance. Most states also have mandatory minums as well for drivers to legally operate their vehicles on the roads. 

If a driver’s reckless or negligent behavior causes a crash, they are responsible for the damages. This is so because Arizona is an at-fault insurance state. If you have been hit and injured by another driver in Arizona, having the support and guidance of an experienced Arizona automobile accident attorney is key to protecting your legal rights. Statistically, professional legal representation also yields higher compensation than when a victim pursues a claim on their own.

What are Arizona’s Car Insurance Rules?

In order for a victim to build a strong case for compensation after an Arizona car accident, it is necessary to define who caused the accident. An accident can have one liable party or multiple liable parties depending on how it took place. When you pursue an Arizona personal injury claim, according to Arizona’s statute of limitations, you have two years from the date of the accident to act. You must also prove that the other party or parties were at-fault for the accident. To prove fault there are three aspects that you must demonstrate and they include:

• The other party owed you a reasonable duty of care.
• The other party violated that duty of care.
• As a result of the actions of the other party violating their duty of care, you were injured and sustained damages.

An example of a duty of care would include driving on the road at the appropriate speed limit. However, if the driver was not obeying the speed laws and was driving excessively fast that they ran a stoplight and hit you, this is a breach of their duty of care. If glass from a shattered windshield wounds you, and you also suffered whiplash as a result of the impact from the crash, your injuries were directly related to your accident.

Perhaps you were also at-fault for the accident. Even though your actions could have also contributed to the crash, that doesn’t mean that you can’t obtain compensation. Due to Arizona’s comparative negligence system, every party who has a portion of the fault can obtain compensation. Each party will just have the amount they can receive reduced by the percentage of fault they were assigned.

When you file your claim, you may potentially have options if the party who is at-fault for the accident doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for the costs or doesn’t have any coverage at all. When the other party doesn’t have insurance, if you have uninsured motorist coverage (UM) which is optional, you can contact your own insurance provider to file a claim. You would do the same if the other driver doesn’t have sufficient coverage. You would contact your insurance company and make a claim via your underinsured motorist coverage. Again, just like UM coverage, underinsured motorist coverage is an extra amount of protection that you would have had to purchase in order to use. 

Where to Find an Arizona Automobile Accident Attorney?

It is important that you are properly represented when you have been hit by another driver and that you successfully obtain the most compensation possible for your damages. The Arizona serious injury attorneys at ELG will fight on your behalf so that you obtain the money you deserve after a traffic incident. Call the Phoenix personal injury attorneys at ELG today at (623) 877-3600 to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.