What are Arizona’s Automobile Negligence Laws?

Being involved in a car accident is not something that you ever want to happen to you or your family member, but knowing what could help get you the compensation and help you deserve will be important so you know what steps to take first.

In Arizona, many car accidents that are caused by negligence are covered by personal injury laws. Personal Injury Laws in Arizona will cover you if you are injured in a car wreck that is caused by negligence you will receive compensation for your injuries.

In this article, you will learn about what exactly negligence is, as well as multiple common laws in Arizona concerning Automobile negligence.

What is Automobile Negligence?

Automobile negligence simply means that you cause a vehicle accident because you show carelessness while driving. All over Arizona, thousands of automobile accidents happen every year and more often than not they are caused by someone’s negligence or carelessness.

Lack of care that can cause an automobile accident can range from simply texting while driving, or not obeying traffic signs.

What constitutes as Automobile Negligence?

Automobile negligence simply means that you cause a vehicle accident because you show carelessness while driving. All over Arizona, thousands of automobile accidents happen every year and more often than not they are caused by someone’s negligence or carelessness.

Lack of care that can cause an automobile accident can range from simply texting while driving, or not obeying traffic signs.

What constitutes as Automobile Negligence?

There are multiple reasons that a driver in an automobile accident can be seen as negligence and they include but are not limited to…

Texting while driving

There is currently a law in Arizona that bans texting and driving because of the dangers it can cause. Texting while driving distracts the driver and takes your focus from the road. It only takes 5 seconds of not paying attention to cause an awful and disastrous accident.

Talking on the phone while driving

Just like texting, talking on the phone takes your focus off of where it should be. Whether it be that you are having a conversation that distracts you while driving or simply taking the time to look away from the road to answer the phone, both can easily and quickly cause an accident.

Driving Drowsy

If you have worked all night and you are falling asleep at work and then decide to drive home, you can run into many issues because your brain is not presently operating at its full potential. Many times, driving while tired or exhausted can be comparable to driving while intoxicated and can be highly dangerous.

Eating or Drinking while driving

Just like texting and driving, eating, or drinking while driving takes your attention away from what it should be. While you are eating or drinking, you are very likely to turn away to grab your food or look down to grab your drink, even in those split seconds an accident can happen.

Failure to obey traffic signs such as stop signs

Negligence can also be seen in the form of being careless and not paying attention or obeying traffic signs. If you are distracted by texting, eating, or simply just have your mind on other things, you can fail to see a traffic sign and cause a large wreck.

Failure to control vehicle/Speeding

We have all been in a situation where you are late for work or have an emergency where you want to get there as fast as you can. What you don’t want to do is take to speeding to get to the destination quicker, because most times that can lead to you being careless and putting yourself and others in danger.

Under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Drugs or Alcohol easily impair your driving capabilities and put you in a completely different mindset. Never put yourself or others in danger by drinking and driving or doing drugs and driving, but instead call a friend or an Uber.

No matter what caused the accident, if it can be proven that you were showing carelessness or negligence, you can be sued by the other party.

If you are involved in an accident and you are the party that was injured by someone who was careless and negligent, you will be compensated for any damages that occurred. Damages could be physical damage to your car or possessions as well as personal injury caused by the collision.

If you are driving a vehicle and you are not paying attention to the road ahead, you can easily and quickly be pinned with negligence and be required to compensate those you injured or caused harm to. Always staying alert and aware of your surroundings is incredibly important to protect yourself and others from accidents that could have easily been prevented.

What is Gross Negligence?

Besides just ordinary carelessness and negligence, citizens that display reckless behavior that puts others in danger can be charged with gross negligence.

Gross Negligence simply means that you are showing more extreme behaviors and you were behaving recklessly on the road before the accident occurred.

What are Arizona’s Automobile Negligence Laws?

Arizona has multiple laws that will cover you and your family in the case of an accident or wreck caused by negligence. An automobile accident in Arizona determines who is at fault based on who was negligent and a variety of factors. There are a few key ways to help law enforcement and lawyers determine who was at fault.

  • Photos of the Accident
  • Witness Testimonies
  • Police Reports
  • Insurance Accident Report

If you or a loved one was involved in an accident, you can file for compensation up to two years after the date of the wreck. If there was a fatality caused by the wreck, the family of those that passed away have two years to file in order to get compensation.

There are multiple forms of compensation you could receive including medical compensation, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Lost wages would be calculated if you had to miss work because of the injuries you sustained from the accident.

Arizona bases their decision on a comparative negligence rule that simply states that whoever is at fault for the accident, takes the blame. For example, if a drunk driver hits you from behind, they are completely at fault and will be required to compensate accordingly. If both parties were partially at fault, law enforcement and insurance agencies will figure out just how much each party was at fault and figure out compensation.

Conclusion

If you or a loved one is involved in a terrible accident, knowing about the Arizona automobile negligence laws will help you figure out what steps to take next. The Arizona laws are specifically created to help protect you and your family from unjust laws and helps you stay protected in the case of a major accident.

Negligence is anytime an accident is caused by someone being careless or reckless and there are multiple factors that are taken into account o figure out who was at fault. Eyewitness reports, police reports, pictures, and accident briefs will help lawyers and law enforcement reach a conclusion on fault.

No matter how or why the wreck was caused, if you or a loved one was involved in a wreck that resulted in serious injury, it is wise to reach out to a personal injury lawyer to help get you the compensation you deserve. Personal Injury Lawyers know the law backward and forwards and will help to make sure you and your family are well taken care of.

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