FAQ

General

What types of cases do we handle here at Skiver Bradley?

We specialize in representing people who were injured by tractor trailers or any other type of commercial motor vehicle. We handle all types of truck accident cases including semi-tractor trailers, big rigs or 18 wheelers, as well as if you were injured by a box truck. We handle all types of serious injury and catastrophic loss including traumatic brain injuries or concussions. We also handle cases involving serious injuries such as the loss of a limb, quadriplegia or paraplegia. Any type of injury that has changed your life as you know it, or resulted in the wrongful death of a loved one. We would be willing to take your case all the way to trial if necessary to help you obtain justice and make the community safer for everyone. Most of our cases do settle before trial because of the time and effort we put into them.

How do you find the best attorney?

You may be wondering how do I find the best attorney? Attorneys are not allowed to advertise themselves as being the best attorney. The most important thing to do is find an attorney who works well with you. Someone that you feel comfortable with because you’re going to be working with them over the next several months if not several years of your life dealing with this. And we understand that this is going to be one of the toughest times in your life and we will work with you to try to bring you closure and get you justice for your case.

Do I need a Lawyer?

You may be asking yourself, do I need a lawyer? That’s a question that only you can answer. The things that you need to consider when deciding whether to hire an attorney or not, is whether the injuries that you’ve suffered are serious. Whether you feel comfortable dealing with the insurance companies. One of the things that you need to remember is the insurance companies main goal is to pay out as little as possible. They are trying to increase their profits for their shareholders. So with that in mind they are obviously going to do everything that they can to prevent you from getting a full recovery. It’s our job as personal injury attorneys to make sure that you get justice and get full and fair compensation for the injuries that you’ve suffered.

How soon should you contact an attorney?

You should contact an attorney as quickly as possible.
It allows us to get involved and get to work for you, to make sure that we collect all of the evidence, locate all the witnesses before they disappear. The sooner that we can get involved the better chance we’ll have at prosecuting your claim for you to make sure that you get the justice that you deserve.

Do you give a statement to the insurance company?

You may be wondering if you should give a statement to the insurance company. It’s best not to give a statement until you have hired an attorney to represent you because anything that you say to the insurance company will likely be used against you in the future. So to make sure that you are presenting your case in the best way possible its best to hire an attorney before you give a recorded statement because then they can be present with you and make sure you understand the questions that are being asked and that you are giving proper answers that support your case and the evidence that will be presented.

How is the value of a case determined?

You may be wondering how the value of a case is determined. The value of a case is determined by what caused the damage in the first place and the impact it has had on you and your family. Also taken into consideration are things like lost wages, your medical bills and property damage, as well as your pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. So these are the main considerations in determining the value of a case.

When is the best time to get a lawyer involved in a case?

You may be wondering when is the best time to get a lawyer involved in your case. The best time is right from the start so all the evidence can be collected before it disappears. Also to make sure you are not giving statements to the other side that could end up hurting your case. So the sooner you can get a lawyer involved in your case the better. Especially if they work on a contingency fee like we do here at Skiver Bradley. Its best to get them involved from the start because it wont end up costing you anymore money.

What should you do after you’ve been in a car accident?

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you are ok and everyone else in your car is ok. The next thing you need to do is to call 911 to make sure that the police and other emergency personal respond to the scene. After you’ve done that and if it’s safe for you to do so you should get out of your vehicle and take pictures of the crash scene so that you have them for the future. Next thing you want to do is locate any witnesses that may have been around and seen what occurred, get their contact information so we can get ahold of them in the future. Finally, after you speak to the police and tell them what happened in the crash you need to find a personal injury attorney and that’s when we can come into the picture and help you.

If I have been injured in a car crash, should I give a statement to the other driver’s insurance company?

This depends on whether you intend to hire a lawyer or attempt to handle your own case.

If you plan on handling your own case and want to get it settled without filing a lawsuit. the insurance company may refuse to settle with you without a recorded statement. They know that if you do not have a lawyer you are less likely to file a lawsuit, so they will generally put additional requirements on you to settle, and they typically offer you less money.

If you intend to hire a lawyer, then it is best to wait until you are represented, to give a recorded statement. They are purposefully trying to reach you before you retain an attorney so they can get you to say something in a recording that will hurt your case. They will also try to get personal, private information from you that they are not entitled to. You should assume that anything you say can and will be used against you. Generally, insurance adjusters handle thousands upon thousands of these cases, so they know what they want you to say to help their defense of your claim. They are not trying to help you. They try to get these recorded statements early on, before you realize the full extent of your injuries. They do this so they can use it against you when you say “my neck starting hurting a week after the crash,” and they can pull out the recording and say you never mentioned a neck injury in your recorded statement. They know injuries can take days, weeks, or even months to make themselves known to the injured person and they want to take advantage of that fact. They may even offer you money to settle immediately, because they do not want you to realize the full value of your claim, Thus it is better to decline a recorded statement and have a lawyer present with you when you do give one, for liability purposes only. so the injury can be pointed out on the recorded statement.

Personal Injury

How are catastrophic injuries caused?

It depends on the type of case. It can be caused by trucks, trucking companies, or by regular car wrecks out on the roads. It can also be due to medical and dental malpractice and unsafe construction sites. You can also have a catastrophic injury from a trip and fall at a restaurant, grocery or other retail store. The main thing to remember when you are involved in a catastrophic injury case is to get a lawyer involved as quick as possible so you can make sure that all of the evidence is secured and that you can present your case in the best way possible.

Why do we only handle catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases?

Because those are the most important cases to our community. We believe that the safer we can make trucking companies and truck drivers, hospitals and doctors, or even local retailers like grocery stores and restaurants, is the best way to help our community to make sure that it does not happen to someone else again in the future.

How long do you have to make a claim for the injuries you have suffered?

The statute of limitations in Arizona is two years, which means you have two years to file your lawsuit to bring the claim for the injuries you have suffered.

Can you get treatment for your injuries if you do not have health insurance?

There are caring doctors throughout the state that are willing to wait be paid so that the victims of these accidents and crashes can get the treatment that they need to get better. We work with many of these doctors to make sure that our clients are taken care of and get back to health while we pursue their claim to try and get them justice.

What kind of compensation can I seek in a personal injury case?

If you have suffered an injury or damage as the result of someone else’s negligent or intentional acts you have the right to seek damages through a civil lawsuit. As a plaintiff in a personal injury case you can seek damages (compensation) from whoever caused or contributed to causing those injuries and damages.

There are generally two categories of damages for personal injury cases, compensatory and punitive (if the conduct of the defendant is bad enough to warrant them). Both compensatory and punitive damages are awarded directly to the injured party or plaintiff.

When the liability or fault portion of your case is proven, the judge and/or jury will then look at any injuries or damages that were caused by the actions or inactions of the defendant(s).

These compensatory damages may include losses and damages such as medical bills, lost earnings or wages, cost of future care, and other factors such as: the nature, extent, and duration of your injury; the pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement, and anxiety you have experienced or are likely to experience in the future; loss of love, care, affection, companionship; and loss of enjoyment of life.

Punitive damages are awarded to punish the wrongdoer for certain types of wrongful or despicable behavior. Punitive damages are only awarded in a small number of cases and are not tied to the type of harm that was suffered, but to the conduct of the defendant(s).

Damages are to reimburse an injured party in almost all injury cases, such as medical malpractice, dental malpractice, auto or truck accidents, commercial vehicle crashes, amputations or loss of limbs, paraplegia, quadriplegia, brain damage, slip and fall or trip and fall cases.

Commercial Truck Accidents

How are truck accidents investigated and conducted?

It’s very important for you to understand that if you have been in a wreck with a tractor trailer, big rig or a semi that you contact an attorney who is familiar with trucking wrecks…THIS IS CRUCIAL!!! The defendants have a team of lawyers on their side who they will dispatch out, that same day as the wreck to do an investigation, to take photographs, to speak with witnesses, the driver and a company representative to make sure they have their story straight, so they can defend their case in the strongest way possible. Thus you want a trucking lawyer on your side who is going to take the same approach and get an investigator out there as soon as possible, to take photographs, to speak with any witnesses that may have seen anything in regards to the crash. Also to get a preservation letter out to make sure the defense does not destroy documents that could be crucial to your case. Many of these trucking companies have document retention policies which allow them to destroy records shortly after a crash like this. It’s important that a preservation letter get sent. That your lawyer knows what they are looking for like driver logs and driver qualifications file to make sure that the driver was qualified and properly trained and that they were supervised by the defendant trucking company. IT”S CRUCIAL that you get a plaintiff’s trucking lawyer involved as soon as possible in your case.

How do you handle cases against large trucking companies and insurance companies?

The best way you can go up against a tractor trailer company and their insurance company that has billions of dollars to spend on their defense Is to make sure your case is presented properly and all the evidence is preserved. It’s CRUCIAL to hire a trucking accident lawyer as soon as possible so they can get out there and try to level the playing field for you against the large trucking corporations and the insurance companies that defend them.

What makes trucking accidents so dangerous?

The rate of fatalities since 2017 from truck wrecks has increased by 9%. That’s because these trucks are so large, they can be 53’ or longer, plus the fact that when they are loaded they can be up to 80,000 pounds each. Also if the loads are not loaded properly into the truck they can be off balance which can cause them to tip over. It’s a lot harder to maneuver those trucks than a regular vehicle so they have to leave a lot of stopping distance. It can take one of those trucks a football length or longer to come to a complete stop when they are driving on a highway. If you are ever involved in a crash with a truck like that, please contact a trucking accident lawyer as soon as possible to make sure that you get the representation that you need.

Who do you sue if you’re involved in a wreck with a truck driver?

You are going to want to sue not only the truck driver but also the company for the truck that they were driving. Often times there is negligence involved in the hiring, training and supervision of truck drivers and in the negligence of truck drivers on the road. You want to be sure that your interests are properly protected.

Who is responsible for a crash if you’re in the blind spot of a semi-truck?

A professional truck driver is required to know what is going on around their truck at all times. They must be paying attention to their bloodspot and not change lanes if there is a vehicle there, or turn if it is unsafe to do so. It may be the truck driver’s fault for the wreak in your case. The only way to know that is to gain all the evidence necessary to make that determination. The best way to go about that is to hire a trucking accident lawyer.