ABC15 reported that an F-16 fighter jet crashed near homes in Michigan after its pilot ejected, and that newly obtained body camera footage captures the aftermath, including the pilot's efforts to avoid hitting homes and power lines. No further details about injuries or damage were included in that account.
When a government-operated vehicle or aircraft injures someone in Arizona, the path to compensation runs on a different and much shorter clock than an ordinary collision. Claims against a state or local public entity or employee require a written notice of claim served within 180 days of when the claim accrues under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, and the notice must state a specific settlement amount and the facts supporting it; miss that step and the claim is barred no matter how strong the injuries are. Suits against federal agencies and service members acting in the scope of duty proceed instead under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires an administrative claim filed with the agency before any lawsuit. The general two-year deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542 still sets the outer limit for most private defendants. Because these tracks run at once and can involve several potentially responsible parties, identify who operated the vehicle early.
The 180-Day Notice Is the Deadline That Catches People
Most people assume they have two years to decide what to do. That is true for a claim against a private driver under A.R.S. § 12-542. It is not true when the defendant is a city, a county, the state, a school district, or an employee of one of those bodies. A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a notice of claim delivered to the correct person within 180 days, and Arizona courts have enforced that requirement strictly, including the rule that the notice must contain a specific sum the claimant will accept. A claim involving a federal agency follows the federal administrative process instead, which has its own filing window. If there is any chance a public entity or federal agency is involved, the clock should be treated as 180 days until someone confirms otherwise.
Practical step: write down the date of the incident and calendar the 180th day before you do anything else.
Fault Can Be Shared Without Ending Your Claim
Arizona uses pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505. If you are assigned a percentage of responsibility, your recovery is reduced by that percentage rather than eliminated. There is no cutoff at 50 percent in Arizona, so even a claimant found mostly at fault can recover the remaining share. This matters in incidents with several actors, where an insurer or a government lawyer may try to shift a slice of responsibility onto the injured person to shrink the payout. Do not accept a percentage figure offered in a phone call; those allocations are argued and proven, not announced.
What to Do in the First Days
- Get medical attention and keep every discharge paper, bill, and imaging report. Gaps in treatment get used against claimants later.
- Photograph property damage and the surrounding area before repairs begin.
- Request the incident or investigative report, and note the name of the agency that responded.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer or investigator before you understand who the potential defendants are.
- If a family member died, understand that A.R.S. § 12-611 through A.R.S. § 12-613 govern who may bring a wrongful death action, and that A.R.S. § 14-3110 governs claims that survive the person who was injured.
If you were hurt or lost a family member in a collision anywhere in the Valley, our Arizona car accident practice page explains how these claims are built and what deadlines apply to yours.