Phoenix Car Accident Attorney Blog

Phoenix car accident lawyers are called every day because car accidents are happening at a high rate in Phoenix and thousands of people are injured each year in the Phoenix metro valley area . In most auto accidents there is someone who has made a mistake that has caused the accident. In legal terms when someone makes a mistake it is called "negligence."

When someone is at fault for a car accident, that is they are "negligent", that means that the injured person is entitled to compensation for their injuries. It can be compensation for more than just their present injuries. For example, an injured person can be compensated for their medical bills, pain and suffering, future lost wages, etc.

When someone is injured due to the fault of another driver, the injured person should seek a consultation from a Phoenix car accident lawyer. It is important to know that just because you decide to have a consultation with a Phoenix car accident lawyer it does not mean that you have to hire them. Many attorneys, like our office, will offer free consultations to evaluate your claim. When individuals call our office, many times, we let them know they don't even need an attorney and explain why we feel this is true. The bottom line is that we recommend all car accident victims speak to a Phoenix car accident lawyer sooner than later just to make sure that their rights are protected and that they are aware of all the statute of limitations and deadlines for their claim.

So how do you decide to hire a Phoenix car accident lawyer? Hiring a car accident lawyer is a very important decision. You don't want to hire someone just because you saw them on a billboard or because you have been hearing their commercials for years. You want to hire a lawyer who is experienced in injury and wrongful death law and has the credentials to get you the best possible settlement for your claim. After all, you only have one chance to settle your injury claim and of course you want to make sure that you get the best settlement possible.

I (Alexis Breyer) have created a brief guide below that addresses how to hire a Phoenix car accident lawyer. If you would like more details you can order our Arizona Injury Book ($15.95 value but we offer it free to all Arizona injury victims) which goes into a lot more details on this Guide to Hiring a Phoenix car accident lawyer.

Step One - Ask questions to make sure you will get top royal treatment

When choosing the Phoenix car accident attorney that you are going to hire, you must remember that you will have a very close relationship with the lawyer you choose. You want to make sure that you feel very comfortable speaking to the lawyer and asking questions. You don't want to have a relationship with the attorney where you feel like you are asking dumb questions.

It is very important to make sure that you will receive what we call top royal treatment from the attorney that you choose to hire. You can know this by paying attention to the person who answers the phone, asking if they offer free consultations, and seeing how long it takes to set up an appointment to speak to the attorney.

When you do meet with the attorney ask them how many cases they take in each year. Ask them if you will be just another number. See what kind of policies they have in place to make sure that all your questions are answered. It is important to have a working relationship with the attorney and to also know the paralegal that you will be working with as well. Make sure that the law firm employs top notch paralegals. Ask what your relationship will be with the paralegal as well as the attorney. Ask about the policies that are implemented throughout the entire case so that you can make sure you can always get your questions answered. For our office, we feel that there are two aspects to every case. There is the legal aspect and the client-attorney relationship. When you come to our office, you will experience "The Breyer Law Difference." That is, you will not only get the best possibly representation but you will also see that client service is a top priority in our office.

Step Two - Suggestions of Questions to ask an attorney you are considering hiring

When you to speak to a Phoenix car accident lawyer, the attorney will ask you many different questions so that they can assess your injury claim. For our office, it is important that we have a clear picture of how the accident happened and the injuries sustained in the accident. We also may ask a lot of questions about prior accidents and prior injuries. The reason for this is that it gives us a better understanding of the whole pictures of your claim. Understanding the whole picture of your claim will lead to better advice for each individual person.

At your initial consultation, you should ask the attorney just as many questions as the attorney ask you! At least you should feel comfortable asking as many questions as you need to ask. Hiring the best Phoenix car accident attorney for your claim is very important and you must ask certain questions to make sure you are hiring an attorney with the best credentials.

Below are the questions that we recommend asking the attorney you are considering hiring:

1. Do you practice only injury and wrongful death law or other areas of law as well?

2. How long have you been practicing injury law?

3. How many Phoenix car accident cases have you handled?

4. How many cases have you handled and what is your success rate?

5. Are you a certified specialist in injury and wrongful death law?

6. What percentage of your cases settle and what percentage goes to trial?

7. Are you successful at trial?

8. Do you have a contingency fee agreement?

9. Have you received any awards based on your legal abilities?

10. Do you have any other accomplishments to prove you are the best - such as speaking at seminars in the community or written a book in injury law?

These are the questions that we think are very important to ask when interviewing an attorney. There are no right or wrong answers but the answers to these questions will give you more of an indication as to the qualifications of the attorney you are interviewing. As said above, you only get one shot at your car accident claim, so it is vital that you hire the right lawyer and that the attorney has the experience necessary to get you the best settlement possible for your claim.

Step Three - Choose an attorney you feel most comfortable with and that you trust

This last step is an individual decision. You will be working closely with your lawyer and it is important that you trust the lawyer you hire. At first, when you contact a Phoenix car accident lawyer listen carefully to the person who answers the phone, are they friendly, do they make an appointment right away for you to speak to the lawyer, do they provide a free consultation, and do they answer all your questions. When you meet the attorney ask yourself if you will be able to trust the advice that the attorney gives to you about your claim. An attorney is going to process your claim and it is vital that when the attorney gives you advice that you respect that attorney and trust their advice. Lastly, when you are seriously injured in a car accident, it is important to consult an attorney right away. It is better to consult a lawyer right away and have it be an instance where you do not need the services of a lawyer rather than down the road finding out that you will missed a deadline or a statute of limitations that you did not know about. After all, especially when you can have a free consultation why not at least speak to an attorney.

If you would like a free case evaluation, you can call Phoenix car accident lawyers at Breyer Law Offices, "The Husband and Wife Law Team" at any time. You can also find out more details about our Phoenix Car Accident Guide by requesting our book, "The 13 Biggest Mistakes that will destroy Your Arizona Personal Injury Claim: The Master Guide to Arizona Injury Claims." The book is free too so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain - which is finding out how to most protect your rights and claim.

Bikers are being killed in Phoenix car accidents far too often now. Based on the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) more than fifty percent of bike accidents occur on major roadways. Two percent of all traffic accidents and deaths involve bikers. To me, that is a pretty big number. Why do so many bikers get killed in car accidents?

Many people like to say it is because bikers do not wear helmets. The truth is that in my opinion it is because most motorists are ignorant of their obligations to cyclists. It probably is true that in Phoenix we have a lot more bikers for a lot longer period of time due to our nicer weather as well so we are likely to have more car accidents with bikers than other states.

Types of Car Accidents With Bikers

This is a common occurrence that we receive many calls on regarding Phoenix car accidents and bikers. The most common call we receive is where the driver of the motor vehicle is at an intersection and wants to turn right. The driver will look to the left to make sure no other cars are coming but will often forget to look to the right to see if a biker is coming across the cross walk in front of them. If a driver does not look back to the right and a biker is proceeding across the cross walk, when the driver turns right they crash into the biker. Most often times, it causes a very serious injury for the biker and the motorist indicates the biker came out of no where. Well, if you don't look to the right it will seem out of no where to you. This of course does not account for all car accidents with bikers. There are many different kinds.

Arizona Helmet Laws

Now in reference to the helmet laws in Arizona: Many people in Phoenix and the surrounding areas think that helmets are required when biking. Contrary to what most think, there is no law at all in Maricopa County that says a biker has to wear a helmet - this is true for cyclists and motorcycle riders.

The reports from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Instititute for Arizona areas, from Phoenix to Tucson, in certain areas, require children under 18 to wear helmets but there is no law at all that adults (anyone over 18) have to wear a helmet. In fact, there are very few cities across the United States that mandate that adults wear a helmet when biking or on a motorcycle. Of course, we encourage all cyclists and bikers to wear helmets but just want to point out that just because a biker does not wear a helmet does not mean his injury was his/her fault and that he/she cannot get compensated. Not wearing a helmet is what we call a defense argument. That is the defense attorney can argue that the biker would not have been hurt to the same degree had they been wearing their helmet. Often experts will be hired by both sides to prove/disprove what would have happened in terms of the cyclist's/biker's injuries had a helmet been worn at the time of the crash. This can get complicated but suffice to say if a helmet was not worn and there are serious injuries it does not mean that you do not have a claim. You still may well have a significant claim, it just depends on all the circumstances surrounding the accident and what the lawyer you hire can prove. That's why it is important to hire an attorney who specialized in injury and wrongful death.

Bike Accident Statistics

Based on reports from Phoenix Children's Hospital, more children die from bike accidents than from falls, guns, or poisoning combined. Head injuries are also a leading cause of serious injury in bike accidents. It is said that helmets can lower the risk of a brain injury by up to 85%.

Getting the Help of an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or your children are ever involved in a car accident and were the biker, it is best to call an experienced Phoenix Personal Injury Attorney so that you can review all of your options and your best course of action. An experienced Arizona accident lawyer can make sure that a victim is not hurt twice by doing a thorough investigation. The best personal injury lawyers will offer a free consultation, will explain the law and your legal course of action, and will make you feel comfortable so that you can ask any and all questions that you have with reference to your injury claim.

No Fee Guarantee discussed for individuals who are in a Phoenix Car Accident and do not know where to turn.

Welcome to this new blog. This is my first post to this blog. I am Attorney Alexis Breyer. Many know me as part of the Husband and Wife Law Team of Phoenix. The truth is we actually represent injured victims through out the Valley not just in Phoenix. Why is that? That is because
we have an excellent reputation and clients do not spend a lot of time in our office so it is worth taking the time to hire the best lawyer you can find.

As I was explaining to a client today, in my mind there are two aspects to every auto accident case. The first is the legal aspect. Of course, you want to hire a lawyer who has the best credentials and one you feel will be able to get you the best settlement possible. As well as the legal aspect the second aspect is the client relationship part. Many lawyers, and all business people alike, forget the importance of the client relationship. Having a great client relationship is very important, especially with the attorney-client relationship.

As lawyers, we give advice and if you as the client do not feel comfortable or trust your lawyer then that advice is not as meaningful. I spoke to one client today who said her lawyer was screaming at her. I've actually heard that before and even worse if you can believe it.

In any case, one thing that potential clients who have been in car accidents in Phoenix are surrounding areas ask us is, "What about our fee?" Of course, the fee is something that most people want to know about.

For that reason, we have made our fee a contingent fee agreement, where we do not get paid until the case settles. Even more than that we have posted Our "No Fee Guarantee." Basically this no fee guarantee means that if we do not get a settlement, we do not get paid. Yes, it is even in writing.

Here's the rules of our no fee guarantee
1.Our clients never pay us a single dollar out of their own pocket. We only get paid when there is a settlement- Imagine there are not many services where you can get top notch services and not pay anything unless there is a settlement - but that is how confident we are in our service
2.We will not take any advance payment from you. Our office advances all costs and we have the resources to hire nationally renowned experts. Our costs are paid out of the compensation that we win. - this part is actually really important as when hiring an attorney if they cannot afford the right experts it can make a big difference in the value of the claim
3.You can call us to discuss your case at no-cost whatsoever. You will never be asked for payment of any fee to discuss your case with our office.
4.We give all our clients a written fee agreement that guarantees that we get paid only when we receive the settlement check - you have it in writing!
5 .No hidden fees - ever.

More details follow on our no fee guarantee.

I look forward to sharing more stories and more about car accident law on this site. If at any time you have questions on the law, contact our office. It is always advised that if you are in a car accident that you speak to a Phoenix Personal Injury Attorney to discuss your options. Many cases do not require an attorney, but it is always worth consulting with an attorney. It is better to get an assessment of your case and you have the choice of whether or not you want to hire an attorney rather than you later finding out you missed an important deadline and now do not have the choice. And why not consult with us when the initial consultation is free.