ArizonaPersonal injury law
Injury law is different in Arizona — by constitutional design
Arizona's constitution prohibits any cap on personal injury damages (Ariz. Const. art. II, § 31), its pure comparative fault rule never bars recovery, and juries — not statutes — decide what a claim is worth. Here is the statewide law that governs every Arizona injury claim.
ARIZONA INJURY LAW
The statewide rules, statute by statute
These are the laws that apply to every injury claim in the state — the deadlines, the constitutional no-caps rule, and the fault rules. For where and how cases are filed in your city, see the city pages below.
How long do I have to file an injury claim in Arizona?
Two years from the date of injury for most claims (A.R.S. § 12-542). Claims against a city, county, or the state are dramatically shorter: you must serve a notice of claim within 180 days (A.R.S. § 12-821.01) and file suit within one year. The public-entity clock is the most missed deadline in Arizona injury law.
The two-year rule covers car accidents, falls, wrongful death, and most negligence claims statewide. But the moment a government defendant is in the picture — a public bus, a state road defect, a county hospital — the 180-day notice requirement controls, and missing it can end an otherwise strong claim before it starts.
Does Arizona cap personal injury damages?
No — and it constitutionally cannot. Article II, § 31 of the Arizona Constitution prohibits any law limiting the damages recoverable for injury or death. While most states have legislated caps on pain-and-suffering or malpractice awards, Arizona's founders put the question beyond the legislature's reach. Juries decide value.
This is not a technicality — it is one of the strongest plaintiff protections in the country. In capped states, a catastrophic injury can be worth whatever the statute allows; in Arizona, it is worth what twelve jurors say the evidence supports. That difference shapes how insurers value Arizona claims from the first phone call.
Can I recover if the accident was partly my fault?
Yes. Arizona follows pure comparative negligence (A.R.S. § 12-2505): your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but never eliminated. Even a plaintiff found 99% at fault may recover the remaining 1%. Many states bar recovery at 50 or 51% fault — Arizona never does.
The practical consequence: fault percentage is where Arizona injury cases are won and lost. Insurers work to inflate your share because every point of fault is a point off the check — which is why what you say to an adjuster before the facts are assembled matters so much.
What can you actually recover in an Arizona injury case?
Economic damages — medical bills past and future, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity — plus non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, all uncapped. Punitive damages are available only for conduct showing an 'evil mind,' a deliberately high bar Arizona courts police strictly.
Future damages matter most in serious cases: a claim valued only on bills-to-date leaves the largest component — decades of future care and lost earning power — on the table. Proving that component takes medical and economic testimony, which is a core part of what case preparation actually is.
Who pays when more than one party caused the injury?
Arizona abolished joint-and-several liability for most cases (A.R.S. § 12-2506): each defendant pays only its own percentage of fault. You cannot collect one defendant's share from another — so identifying every responsible party early, before deadlines run, directly determines how much of the verdict is collectible.
This several-liability rule also powers Arizona's dram-shop claims: a bar or restaurant that over-serves an obviously intoxicated patron can carry its own share of fault for the crash that follows. In multi-vehicle, construction-site, and defective-product cases, the fault map is the case.
What are Arizona's minimum auto insurance requirements?
Arizona requires liability coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage — minimum limits that are among the lower in the country. Serious injuries routinely exceed them, which is why your own underinsured-motorist (UIM) coverage often decides what a claim actually recovers.
UM/UIM coverage is optional in Arizona, but insurers must offer it. When the at-fault driver carries only minimum limits, the claim becomes a search through every applicable policy — the other driver's, your own, and sometimes a household member's. Reading the full coverage stack before valuing the claim is not optional.
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Arizona?
Arizona's wrongful death statute names the beneficiaries: the surviving spouse, children, or parents of the person who died — or the personal representative of the estate on their behalf. Damages compensate both the survivors' loss and the estate, and like all Arizona injury damages, they are constitutionally uncapped.
Each statutory beneficiary's loss is valued separately — a spouse's loss of companionship, a child's loss of guidance and support. Because only the named categories of survivors may sue, who files (and for whom) is a threshold legal question, not a family decision to defer.
What does Arizona require for a medical malpractice claim?
More than an ordinary negligence claim. Arizona law generally requires a qualified expert to certify, in a preliminary expert opinion affidavit, that the provider fell below the standard of care. Building that expert foundation takes time — which makes early attorney involvement essential, well inside the filing deadline.
The expert requirement is a screening mechanism: malpractice claims live or die on qualified medical testimony, not on a bad outcome alone. A poor result is not negligence by itself; the question is always whether the care fell below what a reasonably competent provider would have done.
Is Arizona a strict liability state for dog bites?
Yes. A.R.S. § 11-1025 makes a dog's owner liable for bite injuries regardless of the dog's history or the owner's knowledge — no 'one free bite.' But the statutory claim carries a one-year filing deadline; a common-law negligence claim against the owner keeps the usual two years.
The two claims coexist, and the difference in deadlines is a trap: wait more than a year and the strict liability route — the one that doesn't require proving carelessness — is gone, leaving only the harder negligence path. Bite claims should be assessed against the shorter clock, always.
Asked by injured Arizonans
Two years from the injury for most claims (A.R.S. § 12-542) — but the exceptions run shorter, never longer. Claims against a public entity require a notice of claim within 180 days (A.R.S. § 12-821.01) and suit within one year, and the statutory dog-bite claim carries a one-year deadline. Assess against the shortest possible clock.
YOUR CITY, YOUR COURTS
Local courts and process, city by city
This page covers the statewide law; venues, courthouses, and local filing process live on the city pages. Blueshoe handles injury matters statewide — cases are filed in the county where they belong.
Legally reviewed by Catherine O’Grady, State Bar of Arizona No. 011647
Managing partner & chief compliance officer · 30+ years in practice · Reviewed July 2026 · Full bio →