KTAR News reported that the loved ones of the 67 people who died last year when an airliner and an Army helicopter collided over Washington, D.C. urged Congress and regulators on Tuesday to do more now to prevent other families from being left clutching belongings and memories instead of their wives and children. According to the outlet, several of the victims' families joined with others in calling for reforms. No findings of fault are stated here, and none should be read into this post.
In Arizona, a wrongful death claim does not belong to the family members individually; it is brought by the surviving spouse, child, parent or guardian, or the personal representative of the estate, on behalf of the statutory beneficiaries, under A.R.S. § 12-611 through A.R.S. § 12-613. Damages recovered are distributed among the surviving spouse, children and parents according to their losses, and can include lost financial support, lost companionship, and the grief and mourning of the survivors. A separate survival action under A.R.S. § 14-3110 allows the estate to pursue the claims the person who died could have brought, such as medical expenses and property damage incurred before death. Most wrongful death suits must be filed within two years of the death under A.R.S. § 12-542. When a public entity or public employee may be responsible, a written notice of claim must be served within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, a much shorter window that is easy to miss.
The 180-Day Government Deadline Is the One Families Lose
The two-year filing deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542 is the number most people hear first. It is not the number that ends most claims. If a city, county, state agency, public entity or public employee may share responsibility for a death, A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a written notice of claim delivered to the right person within 180 days of when the claim accrues. That notice must state a specific amount for which the claim can be settled and the facts supporting it. Miss the 180 days and the claim against that entity is barred, no matter how strong the evidence is.
Incidents involving federal agencies, federal employees or commercial aviation can also trigger separate federal claim procedures with their own deadlines and their own filing requirements. Those procedures run on their own clock, independent of Arizona law. If there is any chance a government body is involved, the calendar starts the day of the death, not the day an investigation concludes.
What an Arizona Wrongful Death Claim Can Recover
Under A.R.S. § 12-611 through A.R.S. § 12-613, a jury may award what it considers fair compensation for the injury to the surviving spouse, children and parents. In practice that covers the income and services the person would have provided, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of love, care, companionship and guidance. Grief and mourning of the survivors are compensable in Arizona; not every state allows that.
The survival action under A.R.S. § 14-3110 is separate and belongs to the estate. It covers what the person lost before death, such as medical bills and damaged property. The two claims are often filed together but are accounted for differently, and the money goes to different places.
Arizona uses pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505. If a defendant argues the person who died bore some share of responsibility, that does not end the claim; it reduces the award by the percentage of fault assigned. There is no cutoff percentage that wipes out recovery.
What Families Should Do While an Investigation Is Still Open
Investigations into serious crashes can take a year or more. Do not wait for a final report before protecting the claim. A few concrete steps:
- Open the estate. Most wrongful death and survival claims require a personal representative appointed by the probate court. That appointment takes time; start it early.
- Preserve everything. Phone records, texts, photographs, employment and tax records establishing earnings, and any personal property returned to the family. Do not discard anything, including damaged items.
- Send preservation letters. Data recorders, maintenance logs, dispatch records and video are often overwritten or discarded on routine retention schedules. A written demand to preserve stops that clock.
- Do not sign a release. Early payments offered in exchange for a signature often close out claims the family has not yet evaluated. Read anything before signing it, and have someone else read it too.
- Be careful with recorded statements. You are not required to give a recorded statement to another party's insurer, and grief is not the state in which to be interviewed about liability.
- Track the 180 days. Calendar it the week of the death if any government involvement is even possible.
Families who have lost someone in a fatal collision can review what an Arizona wrongful death claim involves and who has standing to bring one.