Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers — Felicetti Law Firm, Arizona

Phoenix is built for the car and punishing to everyone outside one. The valley’s arterials run six and eight lanes wide with long signal spacing, the Loop 101, 202 and 303 carry freeway-speed traffic past residential neighbourhoods, and summer heat keeps people moving at night when drivers see least. Arizona consistently records one of the highest pedestrian death rates in the country, and Maricopa County supplies most of it.

The 180-Day Deadline That Ends More Arizona Claims Than Any Other

If a city bus, a police cruiser, a school district vehicle, a county truck or any other public employee was involved, Arizona requires a written notice of claim within 180 days of the date the claim accrues (A.R.S. § 12-821.01). Separately, suit against a public entity must be filed within one year (A.R.S. § 12-821) — not the two years that applies to private defendants.

Arizona courts enforce that 180-day rule strictly. It is not a formality that can be cured later, and it is the single most common way an otherwise strong Arizona case is lost. The notice also has content requirements: it has to state a specific sum that will settle the claim, and a notice that omits that figure can fail even when it was filed in time.

The practical consequence is that the identity of the vehicle matters immediately. A city refuse truck and a private hauler look similar at the roadside and carry completely different clocks.

Arizona Puts No Ceiling on an Injury Claim

Most states cap something. Arizona caps nothing. The state constitution provides that “no law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person” (Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 31), and the anti-abrogation clause at art. 18, § 6 bars the legislature from eliminating a right of action for injury at all.

That is unusual and it is durable — the Arizona Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down attempts to limit injury recoveries. For a badly hurt client it means the value of a claim is decided by the evidence about the injury, not by a number the legislature chose in advance.

Being Partly at Fault Does Not End an Arizona Case

Arizona applies pure comparative negligence (A.R.S. § 12-2505). Damages are reduced in proportion to a claimant’s own share of fault, and there is no percentage at which recovery stops. Someone found seventy percent responsible still recovers thirty percent of their losses. The statute carries one exception: a claimant who intentionally, wilfully or wantonly caused or contributed to the injury does not get the benefit of that apportionment.

This matters because Arizona adjusters still argue fault hard, and clients still assume a split-fault crash is worthless. It is not. It is worth less, by a measurable fraction, which is a very different thing.

The ordinary deadline for a personal injury or wrongful death action against a private party is two years (A.R.S. § 12-542); in wrongful death that period runs from the date of death rather than the date of the injury.

Where to Find Us on North Central Avenue

From Central Avenue the office reaches the whole valley — Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert, Peoria and Surprise — and the firm takes Arizona claims from Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma and Prescott as well. Cases run from car and freeway collisions and commercial truck crashes on the I-10 corridor through motorcycle and pedestrian claims to premises injuries, construction site accidents and workers’ compensation.

Tell Us What Happened

If a government vehicle was involved, the clock you are on is 180 days and it started the day of the crash. If it was a private driver, you have longer — but the evidence does not. Call the Felicetti Law Firm at (800) 333-1988, at any hour, or send us the details online. The review costs nothing and there is no fee unless we recover for you.

Call (800) 333-1988 — Free Arizona Case Review

The firm also takes cases in: California · Texas · Colorado · Illinois

General information about Arizona law only. Nothing here is legal advice and nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Past outcomes are not a prediction of future ones. Arizona matters are handled by attorneys licensed in Arizona.