You were hurt. Someone else caused it. Now what?

Seek medical care first, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline can mask serious injuries including concussions, internal bleeding, and spinal trauma.

Then document what you remember in writing, report the accident to insurance, and call an attorney before giving any recorded statement. The first 24 to 48 hours can significantly affect your injury claim.

Some serious injuries do not produce obvious symptoms immediately. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries may not fully appear for 24 to 72 hours. Soft tissue injuries often worsen over the first several days as inflammation sets in.

This is why prompt medical attention matters even when you feel fine. Medical records document the connection between the accident and your injuries.

Avoid saying you are fine, assigning fault, speculating, or giving a recorded statement before speaking with an attorney. Insurance adjusters are trained to elicit statements that limit the company's payout.

"I don't remember" and "I don't know" are valid answers when they are true.

Yes, but a treatment gap creates a challenge. Insurance companies use delays to argue that your injuries were not caused by the accident or were not serious.

If you have not sought treatment yet, go now. A delayed start is recoverable; waiting months makes a claim harder to maximize.

Injury victims may recover past and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property damage.

In wrongful death cases, surviving family members may recover funeral expenses, financial support the deceased would have provided, loss of companionship, and in some cases punitive damages.

Yes. Arizona follows pure comparative fault, meaning you can recover damages even if you were partially at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but it is not eliminated.

Insurance companies will try to assign you as much fault as possible. An attorney makes sure fault is based on evidence, not the insurer's self-serving interpretation.

No, not before speaking with an attorney. You have no legal obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Their adjuster is working to minimize liability, not to help you.

Arizona's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the accident date. Wrongful death claims generally run two years from the date of death.

If a government entity is involved, a 180-day notice of claim deadline may apply. Do not wait to preserve evidence or evaluate your rights.

Commercial trucking accidents involve federal FMCSA regulations, multiple potentially liable parties, large insurance policies, and time-sensitive records.

Electronic logging data, black box records, driver qualification files, maintenance logs, and hours-of-service records must be preserved quickly through a litigation hold.

Under Arizona's Wrongful Death Act, eligible claimants generally include a surviving spouse, children, parents, and the personal representative of the estate.

Recoverable damages can include funeral expenses, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and grief and emotional suffering.

Drivers must yield to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks and exercise reasonable care around cyclists. If you are injured, you can pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, future care, and permanent disability or disfigurement.

Yes. A serious accident involving significant injury or death can result in criminal charges ranging from endangerment to aggravated assault, negligent homicide, manslaughter, or second-degree murder.

If investigators are asking questions, exercise your right to remain silent and call an attorney before speaking to law enforcement.

An accident reconstruction is a forensic analysis of how a crash occurred, using physical evidence, vehicle damage, road markings, witness accounts, and event data recorder information.

Reconstructions are critical when fault is disputed, the police investigation is incomplete, serious injury or death occurred, or commercial or criminal stakes are high.