ABC15 reported on a former Phoenix police officer reflecting on a fiery crash 25 years later. According to the outlet, the officer was an Air Force veteran and a Phoenix native who had always dreamed of becoming a Phoenix police officer and reached that goal; less than two years into that job, everything changed.
Arizona law puts hard deadlines on injury claims, and those deadlines run even when the injured person spends months in a burn unit or an intensive care bed. Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury under A.R.S. § 12-542. When the claim is against a city, a county, the state, or a public employee, the window is far shorter: a written notice of claim must be served within 180 days of when the claim accrues under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, and missing that notice generally ends the claim no matter how severe the harm. Catastrophic injury cases also take time to value, because the full cost of reconstructive surgery, long-term care, and lost earning capacity is rarely clear in the first year. Those two realities pull against each other, which is why families often start the legal side of a case while medical treatment is still ongoing.
Two Deadlines, and the Shorter One Is Easy to Miss
The two-year filing deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542 is the one most people have heard of. The one that quietly destroys claims is A.R.S. § 12-821.01, the 180-day notice of claim requirement that applies when a public entity or a public employee is a potential defendant. The notice must be served on the right party and must state a specific amount for which the claim can be settled. There is no credit for being close. If a government vehicle, a government employee, or a public road condition may be part of what happened, the 180-day clock should be treated as the real deadline and the two-year statute as a backstop.
If a death results, Arizona's wrongful death statutes, A.R.S. § 12-611 through A.R.S. § 12-613, govern who may bring the action and what the family can recover, and A.R.S. § 14-3110 governs what claims survive on behalf of the person who died.
Shared Fault Does Not End a Claim
Arizona follows pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505. A jury assigns a percentage of fault to each party, and a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by that person's own share. Someone found twenty percent at fault still recovers eighty percent of proven damages. Insurers know this and often open negotiations by assigning the injured person a fault percentage that the evidence does not support. That argument is a starting position, not a legal bar. Do not accept a denial that rests on a percentage nobody has proved.
Practical Steps When the Injuries Are Catastrophic
Severe burn and trauma cases turn on evidence that disappears quickly and on documentation that only accumulates over years.
- Have someone preserve the vehicles involved. Vehicles are often sold, crushed, or repaired within weeks, and a vehicle is the central piece of evidence in any claim involving fire, fuel systems, restraints, or crashworthiness.
- Request the police report and photograph the scene if anyone is able to. Skid evidence and roadway conditions change.
- Keep every medical record, including rehabilitation, surgical, and psychological treatment notes. Long-term damages are proved with records, not recollection.
- Track lost income and lost earning capacity, especially where an injury ends a career.
- Give no recorded statement to another party's insurer before you understand the deadlines and the fault arguments in play.
- Identify every possible defendant early, because the 180-day notice requirement depends on knowing whether a public entity is among them.
Family members often have to carry this work while the injured person is still hospitalized. That is normal, and it is better than waiting.
If you or a family member was seriously injured in a collision in the Valley, our Phoenix car accident attorneys can explain which deadlines apply to your situation.