Lamber Goodnow Injury Lawyers is a Phoenix-based firm dedicated to assisting accident victims throughout Arizona, including Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Peoria, and Glendale. Because their clients are important to them, they innovate, work hard, and fight for them. Every member of their staff is devoted to assisting others. It’s what keeps them going.
Phoenix personal injury attorneys believe in taking a proactive look at the law. This involves leaving no stone unturned as we investigate what caused an accident, how we can seek justice under the law for our clients, and what we can do to prevent the particular accident from happening again. In some cases, this even involves pursuing legislation to try and keep other people safe.
Statute of Limitations Rules for Personal Injury Cases in Arizona
In Arizona, a personal injury case is a legal dispute that may arise when one person suffers harm from an injury or an accident and someone else might be legally responsible for that harm. A personal injury case is formalized through civil court proceedings, which seek to find someone legally at fault through a court judgment; however, a more common resolution is an informal settlement before a lawsuit has been filed. There are many different types of accidents and ways that people may get hurt. Here is a list of some Arizona laws that Phoenix personal injury lawyers commonly use:
Statute of Limitations – Injury to Person-Two Years (ARS § 12-542)
Limits on Damages – Prohibited (Article 2, Section 31 Arizona State Const.)
Other Limits – Comparative Fault System (ARS § 12-2501)
Notice of Accident – Required (ARS § 28-666)
Arizona Auto Insurance – Mandatory (ARS § 28-4009)
Negligence – Pure Comparative Negligence (ARS § 12-2505)
Wrongful Death – Liability (ARS § 12-611)
Product Liability – Liability (ARS § 12-551)
Premises Liability – Injuries Resulting from Condition of Property (Premises Liability Instruction No. 1, RAJI (5th))
Consult with a lawyer to learn more about the applicable statute of limitations that could apply to your injury or wrongful death case.
What to Do After an Accident
The days immediately following an accident are often the most important for finding and preserving evidence of what occurred. It is vital that relevant evidence be gathered, identified and catalogued. Phoenix-based accident cases that go to trial typically end up being heard in Maricopa County Superior Court or Arizona Federal District Court. Both courts have complex rules of evidence that determine what a jury will ultimately hear. Although each piece of evidence must be looked at on its own, there are steps that can be taken early in a case to ensure that a jury has the opportunity to examine all relevant evidence.
Were you injured in an Uber Accident or Lyft Accident? If so, our team has experience with ride share accidents, give us a call to discuss your case.
Although there are many different types of relevant evidence, some examples include:
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence may be very helpful to show who was at fault in an accident. Some examples of physical evidence include:
- Damage to a car showing it was hit
- Torn or bloodied clothing
- A worn or broken stair that caused a fall
- An overhanging branch that blocked road visibility
It is important to recover physical evidence immediately after an accident because, if it is not preserved or photographed in the first few days, it may get modified by time, the weather, lost, destroyed or repaired. It is also important that you work with an attorney to catalog its location once stored to ensure what’s called the “chain of custody” and future admissibility.
Chain of custody refers to the paper trail, or chronological documentation, showing the seizure, custody, control, transfer and analysis of physical, or electronic evidence. The process is important to show that the evidence gathered is legally acceptable to courts and government agencies. It is important to be able to show that the evidence collected at an accident scene has not been altered, hidden, or destroyed, and that it accurately reflects the actual events that occurred.
Where Do Accident Victims File Personal Injury Cases in Arizona?
In Phoenix, as in most jurisdictions in the United States, the majority of personal injury cases do not go to trial. At the Lamber Goodnow team, our goal is to frontload matters to get cases resolved for accident victims and their families prior to going to court. In some cases, however, court is necessary.
For Phoenix-based injury and wrongful death cases, plaintiffs generally have the option of filing in two different courts: state or federal.
A division of Fennemore Craig, P.C., the Lamber Goodnow Injury Lawyers have recovered many millions of dollars for clients in wrongful death and personal injury claims. Our team of Phoenix injury lawyers deeply care about our clients and aggressively litigate on their behalf to protect their rights and legal interests. We accept a broad variety of different types of personal injury matters, including claims involving car accidents, commercial truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, dog bites, nursing home abuse, and many others. Our experienced attorneys have decades of experience representing people who have suffered injuries because of the negligent or wrongful actions of others.
Founded in 1885, Fennemore Craig is the oldest law firm in Arizona and has established a long track record of success. We embrace an innovative approach to the law and use technology in novel ways to present our clients’ stories to insurance companies and defense counsel. Led by attorneys Marc Lamber and James Goodnow, our team of experienced attorneys strongly believe in protecting the rights of accident victims through aggressive and knowledgeable representation.
Serving Phoenix, Tucson, and Beyond
No matter where you might be in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area or throughout the state of Arizona, our Phoenix personal injury attorneys are prepared to help you with your wrongful death or catastrophic injury case. We regularly represent the victims of negligence in Phoenix, Tucson, and in all other cities in Arizona. We are prepared to travel to you no matter where you might be located and have offices in Tucson and Phoenix. A personal injury attorney in Phoenix at our firm is prepared to help you regardless of where you live.