InjuryWrongful death
Wrongful death claims in Arizona
When someone dies because another person or company failed to take reasonable care, Arizona law gives certain family members a claim for their own loss. The wrongful death statutes (A.R.S. §§ 12-611 to 12-613) name who may sue: the surviving spouse, children, or parents of the person who died, or the personal representative of the estate on their behalf. The claim generally must be filed within two years of the death, or preceded by a notice of claim within 180 days if a public entity is involved (A.R.S. § 12-821.01). The Arizona Constitution forbids any cap on these damages. If your family lost someone this way, you may have a claim, and the legal part can move at your pace.
What Blueshoe does
The groundwork, in order, before you decide anything.
- 01
Explain who holds which claim
Which family members are statutory beneficiaries, whether the estate has a separate survival claim, and whether a personal representative needs to be appointed through probate. Mapped plainly, without pressure.
- 02
Preserve what fades
Vehicle data, scene conditions, facility records, witness memories. A preservation letter protects them without asking anything else of the family.
- 03
Check the short clocks
If a city, county, state agency, or public school may be involved, the 180-day notice of claim is calendared first. Everything else can wait its turn.
- 04
An attorney can carry it
A licensed Arizona attorney can review the file, build the record with experts, and negotiate or file on the family's behalf, on terms set out in writing with time to consider them.
What the law says
What the law says about wrongful death in Arizona
Who is allowed to bring a wrongful death claim in Arizona?
Arizona's wrongful death statutes (A.R.S. §§ 12-611 to 12-613) name the people who may sue: the surviving spouse, children, or parents of the person who died, or the personal representative of the estate, suing on behalf of those family members. Each beneficiary's loss is valued separately, because each relationship lost was its own.
The statute's list is specific, and it leaves some people out: siblings, grandparents, and unmarried partners are not statutory beneficiaries, however real their grief. If you are unsure where you fall, that is a question worth asking early.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?
They are two different claims. The wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving family members and compensates their own losses. A survival action (A.R.S. § 14-3110) belongs to the estate and continues claims the person had while living, such as medical expenses and lost earnings before death; under that statute, the decedent's own pain and suffering does not survive.
What losses does the law recognize?
Arizona recognizes what the death actually took: the companionship, love, and guidance of the person; the income and household support they provided; the care a parent would have given a child; and the family's own anguish. The Arizona Constitution (art. II, § 31) forbids caps on these damages, so a jury, not a statute, weighs the loss.
How much time do we have?
Generally two years from the death under A.R.S. § 12-542, enough room, in most cases, to grieve first. The exception involves public entities: a claim against a city, county, the state, or a public school requires a notice of claim within 180 days and suit within one year under A.R.S. § 12-821.01.
How do these cases usually arise?
Vehicle collisions, including commercial trucks; workplace incidents, where a claim against a third party can exist beyond workers' compensation; medical negligence; unsafe premises; and neglect in a care facility. Workers' compensation death benefits are usually the exclusive remedy against the employer itself, but claims against a subcontractor, an equipment maker, or a negligent driver remain open.
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
There is no schedule for grief, and a first conversation commits you to nothing. The honest tension is that some evidence, vehicle data, scene conditions, witness memories, is easier to preserve early, and a preservation letter can protect it without you doing anything else. That one step can be taken, and the rest can move at your pace.
More under Injury
- Car accidentsHurt in an Arizona crash? The two-year deadline, the 180-day notice for public entities, pure comparative fault, 25/50/15 minimum limits, and the UM/UIM coverage that often decides what a claim recovers.Read more
- Truck accidentsHit by a commercial truck on the I-10 or I-17? Federal safety rules, the evidence that disappears in weeks, several liability under A.R.S.Read more
- Medical malpracticeA missed diagnosis, a surgical error, a medication mistake, a birth injury.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 →