Frequently Asked Questions

First, seek medical attention if you are suffering from a personal injury to ensure you are treated promptly and competently. This should be your first priority because everything you tell a healthcare provider will be written down and will later be read by everyone involved in any future personal injury claims arising from the accident. Therefore, remember these rules:

• Be accurate.
• Do not exaggerate.
• Be thorough. That is, do not skip over symptoms and do not ignore pains. (Insurance companies looking at medical records often conclude that if it’s not written down, it does not exist.)
• Follow-up with appointments. Appointments or missed appointments are often interpreted by an insurer as the patient is symptom-free.
• Do not over-treat. Make sure you are progressing and feeling better, and double-check with your family doctor about the need for treatment if you find that you are not getting better.

Second, make notes to yourself as to what happened with as much detail as you can recall. It is important to be very accurate, since it may be days or weeks before you are interviewed about the events, either by an insurer or an attorney.

Third, make contact with the party who you believe is at fault for the accident. Usually, you will be referred to an insurance company. They will want details of the accident and all medical and lost income information in order to evaluate whether you have a personal injury claim, and, if so, what to offer in settlement. If you are uncomfortable doing this, it may be a good time to contact an attorney experienced in personal injury claims.

Fourth, wait until your doctor has accurately diagnosed your medical condition, provided his or her views about your condition, and prescribed a recommended treatment before you seriously discuss settling a claim. We recommend talking to a personal injury attorney if you have any concerns about the reasonableness of a settlement offer.

When you are injured and the person who may be at fault has insurance, it is common practice for the insurance company to do an investigation and to gather information with which to evaluate a personal injury claim. Taking statements is a routine part of that. Usually, these statements are recorded. You have nothing to be concerned about giving such a statement so long as you follow these rules:

First, before giving any statement, take time to think about what happened and recall the events in order. It is best to write down exactly what happened with as much detail as you can remember. Because you will be asked many months even years later exactly what happened, it is important that you prepare a record that will jog your memory.

Second, when you give your statement, answer only the questions that are asked. Answer truthfully, avoid guessing at things that you do not know, and do not guess at things. If you do not know or do not remember, say so. If you are talcing medication that affects your ability to remember, say so.

Third, while you are being interviewed ask for a copy of the transcript of the interview, so that you can look at it again and make any changes. Sometimes questions will be asked that you have not thought of before and it takes a little reflection before you answer. If you can review your statement and make notes on it for clarification, you get the benefit of that reflection.

Do not use the product again. Keep others from using it and preserve it as best as you can. Product failures present complex questions that usually require an inspection, and an evaluation by engineers and other experts in the field. It is critical that they are able to examine the product in the condition that it was at the time of the failure and/or injury occurred. On this type of claim, you will definitely need professional help from an attorney with products liability experience.

Maybe. For minor injuries that heal without any permanent or long-term effects, you may be able to reach a settlement that you believe is fair without hiring a personal injury lawyer. If an insurer admits that its policyholder is at fault, you can usually negotiate a fair settlement by yourself.

However, it may be worthwhile for you to pay for an hour of an attorney’s time to get advice as to the reasonableness of a settlement offer.

If the insurer questions whether the other party is at fault or believes your injuries were either not caused by the event or are not as serious as you believe them to be, you will probably need a personal injury attorney.

For serious injuries or death, it is a good idea to hire a personal injury attorney soon after the event. Evidence will need to be preserved and an investigation conducted when the facts are fresh. This is particularly true if a truck was involved, there was an aviation accident or a product failure.

Most lawyers working for folks who are hurt do so on a contingency fee basis; that is, they will not be paid unless they can reach a settlement and then they will take a percentage of what is collected as fees. The percentage is something you can negotiate; it’s usually between 25-40 percent, depending on how complex the case is and what is at stake. In some matters, you may decide to negotiate for a fee based upon time worked at an hourly rate. However, you will have to pay that amount win or lose and probably on a monthly basis. In addition to fees, you will have to reimburse the attorney for out-of-pocket expenses, regardless of the outcome.

98 percent of all personal injury claims are settled without actually going into a courtroom and presenting evidence. Nevertheless, you will probably have to give testimony under oath before trial in order for the parties involved to understand the nature of the claim, as well as evaluate injuries and losses which happen because of the injury. Sometimes personal injury claims settle without ever even having to file suit, but even that requires giving a great deal of information to an insurance company, so that it can evaluate its risks and potential losses should the matter go to trial.

Advertising and the internet have changed the way in which we find professional services. A generation ago, word of mouth was the best way to find a skilled professional. A professional in one specialty will refer patients or clients to another who has the respect of his peers. That is still a good way to go. Ask an attorney you know about the reputation of another.

Ask about experience in personal injury, whether they’ve done work for both injured people and insurance companies, how many trials they have had, what fees they charge, what’s the most recent success they’ve had, what’s the most recent loss they’ve suffered, how available are they to answer questions and how long will it take. Any other question that makes you feel comfortable with the lawyer should be asked. It is important to ask questions, because the fact is once an attorney gets a license, he or she can practice in any area without any experience. Many learn on the job, some with experienced mentors, others by trial and error.

Anyone with an advertising budget and marketing skills can put themselves out to the public as one who is accepting clients in different areas of law – from divorce to criminal defense, workers compensation, employment issues, traffic offenses, business formation or tax advice. A slick ad doesn’t qualify an attorney in the field in which he or she advertises.

The State Bar of Arizona certifies specialists in personal injury litigation. The certification means they have the respect of the judges before whom they appear, they are vetted by other qualified attorneys, including their opponents in court, and have several trials under their belt. There are more than 24,000 licensed attorneys, however perhaps 140 lawyers are certified in personal injury litigation.

Robert L. Greer is certified as a specialist in personal injury and wrongful death litigation with decades of experience in the courtroom.

Arizona is a “no-fault” State, meaning that the only grounds necessary to obtain a divorce in Arizona is that the marriage is “irretrievably broken” with “no reasonable prospect for reconciliation.”

In Arizona, the grounds for a legal annulment are that the marriage is null and void due to some impediment that prevented a valid marriage from ever taking place. Generally, the grounds for annulment are difficult to show except in very specific, narrow circumstances.

The residency requirement is that at least one of the parties (not necessarily both) have lived in the State of Arizona for at least ninety (90) days prior to filing the divorce action. If only one of the parties lives in Arizona, and the other party has not lived here at all, the Court will be limited in what property it can divide and what orders it can enter against the non-resident spouse, but the Court can dissolve the marriage for the person who lives here.

If your spouse has been physically abusive to you, you can obtain an Order of Protection from the Court before or after filing for a divorce. You do not need to also file a divorce action to obtain an Order of Protection, although they can be filed at the same time.

Currently, there is no legal significance with respect to whether the husband or the wife files the Petition.

Arizona offers Conciliation Services free of charge through the Court system. This process can be used by either party in an attempt to reconcile. If reconciliation is not an option, Conciliation Court will also help you and your spouse mediate child custody and visitation issues. Mediation is an attempt to get the parties to agree to custody and a parenting-time plan. Conciliation services do not discuss or mediate support or property issues, although private mediation services are available for those issues at a cost to you.

There is no legal presumption in Arizona favoring either parent for custody of the children, nor is there any legal presumption in favor of joint custody or sole custody. Each case is determined on its own merits. There are two types of joint custody, “joint legal” and “joint physical” custody. Joint legal custody typically means that one parent is the “primary residential parent” and generally has the children more of the time, subject to visitation by the other parent. Joint physical custody typically means an almost 50-50 division of the children’s time. In either type of joint custody, the parents are expected to communicate and confer regarding major decisions about the children, such as education, childcare, medical and religious decisions. The Court requires both parents to attend mediation at Court, without attorneys, to discuss the settlement of all custody and visitation disagreements before those issues can be heard by a judge.

No divorce can be granted until at least 60 days have passed since your spouse is served with the Petition. This is a minimum period of time. Most uncontested matters are completed three to four months after service. Contested matters can take as long as 12-18 months or longer, depending on the court’s calendar.

If you and your spouse can agree to the details of visitation, the court will usually approve the plan you have worked out. Visitation must state specific schedules including days and times, and must account for major holidays.

Even if you and your spouse both agree you want a divorce, the divorce is only “uncontested” if you agree to every provision concerning custody, visitation, support, maintenance, and division of property and debts. If any of these matters are disputed and cannot be settled through negotiations with the attorneys, your divorce is NOT uncontested and a trial will be necessary.

Child Support Guidelines have been prepared for the State of Arizona which apportions child support based on the gross incomes of both parents. The Guidelines may be deviated from if both parties agree and if a Court determines that a deviation is in the best interests of the children.

There is no fixed way to determine how you or the Court should decide how to divide your property, although our law says the division should be “equitable” and equitable almost always means equal. Other factors include whether or not property belongs to the marital community or is the sole and separate property of one of the parties. If you and your spouse agree on a division of property, the Court will usually approve your written agreement. If you cannot agree, the Court will equitably divide your property and debts.