12 News reported that a motorcycle rider was critically injured after colliding with a fire truck and then being struck by two other vehicles near 79th and Olive avenues in Peoria. No findings of fault have been reported, and no one has been charged with or convicted of anything. What follows is general Arizona law, not a statement about who was responsible.
When a collision involves a fire truck or other government-owned vehicle, Arizona law imposes deadlines far shorter than the ones that apply to ordinary crashes. Under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, a person with a claim against a public entity or public employee must serve a written notice of claim on the correct officials within 180 days of when the claim accrues, and that notice must state a specific settlement amount and the facts supporting it. Miss that window and the claim against the government is barred, no matter how serious the injuries. Under A.R.S. § 12-821, any lawsuit against a public entity must be filed within one year. Claims against private drivers involved in the same sequence still fall under the two-year limit in A.R.S. § 12-542. When several vehicles are involved, A.R.S. § 12-2505 lets a jury assign a percentage of fault to each party, so responsibility can be divided rather than placed on one driver.
The Notice of Claim Is a Formal Document, Not a Phone Call
Telling a city risk manager that you were hurt does not satisfy A.R.S. § 12-821.01. The statute requires a written notice, served on the person authorized to accept service for that public entity, containing facts sufficient to let the entity understand the basis of liability, a specific amount for which the claim can be settled, and the facts supporting that amount. Arizona courts have enforced these requirements strictly. Two practical problems come up often. First, serving the wrong entity wastes the clock; a fire vehicle may belong to a city, a fire district, or another public body, and the correct recipient has to be identified before the deadline, not after. Second, the 180 days runs from when the claim accrues, which in a serious-injury case is usually the date of the crash, not the date the injured person is discharged from the hospital or comes out of sedation. If someone else is handling matters for an incapacitated family member, that person should assume the clock is already running.
Several Vehicles Means Several Insurance Positions
A sequence involving a government vehicle and two private vehicles produces at least three separate liability analyses, and each carrier has an incentive to point at the others. Under A.R.S. § 12-2505, Arizona uses pure comparative fault: a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their own percentage of fault but is not eliminated, even at a high percentage. That matters for motorcycle riders, because insurers frequently open with an argument that the rider was speeding, was not visible, or should have avoided the collision. An assertion is not a finding. Percentages are ultimately for a jury, or for a settlement negotiated in the shadow of what a jury would likely do.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the rider's own policy, or on a resident family member's policy, can also apply when the combined available liability limits do not cover catastrophic injuries. Those claims have their own notice requirements under the policy language, so the policy should be reviewed early rather than after the liability claims resolve.
What to Do in the First Few Weeks
Request the traffic collision report as soon as it is available, and separately request any records the involved public agency keeps about the vehicle and the response it was on. Public records requests take time, and the material that matters most, including any onboard or dash camera footage, communications logs, and vehicle maintenance records, is often subject to routine retention schedules measured in weeks. A written preservation letter sent early is the practical way to stop material from being overwritten.
Photograph the motorcycle and the gear before anything is repaired or discarded, and do not authorize a salvage yard to dispose of the bike. Keep every medical record and bill, including ambulance and air transport invoices, which are frequently among the largest single charges in a critical-injury case. Give no recorded statement to any insurer, including your own, until you understand what is being asked and why. If the injured rider cannot make decisions, a family member may need court authority to act, and that process takes time that the 180-day notice deadline does not forgive.
If you or a family member was hurt in a collision in this area, our Peoria pedestrian and roadway injury attorneys can explain which deadlines apply to your situation.