Car Accidents Are Incredibly Common and Range from Minor to Life-Altering
Car accidents are one of the most common types in injury cases nationally. Cars are incredibly useful tools but they are capable of inflicting tremendous amounts of damage. Drivers often negligently operate vehicles while staring at their cell phones, drinking while driving, or driving while sleep deprived. Statistics show negligent drivers that cause accidents tend to also be exceeding the speed limit when they cause an accident. To make matters worse, settling the claim yourself can be lengthy and difficult and the at-fault driver’s company may not want to pay the full value of the claim. Unfortunately, these claims are incredibly common. Members of Goodnow|McKay are experienced with these claims and are here to help. We are committed to helping our clients recover fair compensation. We are often able to negotiate reasonable settlements with the responsible insurance companies, but we are willing to fight for our clients through trial if necessary.
Lawyers You Can Trust.
Common Types of Car Crash Legal Claims
Liability/Bodily Injury Claims: Liability claims (often referred to as bodily injury claims) are claims against the at-fault driver’s insurance company to pay for the damage the at-fault driver caused. This is the primary method of monetary recovery in automobile cases.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims: Every state in the country sets its own state minimum insurance coverage for drivers. Generally, drivers do not have enough insurance to pay for the damage they inflicted. According to the Insurance Information Institute, an estimated 12 percent of Arizona drivers may not even have insurance. So not only do many drivers have inadequate coverage, they may not have any insurance at all. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM for short) is an optional insurance coverage motorists can buy to supplement the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage. This means if a driver hits you and the driver has inadequate coverage or no coverage at all, your own UM/UIM policy will supplement or stand in for the at-fault driver’s insurance policy to help pay for the damages. This policy is optional in Arizona but may be one of the most important insurance policies you can purchase. Please read more about the importance of the policies here.
Medical Payments Coverage: Medical payments coverage (Med Pay for short) is an optional insurance coverage you can add to your insurance policy to help pay for automobile accident-related medical care. While this is optional it can be invaluable in helping accident victims pay for necessary medical care.
National Car Crash Statistics
The following statistics relate to 2016 United States car crash data provided by tahe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
- 7,277,00 car crashes.
- 2,177,00 car crash-related injuries.
- 34,439 car crash-related fatalities.
- 10,497 people who died in alcohol-impaired car crashes.
- 1 alcohol-related car crash fatality every 51 minutes.
- 3 children were killed every day in a car crash.
- 27% of car crashes involved speeding.
- 50% of car crashes occur in rural areas and 50% in urban areas.
