InjuryMedical malpractice
Medical malpractice claims in Arizona
A bad outcome is not malpractice by itself; medicine carries risk even when done well. Malpractice means the care fell below what a reasonably competent provider would have done, and that failure caused harm. If that describes your treatment, you may have a claim, and Arizona asks more of it than an ordinary negligence case: in most cases a qualified expert must certify in a preliminary expert opinion affidavit that the standard of care was breached (A.R.S. § 12-2603). Building that foundation takes records and time, well inside the two-year deadline under A.R.S. § 12-542. Arizona's constitution forbids caps on malpractice damages, so the question is whether the record supports the claim, not whether a statute limits it.
What Blueshoe does
The groundwork, in order, before you decide anything.
- 01
Collect the complete chart
Every record from every provider involved, requested in the form the law entitles you to, including imaging, nursing notes, and the orders that were or were not written.
- 02
Screen the standard of care
What was ordered, what was ruled out, what the chart shows was missed, organized so a qualified expert can evaluate whether the care fell below the standard and whether that caused the harm.
- 03
Name the right defendants
Hospital employees versus independent-contractor physicians, institutional failures such as understaffing or handoff breakdowns, and the pharmacy or prescriber in a medication case. A legal call, not a guess.
- 04
An attorney can take it forward
A licensed Arizona attorney can review the screened record, retain the expert for the affidavit, and file inside the deadline, on terms set out in writing first, including how expert costs are handled.
What the law says
What the law says about medical malpractice in Arizona
How do I know if it was malpractice or just a bad outcome?
A bad outcome alone is not negligence. Malpractice means the care fell below what a reasonably competent provider would have done in the same situation, and that failure caused harm. That is a standard-of-care question only qualified expert review can answer, which is why a potential claim is assessed from the records rather than the result.
Do I need an expert to bring a malpractice claim in Arizona?
In most cases, yes. Arizona generally requires a preliminary expert opinion affidavit under A.R.S. § 12-2603: a qualified professional certifying that the provider fell below the standard of care. It is a screening step, and it is why these cases begin with records and experts, not a complaint, and why early attorney involvement matters.
How long do I have to file?
Generally two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, though the starting point can adjust when an injury reasonably could not have been discovered right away, a fact-specific question rather than a safety net. Claims against a public hospital or county facility require a notice of claim within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01.
Because the expert affidavit takes time to obtain, the practical deadline sits well inside the legal one. Starting early protects both.
Do I sue the hospital or the doctor?
It depends on who employed whom. Hospitals are generally responsible for their employees' negligence, nurses, technicians, staff, but many physicians working inside a hospital are independent contractors, which the hospital's lawyers will point out early. Hospital negligence can also be institutional: understaffing, credentialing failures, broken handoff protocols.
Can I bring a claim for my child's birth injury?
You may, and the deadlines work differently for children. Claims for a minor's own injury are generally paused during childhood in many circumstances, so a birth-injury case is not necessarily lost to time. But fetal monitoring strips, staffing records, and witness memories fade, and a parent's related claims may run on a different clock, so early review still matters.
What it costs
No fee unless you recover.
Asking costs nothing. If you engage Blueshoe on a contingency basis, the fee is a percentage of what is recovered, stated in a written engagement agreement, and nothing is owed if there is no recovery. Case costs, such as filing fees and records, are set out in the same agreement, including whether they come out before or after the fee is calculated.
- Free to ask
- Written assessment before any fee
- Engagement terms in writing
- No billable hours
Questions people ask
It may be, if a reasonably competent provider would have caught it. Missed and delayed diagnoses are the most common malpractice category: a cancer read as benign, a stroke or heart attack sent home from a busy emergency department. The question is never the outcome alone; it is whether the workup fell below the standard of care.
More under Injury
- Nursing home neglectPressure ulcers, falls, dehydration, medication lapses, unexplained injuries.Read more
- Wrongful deathArizona's wrongful death statutes (A.R.S.Read more
- Slip & fallFell at a store, an apartment complex, or on public property? What a property owner owes you in Arizona, the mode-of-operation rule, the evidence the defendant controls, and the two-year and 180-day deadlines.Read more
Legally reviewed by Catherine O’Grady, State Bar of Arizona No. 011647
Managing partner & chief compliance officer · 30+ years in practice · Reviewed 2026-10-08 · Full bio →