12 News reported that an awning dropped "unexpectedly" from a moving trailer and struck a pedestrian on a nearby sidewalk in Tempe, according to Tempe police. No further details about the people involved have been released, and nothing here should be read as a conclusion about who was at fault.
When equipment or cargo falls from a moving vehicle and injures someone on a sidewalk, Arizona law treats it as a negligence question: did the people responsible for loading, securing, and maintaining the equipment use reasonable care? A pedestrian on a sidewalk is where the law expects a pedestrian to be, so the usual arguments about where someone was walking rarely apply. Liability can extend past the driver; the owner of the trailer, the company that loaded or serviced it, and an employer whose worker was driving may all be responsible. Arizona uses pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505, meaning a recovery is reduced by any percentage of fault assigned to the injured person rather than barred outright. Most injury claims must be filed within two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, and a claim against a city, county, or state entity requires written notice within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01. Preserve the equipment if possible.
More Than One Party Can Be on the Hook
A falling-object case is not automatically a driver case. The questions that decide it are mechanical and documentary: who attached the equipment, who inspected it, who last serviced it, and whether the part failed because of how it was secured or because of a defect in the part itself. That means the potential defendants can include the driver, the registered owner of the trailer, a business that owns or rents the trailer, an employer if the driver was working at the time, and a manufacturer or installer if a component failed.
Insurance follows those relationships. A commercial policy covering a business vehicle is usually far larger than a personal auto policy, which matters when injuries are serious. If the vehicle involved was never identified or left without stopping, uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy can apply even though you were walking; Arizona drivers who are involved in a collision resulting in injury also have a duty to stop and remain at the scene under A.R.S. § 28-661.
Evidence That Disappears Fast
Physical evidence in this kind of case is the case. The detached equipment, its brackets, bolts, straps, and mounting hardware tell you whether something was improperly secured, worn out, or defective. That hardware is often discarded or repaired within days, and once it is gone the argument becomes one person's word against another's.
- Ask that the detached item and any attachment hardware be preserved, in writing, to the police, the vehicle owner, and any business involved.
- Photograph everything you can, including the sidewalk, the debris, and your injuries, before anything is cleaned up.
- Request the police report once it is available, and write down the report number.
- Get names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it happen; sidewalk witnesses are usually strangers who will not be findable later.
- Check whether nearby businesses have exterior cameras, and ask them to save the footage immediately. Most systems overwrite within days.
Practical Steps in the First Weeks
Get evaluated even if you felt able to walk away. Head injuries and internal injuries from a struck-by impact are frequently delayed in presenting, and a gap between the incident and the first medical visit is the single most common argument insurers use to reduce a claim.
Keep every bill, every discharge instruction, and a short daily note on pain, missed work, and what you cannot do. Do not give a recorded statement to another party's insurer before you understand the extent of your injuries, and do not sign a medical authorization that lets an adjuster pull your entire health history. If any public entity or public employee may be involved, the 180-day notice deadline in A.R.S. § 12-821.01 runs much faster than the two-year deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542, so that question should be answered early rather than late.
If you were hurt walking in Tempe, our Tempe pedestrian accident attorneys can explain what your claim involves and what needs to be preserved now.