Personal Injury
expert attorneys of Arizona, Ready to Represent You.
Personal injury is normally thought of as motor vehicle accidents which result in some type of physical and/ or mental injury. However, there are many other types of injuries which can occur from non-motor vehicle situations. These can include anything from assault, premises liability (i.e. inadequate security, slip and falls, etc), products which malfunction and cause injury, medical malpractice by doctors, drug company liability, construction defects, nursing home injury, birth injury, assaults, sexual assaults, and child molestation. This is not an all inclusive list, but merely includes other types of cases which would fall under the category of “Personal Injury”.
Personal injury usually involves any injury to you caused primarily by the intent or negligence of another. “Negligence” is simply the failure of a person to act as a reasonable, careful person would. It also includes not doing an act which a reasonably careful person would do. Each potential case is carefully evaluated by The Cantor Simon Law Group to determine if we can recover monetary damages for you. In order to recover damages, there must be evidence that the wrongdoer”s negligence was greater than any negligence which may have occurred on your part.
While any licensed lawyer can file a personal injury suit, the outcome of that case may ultimately depend on whether the law firm you choose has the know-how and resources available to handle your case. It takes very little skill to obtain a settlement of $50,000 on a case that was worth $100,000. However, the attraction of a lawyer”s fee being reduced is the allure that some law firms will use in order to secure clients. For example: most lawyers will charge 33% as their fee. This means that a $100,000 settlement would leave you with $66,667. However, some “reduced fee” law firms would charge only 25%. If they settle the $100,000 case for a mere $50,000, this would leave you with only $37,500 in your pocket. This would be a net loss to you of almost $30,000 for picking a law firm based on a lower fee. As the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for”.
Personal Injury can be caused by numerous factors. At The Cantor Simon Law Group, we represent clients who have been injured due to a myriad of reasons. Please select a category below:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Personal Injury
- Medical Malpractice
- Wrongful Death
- Brain Damage
- Birth Injury
- Nursing Home Injury
- Workplace Liability
- Products Liability
- Construction Defect & Premises Liability
- Contract & Business Disputes
- Government Liability
In even simple personal injury cases which involve permanent impairment, settlements can range anywhere from five figures up to seven figures plus. In most cases, the important factors when ascertaining the level of settlement is specifically based on the amount of medical billspain and suffering, life care costs and employment damages.
Medical Bills
Medical bills often can run well above $100,000 if there was extended hospitalization with subsequent physical and vocational rehabilitation. Getting these bills paid is often the primary goal of the injury victim”s family. Often when another person is at fault for the injury, their insurance companies adjustor will attempt to approach you as soon as possible after the injury in order to offer a settlement. These settlements will include “taking care of all of the medical bills”. It is very tempting to sign papers and accept the settlement; however, they will not adequately pay for the years of life care that may follow along with vocational training which will be necessary after the immediate hospital stay. Never accept any type of settlement with an adjustor before speaking with a qualified attorney who handles personal injury cases. Remember, serious injury cases are different than other types of cases. Simply settling for three or five times the medical bills is not an option with serious injury cases. Many times when individuals are comatose, the medical bills will remain steady and constant, yet the damage to their future lives is increased dramatically with every day they are in a coma. Make sure you contact The Cantor Simon Law Group immediately if you are approached by an insurance adjustor, or if another attorney has suggested that you settle for “three times the medical bills”.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering calculations are often combined with employment losses and damage to ones family life. Usually, in order to ascertain these types of damages, you will have to look at the lifelong impact on the personal injury victim. It is important to focus on how much the life care costs will be along with the employment losses and damage to the victim”s family life. Many times the award given by juries regarding pain and suffering can be larger than all the other damages combined. This is sometimes due to the fact that even though somebody”s future earning capacities would total $1,000,000 in their lifetime, it is not worth any amount of money to live in constant pain, with a vastly lowered IQ and in a partially vegetative state. The same holds true even if the injury still allows the victim to work, but his life enjoyment is greatly reduced.
Life Care Costs
Life care costsare often defined as not only the future medical bills, but also the amount it will cost to secure rehabilitative treatment and in-home care. Many times the vast majority of the in-home care will be conducted by family members. This does not mean that this care was “free” or “without cost”. Family care can be even more taxing and costly to the family unit due to the fact that it may remove other members from their employment. It is very important to your case to secure the proper experts and produce the right testimony during the settlement phase or, if necessary, at trial. At The Cantor Simon Law Group we will secure the top life care experts to work on your family member”s case.
Employment Damages
Employment damages also need to be calculated when dealing with a personal injury case. Many times a person will no longer be qualified to perform the work they were doing prior to their injury. However, they may be able to secure employment in a different field. Many times this “secondary” field of employment pays a much lower wage than what they were previously making. In severe cases, victims are often unable to work at all. In other cases, the injury has occurred to a child prior to them being given the opportunity to go to college, or receive training to secure a job. Determining their losses requires a highly skilled law firm, such as The Cantor Simon Law Group.
Sometimes an injury can be more discrete, and not quite as noticeable. Although the personal injury victim may secure employment, they often lose that employment shortly thereafter, or they do not get promoted within their workplace. Again, it takes a highly skilled lawyer to pinpoint these facts when determining the amount of employment losses.
Once an individual has suffered an injury, even if it is a slight injury, often their employment lifespan will be shorter than before. In order to calculate damages, it is necessary to look at what a person was making and what they would have made prior to their injury. You then look to what they will now make, and you calculate how much money will be lost over the course of their working career. You also must factor in if they have a shorter working career than they would have had before the injury. Many times a true number can be calculated by utilizing a multiplier dealing with inflation and an increase in a certain occupations” market value. It is important to have the proper vocational expert calculate these types of future losses.
Although many times this may not be the largest number requested when calculating damages, it is often the most understandable number to the average person. The average juror will understand “the personal injury victim will lose “x” amount of dollars over his lifetime, and his family will never see this money”. When this number is combined with existing medical bills and projected future life care costs, it will magnify the pain and suffering award greatly. It is easy for a jury to understand how a victim once destined for a full and rewarding personal and employment life fears he will be forced to settle for less. The juror will understand that it is their role to make sure that person does not have to “settle for less”. At The Cantor Simon Law Group, we also make sure that the insurance company knows this too and we will increase your loved one”s chances of a large settlement prior to any type of trial.
At The Cantor Simon Law Group, The Firm has over 200 combined jury trials in all types of cases. Our Firm’s lawyers have a combined 70 years of legal experience! While other attorneys claim to be aggressive, The Cantor Simon Law Group truly is “Beyond Aggressive!!!” Not only will we fight for you to secure the highest settlement possible, we will also assist you with doctors treatment and medical liens which will prevent any out of pocket costs being paid by you, up front. If you wish to contact us, you can call us at our office, or you can click on “Contact Our Firm” and E-mail us directly. At The Cantor Simon Law Group, you are not just a client, but a friend in need.