Arizona Personal Injury Cases & Accident Info

Arizona statutes online

This is where you'll find Arizona's laws, which determine how long individuals have to bring lawsuits, any damage caps on personal injury rewards, and additional information.

Arizona statutes

To read:

• Do I have a legal case after my accident?
• What is personal injury law?
• What are damage caps?

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Arizona's car accident statutes of limitation

In Arizona, you have two years to bring both personal injury claims and property damage claims. That doesn't mean the entire lawsuit must be finished in two years; you just need to have filed the initial paperwork.

Car accident lawsuit time limits by state

To read:

• What is the statute of limitations?
• The claims process and how long a personal injury lawsuit takes

Arizona damage caps

Arizona prohibited damage caps in their state Constitution. Article 2, Section 31 states that "[n]o law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person."

This state follows the pure comparative negligence rule, which means that if you are found to be partially at fault regarding an injury, your damages will be lowered accordingly.See A.R.S. § 12-2506.

Punitive damages (damages intended to punish) are allowed, though there are specific rules that must be followed. They are allowed in the most egregious cases, where "an evil hand was guided by an evil mind." See Rawlings v. Apodaca, 151 Ariz. 149, 162 (1986). The plaintiff must prove there is clear and convincing evidence of "spite or 'malice,' or a fraudulent or evil motive." This must be even more than gross negligence on the part of the defendant. Id. Additionally, there are also no punitive damages allowed against any municipality in Arizona.See A.R.S. § 12-820.04.

Type of Damages	Type of Cases	Limits	Statute
Economic (medical bills, lost wages, etc.)	Personal Injury	N/A	N/A
Non-economic damages (pain & suffering, mental anguish, etc.)	Personal Injury	N/A	N/A
Punitive damages (to punish for malice or ill intent)	Personal Injury	Clear and convincing evidence of spite, malice or evil motive	Rawlings v. Apodaca, 151 Ariz. 149, 162 (1986)
Exceptions
Claims against a municipality, such as a town, city or county	Personal Injury/Civil	No punitive damages allowed against any municipality	A.R.S. § 12-820.04
Worker's compensation	Personal Injury/Civil	66.66% of the avg. monthly wage	A.R.S. Title 23. Labor § 23-1045
Products liability	Personal Injury/Civil	Intermediate economic loss	Intermediate economic loss rule (Salt River Project Agr. Imp. & Power Dist. v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 143 Ariz. 368, (1984))

Hiring a lawyer in Arizona

Consultations for personal injury representation are normally free of charge -- at least, they are during the first meeting.

After that, lawyers work on contingency, which means that their office will receive a third of whatever the client receives, including office expenses. If the case ends up going to trial, the number might rise to 40% of the eventual reward or judgment.

These numbers aren't set in stone, so don't be taken aback if your lawyer suggests something different.

Find a lawyer in Arizona

Want to hire a lawyer and need some help? Check out some of our best articles:

• Choosing a personal injury attorney – interview questions
• Why might a personal injury lawyer deny my case?
• Preparing to meet with a personal injury attorney
• Negotiating lawyers fees - how do accident lawyers charge? Are there any hidden costs?
• When do you NOT need an attorney after an accident?
• Jurisdiction: Accidents that involve multiple states

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Cases of interest in Arizona

These are some of the most important Supreme Court cases to come out of the state of Arizona in the past 50 years:

• Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 486 (1966): These United States Supreme Court actually addressed four separate cases regarding questioning of suspects by police during custodial interrogation without having had their rights read to them. These eventually became known as "Miranda rights," and the Court stated that statements by suspects who have not been properly Mirandized could not be used in a court of law.


• Arizona v. United States, 641 F. 3d 339 (2012): This was the "show me your papers" law that was so talked-about around 2010. This provision allows law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of anyone they pull over or arrest, if they have reason to think that person is in the country illegally. The court upheld the most controversial provision of the law.


• Arizona v. Arias, 1 CA-CR 15 0302: Jodi Ann Arias shocked the nation when stories came to light that she stabbed her boyfriend almost 30 times, shot him in the head, and slit his throat from ear to ear. She is now serving life in prison.

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Stats and data

Everyone likes data.

• Arizona Judicial Branch: Statistics
• Office of Economic Opportunity: Arizona Labor Statistics
• United States Census: Arizona

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Arizona law libraries

There are many issues you can solve on your own if you know where to look. And if you don't, a law librarian will always be available to help you. They are generally legally trained and can help you both with texts or online sources like LexisNexis or Westlaw.

• Arizona judicial branch: library locations
• Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library
• State of Arizona Research Library

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Interesting facts about Arizona