PERSONAL INJURY SERVICES IN PHOENIX
Affordable PERSONAL INJURY Lawyer in ARIZONA
PHOENIX ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS
Lawyers Specializing in Injuries Resulting from Traffic Accidents, Including Whiplash
Getting behind the wheel of a car can be terrifying when you think about how many traffic accidents there are per day. The most common type of car accident in Arizona is a rear end collision. And unfortunately, whiplash is a common injury that can occur as a result of a rear end collision. Many people assume that whiplash is a minor injury, and you should simply get on with your life. While this can be true in minor accidents, severe instances of whiplash can have a profound negative impact on the victim’s life. In these types of situations, a personal injury attorney can help you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
personal injury claims myths, debunked
common misconceptions about arizona personal injury claims
Most people know someone who has gone through a personal injury claim, whether it’s relatively minor or more serious. Combining that with knowledge you might gain from the news and media, you could end up with a slightly distorted perspective of how personal injury claims work in Arizona. If you’ve been injured in an accident, don’t rely on what you’ve heard from friends and acquaintances about injury claims. Read on to learn more about common personal injury myths, and call 480-833-8000 when you’re ready for your free case evaluation.
WHIPLASH ACCIDENT attorney in PHOENIX, ARIZONA
MY AZ LAWYERS – PHOENIX PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS DISCUSS
WHIPLASH ATTORNEY IN PHOENIX
Experienced Phoenix, Arizona Injury Attorneys You Can Trust
If you’ve experienced whiplash in an Arizona accident, you know just how painful and stressful the experience can be. You deserve to be compensated for your injuries, and you deserve a compassionate legal representative who will take your claim seriously. Our Arizona injury lawyers will make sure that you are compensated for the obvious expenses from your injuries, like medical bills and missed time from work, as well as compensation for your pain and suffering due to the incident.
Experienced Phoenix, Arizona Injury Attorneys You Can Trust
The insurance companies will be using methodical strategies to keep your whiplash settlement as low as possible. Hiring a personal injury attorney shows that you are serious about getting your claim’s full value. Fortunately, the vast majority of cases are able to end in settlement rather than proceed to trial.
Our Arizona injury team will keep your involvement as low as possible while also making sure you can receive your medical treatments in the meantime. We will negotiate with the other party until reaching a settlement that is fair to you, even after our contingency fees. This leaves you time and both physical and mental energy to focus on your recovery, rather than your personal injury claim. To get started with your free case evaluation, fill out our online form or call 480-833-8000.
Whiplash: More Than Just a Stiff Neck
Whiplash occurs when someone is jolted back and forth very quickly, injuring muscles and tendons in the neck and spine. Car accidents are the most common way to cause this movement with enough force to create whiplash injuries. However, there are countless ways you could experience whiplash besides car accidents. Theme parks are another big one- roller coasters and bumper cars can sometimes result in whiplash. Go karting, cycling, skating, and other racing sports also can result in whiplash injuries. Sometimes whiplash can occur from something as simple as a slip and fall. You can also experience whiplash from a fight, assault, or domestic violence incident. Working with large animals such as horses can also increase your chances of experiencing whiplash. No matter your specific case, you should go have a doctor check out your neck if you are injured in any way that involves your neck being jolted back and forth.
Many people have the attitude that they won’t go to the hospital unless a bone is showing, and will grin and bear most injuries. So if you’ve been in a minor accident, it may seem counterintuitive to go to the doctor if you aren’t currently in pain. But unfortunately, with whiplash injuries, this may be necessary. Whiplash symptoms may take days, or even weeks, to appear. You also could experience an adrenaline rush after an accident, temporarily masking your pain and causing you to refuse medical attention. So if you’ve been in any kind of accident that could’ve caused whiplash, you should promptly seek medical attention regardless of whether you have symptoms.
PHOENIX PERSONAL INJURY FAQs
FREquently asked questions with MY AZ LAWYERS
PHOENIX ACCIDENT LAWYERS
Whiplash Symptoms in Phoenix Accidents
Some of the most common symptoms of whiplash are stiffness, swelling, pain, and redness in the neck and spine. These will also probably come with a reduced range of motion in your neck. You may feel tired or dizzy after experiencing whiplash. Headaches are also common after whiplash injuries of varying levels of severity. Your arms and shoulder may tingle or feel numb. The more serious your short-term symptoms like the ones described above, the higher the probability that you will experience long-term whiplash effects.
Some of the symptoms of whiplash can be harder to attribute to whiplash, and could be signs of a more serious case. Sleeping troubles could be a less obvious sign that you have whiplash. You could also have struggles with concentration, or see yourself become more forgetful. Difficulties with bladder control aren’t unheard of after a whiplash injury. You may even develop depression and experience unexpected mood swings. If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms described above, it’s time to get yourself to a doctor for a medical examination for whiplash. And if you are diagnosed with whiplash, contact our personal injury firm for more information on filing a claim for your injuries.
Factors that Can Increase the Likelihood of Whiplash in a Phoenix Car Accident
There are a few factors that can make you more susceptible to whiplash injuries. One of those is previous whiplash injuries, as well as other neck and spine injuries. The higher the speed at which your accident occurred, the more likely there are to be whiplash injuries, and the more severe they are likely to be. Failure to use proper safety equipment or follow set standards for equipment could also increase the likelihood of incurring whiplash injuries. Unfortunately, the older you are, the more likely you are to experience whiplash in an accident. If none of the factors that increase the likelihood of whiplash apply to your situation, don’t rule out the possibility of whiplash. Visit urgent care or a doctor as soon as possible to have yourself examined for injuries.
Identifying Whiplash in Car and Motorcycle Accidents
As soon as possible after being in an accident that could have caused whiplash, or as soon as you start feeling symptoms, you should go to urgent care or a doctor. Your doctor will probably first ask you to describe the accident and the symptoms you are feeling. Your doctor will next perform a physical examination, viewing the affected area, applying pressure, turning your neck, etc. If your symptoms still can’t be identified, or your doctor believes you have a severe case, they will request additional testing. Your doctor may request diagnostics like a CT or MRI scan. Your doctor might even request DTI or a PET scan.
WHIPLASH MEDICAL TREATMENTS
Experienced Personal Injury Attorney near you
Once your doctor has diagnosed you with whiplash, it’s time for you to start taking the medically appropriate steps to heal your injury. Depending on the type of work you do, you may need to take time off of work to avoid aggravating your whiplash. Physical labor could make your injuries even worse. In addition to rest, many people are able to find relief relatively easily with over-the-counter pain medications. But if your injuries are severe, your doctor may need to prescribe stronger medication to help with inflammation and pain.
Your doctor may even recommend that you use a neck brace and attend physical therapy. Massages and chiropractor visits prove helpful to some whiplash victims. In serious injury cases, surgery may be necessary to alleviate the symptoms of whiplash. Your medical provider will help you decide which treatments are best for you. Don’t forget that you have the right to seek a second opinion if your first doctor tells you, against your beliefs, that you don’t have whiplash.
IN THE AFTERMATH OF AN ACCIDENT
With My AZ Lawyers
The strength of your potential personal injury claim will depend, in part, on how things are handled in the immediate aftermath of your accident. No matter the type of accident, the first thing you need to do is make sure you are safe and out of harm’s way. Assess your injuries and decide whether you need an ambulance, can take yourself to a doctor, or can simply go home. You may want to call the police to the scene of the accident to create a police report. If the accident happened. If the accident happened at a business or public agency, you should alert management to your injury so that they can create an incident report. In traffic accidents, you will need to exchange insurance information with the other driver at the scene, but there isn’t that same pressure to obtain that information immediately when your accident occurs in a public setting. If you’re able, take pictures of the scene and any conditions that contributed to your whiplash. You may also want to obtain the contact information of any eyewitnesses present.
It may be getting repetitive, but you should seek medical attention as soon as possible after an accident that may have caused whiplash. Proceeding with a personal injury claim for whiplash without a whiplash diagnosis is an ill-fated pursuit. Putting a name to the pain and stiffness you are feeling legitimizes your claim, and lets the court know what types of problems you’re facing. It also lets the court know that you’re making efforts to address the damages the whiplash injury is causing, rather than idling about to increase your damages. It also shows that you are taking steps to make sure you don’t aggravate your injury yourself. Lastly, seeing a doctor after a whiplash injury creates entries for your medical record, a key piece of evidence in personal injury claims.
Potential Damages in a Whiplash Claim
When you incurred whiplash in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you shouldn’t have to pay for all the costs- obvious and hidden- of your injuries. Each case is unique, so the types of damages you can collect may vary from claim to claim. Before submitting your demand letter to the other party, you need an accurate calculation of all of your damages. The more severe your accident and injuries, the higher you can expect the damages to be in each category.
For your specific circumstances regarding your accident and injury case, contact the best personal injury attorney in Phoenix. We can help you by answering questions you may have, and offering options and advice for your unique situation and potential personal injury case. Schedule a free consultation for the assistance of an accident attorney near you.
Contact a personal injury attorney to see which of the following types of damages may apply in your whiplash injury case:
PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS IN PHOENIX
Help! I Don’t Think I Can Afford to File a Personal Injury Claim in Phoenix, Arizona.
Especially if you don’t have medical insurance, the costs of a whiplash injury can be devastating, whether or not the accident was your fault. Millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, so unexpected Urgent Care and hospital bills can put you in a bad spot. If your whiplash injuries occurred in a traffic accident, your auto insurance policy may include MedPay for any medical bills that the other driver’s insurance company isn’t paying. If you can’t afford your out-of-pocket costs, you can also use medical liens to pay for your whiplash treatments. You may need a personal injury attorney’s assistance in establishing treatment through medical liens.
Your next concern may be how you will pay for your personal injury attorney. The good news is that most personal injury attorneys accept payment on a contingency basis. This means that they receive a set percentage of your award, but you pay nothing if your case is unsuccessful. But if you have a high value claim, you will want to be sure to pick an attorney who offers a fair contingency rate. For example, many injury attorneys in our area charge 33% or more of your final award. However, at My AZ Lawyers, our experienced injury attorneys charge a guaranteed contingency fee of 25%. So if your case is worth $100,000, we can save you $8,000 or more. Your savings will increase with the value of your claim.