Car accidents cause thousands of serious injuries every year. If you or someone you love was injured in Tucson, our Tucson personal injury lawyers can help protect your rights and pursue compensation. Call The Mercaldo Law Firm at (520) 624-1400 today for a free consultation.
The Mercaldo Law Firm takes pride in its reputation for always being prepared medically and legally to successfully prosecute our clients’ claims through a jury trial. This reputation enables us to negotiate sizable settlements in most cases for our clients, since the hospitals, H.M.O.s, doctors, and insurance companies know our reputation for effectiveness, preparedness, and success with jury verdicts. Call or contact The Mercaldo Law Firm online for experienced legal representation in your Tucson car accident case.
Why Choose The Mercaldo Law Firm for a Tucson Car Accident Case?
The Mercaldo Law Firm obtained a $5 million jury verdict for the surviving parents of a 21-year-old college student who was killed as a result of an automobile accident. This particular accident was the result of a carelessly conducted police chase. The Firm has also handled cases involving drunk drivers, speeding motorists, state and municipal drivers, and otherwise negligent operators.
The Firm takes pride in limiting the number of cases that we accept for prosecution to allow the full resources of the firm to be available for each and every case accepted for representation.
Motor vehicle accident lawyers of The Mercaldo Law Firm bring more than 40 years of experience and a reputation for results in jury verdicts to the protection of your rights. When a negligent motorist in a car, truck, or SUV interrupts your life with deadly carelessness, he or she, and an insurance company, should be held accountable.
The Mercaldo Law Firm’s reputation for exacting case preparation, intense investigation of accidents and litigation skills are well founded. Our track record for trial performance is also well known, totaling millions of dollars for our deserving clients and their families. The Mercaldo Law Firm does not accept every case that comes along, but if we accept yours, you can expect tireless effort and client commitment, start to finish.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Car Accidents In Tucson?
Tucson, AZ, residents lead active, productive lives, but the bustle of daily activity often makes roadways congested with frustrated drivers. The most common causes of Tucson car accidents include the following:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Aggressive driving
- Failure to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or when exiting a parking lot
- Tailgating
- Making left turns while focusing on traffic from the right and colliding with a vehicle approaching from the left
- Making unsafe lane changes
- Improper merging
- Illegal passing
- Speeding around curves
- Tire blowouts
- Mechanical failures
- Impaired driving
- Driver fatigue
- Inadequate vehicle maintenance
- Insufficient road maintenance
Failing to follow traffic laws or neglecting to take reasonable measures to avoid causing injury to others on the road leaves a negligent driver liable for damages they cause to others.
The insurance companies involved investigate car accident cases, but their goal is to protect their profits at the injury victim’s expense. A Tucson car accident lawyer prioritizes your best interests throughout the independently conducted investigation process.
Types of Car Accidents In Tucson
The Mercaldo Law Firm handles the following types of motor vehicle accident cases:
- Rear-end collisions
- Head-on collisions
- T-Bone Accidents
- Rollover accidents
- Accidents involving large commercial vehicles, causing catastrophic injury
- DUI accidents
- Distracted driving accidents
- Injury and wrongful death for passengers
- School zone accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Dram shop liability cases
When a careless or reckless driver causes an accident, they are responsible for the injury victim’s damages under Arizona’s fault-based comparative negligence law. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, other parties could be at fault or share liability. For instance, if a negligent road maintenance agency or road construction contractor contributed to the accident, an attorney on your side pursues all available avenues for your compensation.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident in Tucson?
Car accidents are frightening and traumatic. If you’re incapacitated by severe injury, you may be unable to take any purposeful action; however, if you or an uninjured companion can safely use a cell phone, you can begin protecting yourself during the immediate aftermath of the accident. Use a cell phone to do the following:
- First, apply emergency first aid and call 911 to report the accident and request emergency services
- Then, use the phone’s camera to take photos of the damaged vehicles
- Photograph the accident scene, including signs, debris, skid marks, a traffic signal, a pothole, or anything relevant to the cause of the crash
- Take photos of any visible injuries
- Add the other driver’s contact information
- Add the contact information of eyewitnesses to the accident
Always go directly to the hospital from the accident scene, either in an ambulance or by arranging transportation from the scene if your injuries aren’t life-threatening. This establishes evidence that your injuries happened in the car crash. At the hospital, ask for a full medical assessment as well as treatment for your emergency injuries. This helps to diagnose any injuries with delayed symptoms. Then ask for a complete medical report that lists your injuries and treatment recommendations.
Proving Liability In Tucson Car Accident Claims
Under the state’s fault-based accident system, an injury victim has the burden of proof when seeking compensation after a car accident. The evidence must demonstrate the following legal standards of liability for negligence:
- The injury victim owed a legal duty of care to the injury victim, such as a driver’s duty to obey traffic laws
- They breached this duty of care through negligence
- The breach of duty directly caused the car accident injuries
- The injury victim suffered damages from the injury, such as property damage and medical expenses
If the car accident was caused by a defective auto part, the injury victim doesn’t have to prove negligence. Instead, under the strict liability rule for manufacturers, the claimant must demonstrate that the product had a design defect, manufacturing error, or marketing mistake that caused the car accident.
What Can a Tucson Car Accident Lawyer Do For Me?
The Mercaldo Law Firm works with experienced investigators who reconstruct accidents, carefully examine police reports, and do whatever is necessary to identify the negligent party who injured you. We bring the solid facts of your case to the responsible motorist’s insurance company and, if necessary, to a judge and jury in personal injury litigation.
So that you can fully focus on overcoming severe injuries and trauma associated with your accident, we deliver our quality legal services on a contingency fee basis. You owe no attorney’s fee unless we win your case at trial or in pretrial negotiation, and collect a damage settlement award that you approve.
Understanding Common Car Accident Injuries In Tucson
Car accidents cause injuries ranging from mild to severe, depending on the vehicle’s speed and the crash force of the collision. Common injuries in Tucson car accident claims include the following:
- Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
- Soft-tissue damage, like sprains, torn ligaments, and tendon injuries
- Whiplash and other neck injuries
- Back injuries to the vertebrae and muscles
- Single or multiple bone fractures
- External head, facial, and dental trauma
- Traumatic brain injuries, ranging from mild concussions to severe brain injuries with permanent impairment
- Internal organ damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Burns
- Traumatic amputations
Car accident injuries require medical care and missed workdays. In catastrophic injury cases, the injury victim may be unable to return to work and face an uncertain future. These losses are the “damages” in a car accident claim.
Recover Your Tucson Car Accident Damages
No legal process erases car accident injuries, but a successful claim eases the financial aspects of the accident and brings a sense of justice for the harm caused to you. Common recoverable damages in car accident claims include:
- Medical expenses
- Anticipated future medical expenses for injury-related care and physical therapy
- Out-of-pocket costs, such as for travel to see specialists
- Lost earnings
- Future income loss/reduced future earning ability
- Catastrophic injury compensation for permanent harm, such as loss of an organ, loss of one of the senses, traumatic limb loss, scarring, disfigurement, or diminished quality of life
If you lost a spouse, parent, or child in a Tucson car accident, Arizona’s wrongful death law allows your family to make a wrongful death claim for compensation for the grievous loss.
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim In Tucson?
Like all states, Arizona limits the amount of time an injury victim has to file a car accident claim after the accident. In Arizona, claimants have up to two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit if the insurance company hasn’t issued a settlement. The court will refuse to hear a case filed after this statute of limitations has expired, except under specific exceptions. For example, if an injury victim discovers an injury later, the court begins the two-year time limit on the date of the discovery. Also, a minor car accident victim has up to two years after their 18th birthday to file a claim.
Contact Our Tucson Car Accident Lawyers
Call or e-mail the Mercaldo Law Firm today. Your initial consultation is free of charge! We will promptly return messages left after hours the following business day. Evening appointments are available upon request.