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ARIZONA MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

Arizona Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers

The percentage of fault can change the value of the claim—but it does not automatically end it.

Arizona motor vehicle claims can turn on comparative fault, medical causation, vehicle evidence, insurance limits, and whether the crash record supports what actually happened. Carma Legal builds the fault and damages record early so an adjuster’s first narrative does not become the only narrative.
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ARIZONA RULE

Comparative fault changes the math

Arizona uses comparative negligence. If a claimant is assigned a percentage of fault, damages can be reduced by that percentage rather than automatically barred. That makes photographs, video, witness accounts, vehicle data, and consistent medical documentation especially important.
WHY ARIZONA MATTERS

Arizona gives injury claims a shorter filing window than North Carolina.

A.R.S. § 12-542 generally provides a two-year limitations period for injury-to-person actions. That deadline is not a reason to wait: crash video, witness memory, vehicle data, repair evidence, and insurance information can become harder to secure long before two years pass. Arizona’s comparative-fault rule also makes the quality of the fault record especially important when drivers disagree about speed, right of way, lane position, distraction, or lookout.
COMMON PASSENGER-VEHICLE CLAIMS
  • Rear-end and chain-reaction crashes
  • Intersection, left-turn, signal, and failure-to-yield crashes
  • Hit-and-run, uninsured-driver, or limited-liability-coverage claims
Truck, commercial-vehicle, and motorcycle crashes have separate Arizona pages because their evidence, defendants, and coverage issues can differ.
RESPONSIBILITY

Do not stop the investigation at the name on one insurance card

Most Arizona passenger-vehicle claims focus on one or more drivers, but ownership, permissive use, work activity, roadway conditions, vehicle defects, and insurance relationships can change the analysis depending on the facts.
DRIVER CONDUCT

The driver

Speed, following distance, distraction, impairment, unsafe turns, lane changes, lookout, and other conduct that contributed to the collision.
OWNERSHIP / COVERAGE

Vehicle owner or another insured

Ownership, permission, household status, policy definitions, and other insured relationships may matter when the driver is not the only person connected to the vehicle.
SPECIALIZED CLAIM

A business or other responsible party

A work vehicle, unsafe roadway condition, or vehicle defect can create additional evidence and liability questions that should be evaluated separately.
EVIDENCE TO PRESERVE

The police report is a starting point—not the complete fault record.

The strongest Arizona crash file connects scene evidence, electronic records, witness accounts, vehicle damage, medical timing, and insurance information before those sources are altered or lost.
  • Scene photographs and video
  • Vehicle damage, repair, tow, and total-loss records
  • Event data recorder or other available vehicle data
  • Witness names and statements
  • Nearby home, business, or traffic-camera footage
  • Phone, navigation, or other electronic records when relevant
  • Medical records showing the timing and progression of symptoms
ARIZONA RECORD SOURCES
  • Arizona Crash Report and applicable supplements
  • Investigating police, sheriff, or Arizona DPS records
  • ADOT crash-data and roadway resources when the location matters
  • Vehicle registration and insurance information where available
  • Mesa or Phoenix agency records when a local crash requires follow-up
ADOT publishes the statewide Arizona Crash Report forms and instructions used by law enforcement. The actual report and related records are generally obtained from the investigating agency or the applicable records process.
HOW THE CLAIM IS BUILT

Build the claim around fault allocation, causation, coverage, and the real loss

01

Lock down the crash facts

Collect the report, photographs, video, witnesses, vehicle data, road evidence, and insurance information before the record changes.
02

Test every fault percentage

Compare physical evidence and traffic facts against each driver’s account, witness statements, and any comparative-fault argument.
03

Connect the collision to the injury

Build a medical chronology that explains diagnosis, treatment, limitations, missed work, future needs, and whether prior conditions actually matter.
04

Map every recovery source

Review liability limits, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, additional policies, medical-payment issues, liens, and the documented value of the loss.
DAMAGES AND COVERAGE

A serious Arizona crash claim is more than the emergency-room bill.

The damages file should connect treatment and income loss to the practical ways the injury changed work, mobility, family responsibilities, and daily life.
  • Medical treatment and supported future care
  • Lost income or reduced earning capacity
  • Pain, physical limitations, and loss of normal activities
  • Property and transportation losses
ARIZONA AUTO COVERAGE
For policies issued or renewed beginning July 1, 2020, A.R.S. § 28-4009 sets minimum liability limits of $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $15,000 for property damage. Arizona law also requires insurers to make uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage available and offer it in writing; the actual policy and insured status still control the claim.
WHAT TO DO NOW

Protect the evidence while the claim is still developing.

  1. Get appropriate medical care and keep the crash/report information.
  2. Preserve vehicle, scene, witness, video, repair, and insurance evidence.
  3. Save work-loss and out-of-pocket documentation as the claim develops.
  4. Get legal review early if fault, causation, coverage, or value is disputed.
ARIZONA-LICENSED ATTORNEY

Justin Fernstrom supports Arizona motor vehicle injury strategy.

Justin Fernstrom is licensed in Arizona and Utah and has more than 15 years of experience as an attorney. Carma Legal’s Arizona office is in Mesa, and Justin brings experience from private practice, service as an Arizona Assistant Attorney General, and work as an Administrative Law Judge.
Meet Justin Fernstrom
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ARIZONA MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT QUESTIONS

Questions that come up early

A.R.S. § 12-542 generally provides a two-year limitations period for injury-to-person actions, but different facts and defendants can change the deadline analysis. Insurance negotiations do not automatically preserve a lawsuit deadline.

Under A.R.S. § 12-2505, a claimant’s damages can be reduced in proportion to the claimant’s percentage of fault rather than automatically barred. The actual allocation depends on the evidence and legal issues in the case.

For most policies issued or renewed beginning July 1, 2020, A.R.S. § 28-4009 sets minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $15,000 for property damage. Higher limits or additional policies may apply.

Arizona insurers must make uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage available and offer it in writing. Whether UM or UIM benefits are available depends on the policy, insured status, limits, exclusions, and facts of the loss.

PRESERVE THE CRASH RECORD

Tell us what happened and what the insurer is saying.

Share the crash date, location, injuries, report or agency information, vehicles and drivers involved, insurance contacts, and any photographs, video, or witness information you already have.
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