Recent Blog Posts in June 2009

Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior. 63% of people killed in accidents are not wearing seat belts. Wearing a seat belt is still the single most effective thing we can do to save lives and reduce serious  accidents causing horrible spinal cord or brain injuries on America’s roadways.

Data suggests that education alone is not doing the job with young people, especially males ages 16 to 25, ­ the age group least likely to buckle up. They simply do not believe they will be injured or killed. Yet they are the nation’s highest-risk drivers.  Statistics show they are involved in more drunk driving, more speeding, and more over all crashes. Neither education nor fear of injury or death is strong enough to motivate this tough to reach group.

It takes strong seat belt laws and high visibility enforcement campaigns to get the public to buckle up.  Arizona law requires all front seat occupants to have a lap and shoulder belt properly adjusted and fastened while the vehicle is in motion.  The driver will be issued a citation for all passengers under the age of 16 sitting in the front seat and not wearing a seat belt properly.

Seat belts save lives!  In Arizona, “Click it or Ticket”. 

www.PhillipsAndLyon.com 

http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/seat_belts.html

http://www.azgohs.gov/quick_links/seat_belts_and_children/safety_inside_the_vehicle.asp

There are many different types of insurance coverages, and many misconceptions regarding what constitutes “full coverage” on your insurance policy.  You may think you have full coverage but in many instances that is not the case.  The following are the basic coverages that are available and each of them are very important:

Liability Bodily Injury – In Arizona the minimum coverage required is $15,000.00 per person/$30,000.00 per accident.  If you or someone driving your vehicle are legally liable for an auto accident this coverage will pay for the other parties injuries.

Collision - This coverage will help pay to repair or replace your vehicle after an auto accident.  This coverage is usually subject to a deductible.

Comprehensive - This coverage will help pay to repair or replace your vehicle from damages not resulting from an auto accident such as a theft, glass breakage, or damage caused by storms. This coverage is usually subject to a deductible.

Uninsured Motorist - This coverage applies to you your passengers and blood relatives living in your household when injured by an uninsured motorist.  You need not be in a vehicle to use this coverage in Arizona.    

Underinsured Motorist – The same group of people are covered here as were covered in the Uninsured motorist situation.  It comes into play when the responsible party had coverage but  did  not have enough insurance coverage to pay the full value of your injury claim.

Medical Payments - This coverage will help pay medical bills incurred as a result of an injury occurring in connection with the use of an automobile and includes the insured, passengers in the insured’s vehicle and blood relatives living in the household.

If you are unsure of which coverages are included in your current policy contact your agent or look at your policy declaration page. Remember, accidents are not planned and can cause horrible injuries.   Review your coverage now not after a serious accident.

www.PhillipsandLyon.com

Most personal injury and accident cases can be settled without the parties actually going to court. However, a number of cases, good and bad, are taken to trial before a panel of impartial jurors. The Arizona courts have taken the lead in making that process as efficient as possible.

The most important change is that Arizona allows jurors to discuss the case as the case moves along so long as they are all together and the new rules also encourages the jurors to submit questions to witnesses as the case proceeds. The rule in Arizona previously was that jurors could not talk about the accident case until they were finished hearing all the witnesses and then they met in secret to discuss the case and make their final decision. Previously, most courts also followed the rule that jurors can only hear what the attorneys want them to hear and cannot ask any questions.

The judges and the jury members who have been in cases using these new rules have all been very much in favor of the changes and have reported that the new rules help the jury understand the case while at the same time not reaching a decision until the case is over.

Many states are now considering these and other changes made in Arizona with the idea of making jury service more rewarding for all participants.

Phillips and Lyon is a highly respected name in accident injury law in Arizona.  We have 8 convenient Arizona locations!

Henry Hester

Attorney for Phillips and Lyonrd Certified Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Specialist

Have you been in a motor vehicle accident?  Did you sustain a personal injury?  Did you incur costly medical and auto bills? 

Did you know, 222,814 injured Americans were denied insurance claims and benefits in 2007 according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners?   

Did you know, over 1/3 of these personal injury victims were persons who filed claims for insurance benefits following an accident injury?

Did you know, that the personal injury attorneys at Phillips and Lyon will fight the insurance companies to get you the money you deserve? 

Did you know, a free claim review by a Senior Attorneys at Phillips and Lyon is only a click away?   

If you are looking for a personal injury attorney who has a proven track record of success in obtaining substantial results for Arizona accident victims, please contact us today.

Read Article : accidentattorneys.com 

Our client lost his son in a motor vehicle collision and attempted to stack the uninsured motorist coverage’s on all 5 of his household policies. He was prevented from doing so because State Farm had a valid “anti-stacking” clause in the policy. It became apparent that no additional benefit was provided to our client or his resident relatives for paying U coverage premiums on the rest of the household cars. Our client had not been informed by State Farm either orally or in writing how Martin changed his policy. He further expressed the view that he didn’t want to insure any and all guests who rode in his cars but was only interested in insuring himself and his family members who lived under his roof. ”

Let the Arizona injury lawyers  at Phillips and Lyon protect your right of fair compensation against insurance company manipulation and bad faith practices. Contact us to receive the sound legal advice and dedicated representation you need. We have offices in Phoenix and seven other convenient Arizona locations.

It seems like Phoenix and surrounding cities have installed photo radar everywhere.  Is it even worth it to speed any more?  Since Arizona is one of the most dangerous cities to drive, they have installed these cameras trying to reduce car accidents and make our roads safer. 

A lot of people have decided it’s too hard to keep track of where all the photo radar cameras are and just set the cruise at the speed limit so there are no worries.  This is the best resolution to the problem especially since Scottsdale is now using the portable “van radar” instead of the stationary cameras. 

The problem is most people tend to slow down when they see the camera, even if they are not speeding.  Have you ever noticed the average speed around the radar cameras is 5 mph LESS then the speed limit.  Why? 

Per DPS officer, James Warriner, “If it is a 55 mile-per-hour zone the camera will get drivers going 11 miles over but if the limit is 65 or above the camera will snap drivers going only ten miles over.”  He also mentions that the ticket costs about $181.00.

Unfortunately Arizona roads have a lot of motor vehicle accidents and if anything, hopefully the speed cameras can cut the accident, injury and fatality rates significantly.

www.Phillipsandlyon.com

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/Phoenix-local-111208-photo-radar-cams-myths.1a8ea28e1.html

Over 1700 injuries were caused by bicycle accidents in Arizona last year.  Most of these accidents happened during the daylight and involved people ages 25-54. When you get on a bike,  safety is very important to remember because unfortunately many drivers forget about the 2 wheeled vehicles they need to share the road with. 

One of the most common excuses motorist use when they hit a bicycle is “I didn’t see them”.  With this being said, all bicyclists should be extra cautious and not assume the drivers will see you. 

1. Ride to the extreme right of the road
2. Use signals before turning
3. Avoid busy streets when biking because the less cars the less chance of a driver making an error.  
4. Use a headlight AND a blinking rear light
5. Don’t wear dark clothing
6. Avoid riding at night
7. Most importantly wear your helmet! 

If you or someone you know was injured in a bicycle accident, call the AZ accident lawyers of Phillips and Lyon.   They will fight for your rights and get you the compensation you deserve!

www.PhillipsAndLyon.com

http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/Statistics/crash/PDF/07crashfacts.pdf

www.PhillipsandLyon.com

http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/Statistics/crash/PDF/07crashfacts.pdf