Automobile Accidents

• Uninsured / Underinsured (UM/UIM) Statutes of Limitation for Car and Motorcycle Accidents

  Geoff Trachtenberg | March 22, 2007 7:07 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  As of September 21, 2006, the statute of limitations was amended in Arizona for UM/UIM claims. Pursuant to ARS 12-555, as amended, insureds are now required to provide "written notice" to insurers that they are making a claim, and they must request arbitration or file suit within three years of such written notice.

• Loss of Services of a Homemaker is About $138,095 a Year

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 14, 2007 8:43 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  This report published by Rueters says that if "the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year."This is an important study because the issue often comes up about the value of domestic services in personal injury litigaton. Perhaps this data can be reasonably relied upon by an...

• What Kind of Lawyer Do You Want for Your Case?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 03, 2007 9:29 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  A New York personal injury lawyer was recently disbarred for basically "being an asshole." Although I can hardly endorse his brash style (e.g., telling the judge to "Kiss my tuchis!"), it is interesting what other New York attorneys had to say: "Personally, I find him abrasive, angry, tough, fierce, and frightening," says attorney Ron Kuby. "You know, the qualities you usually want in a...

• Arizona Civil Jury Verdicts for 2006

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 27, 2007 1:56 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  The numbers are out for civil jury verdicts and they are not pretty. Indeed, they are generally very low and, since they include commercial cases in the average (which can skew the numbers quite a lot), we pay more attention to the median numbers.2006 Reported Arizona VerdictsAverages vs. Medians {mso-displayed-decimal-separator:"\\."; mso-displayed-thousand-separator:"\\,";}@page {margin:1.0in...

• Supreme Scrooge: Arizona's Supreme Court Delivers a Serious Blow to Products Liability

  Geoff Trachtenberg | December 09, 2007 6:32 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Worried about lead in your toys this Christmas? You now have something else to worry about - if those toys harm or kill your children, your rights and remedies in the state of Arizona are under serious attack.This week, in State Farm Ins. Co. v. Premier Mfg. Sys. Inc., the Arizona Supreme Court held that, despite centuries-old common law "strict liability" in product liability cases, Arizona's...

• Court Permits Hospitals to Charge "Maximum Rates" to Those Who Can Least Afford It

  Geoff Trachtenberg | August 27, 2007 2:43 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Division One just handed down Banner Health v. Medical Savings Ins. Co., a terrible opinion which deals with whether a hospital can charge a patient and its "non-network insurer" full billed amounts historically paid by only two percent of all patients. The answer, for now, is yes in a two-to-one decision.Incidentally, by "non-network insurer," I mean to refer to an insurer who has no agreement...

• Parental Liability for Uninsured Minors That Cause Injury Accidents

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 18, 2007 10:39 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  In Arizona, if you are under 18, your application for an instruction permit or driver's license must be signed by at least one adult. The adult may be responsible for any negligence or willful misconduct when the minor is driving.The statute, A.R.S. 28-3160, provides that "[n]egligence or wilful misconduct of a minor when driving a motor vehicle on a highway is imputed to the person who signs...

• Court of Appeals Holds That Livestock Owner Did Not Breach the Standard of Care When it Failed to Warn or Fence Land Adjacent to a Roadway Through an Open Range

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 11, 2007 5:12 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  The other day, Division One affirmed the trial court's granting summary judgment to a livestock owner in connection with an accident occurring on a portion of unfenced "open range" land. The case, Brookover v. Roberts Enterprises, Inc., held that the plaintiff failed to show facts evidencing conduct below the applicable standard of "ordinary care."To get there the Court of Appeals seized upon...

• Statute of Limitations in Uninsured and Underinsured Personal Injury Claims

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 23, 2007 5:57 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Recently the Arizona Legislature enacted a new and shorter statute of limitations for UM/UIM claims. The applicable section is ARS 12-555.For uninsured motorist (UM) claims such claims, such claims must be made in writing within three years after the earliest of (i) the date you knew that the tortfeasor was uninsured; or (ii) the date you knows or should have known that coverage was denied by...

• So, You Say You Have "Full Coverage" -- Well, You Don't.

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 18, 2007 9:33 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Let me make this clear: there is no such thing as full coverage. It's really that simple.What types of coverage is there? There's first-party coverages, such as comprehensive, collision, medical payments, and underinsured and uninsured motorist. Then there's third-party coverages such as property damage and bodily injury. And then there are other coverages, such as rental and towing.But...