When a property owner fails to maintain reasonably safe conditions and someone is injured as a result, Arizona premises liability law gives the injured person a path to recovery. Whether the injury happened at a commercial property, a residential property, a government building, or a public space, the underlying legal principle is the same: the owner had a duty, they breached it, and you paid the cost.
What Arizona premises liability law requires
Property owners owe different levels of duty depending on the visitor's status. Customers and invited guests — invitees — are owed the highest duty: the owner must not only correct known hazards but actively inspect for conditions that could injure them. Social guests — licensees — are owed a duty to warn of known hazards. Trespassers receive the lowest protection, though children who wander onto property may be protected under the attractive nuisance doctrine. Most Phoenix premises liability claims involve invitees at commercial properties, where the highest duty applies.
What you have to prove
Duty (you were a visitor the owner owed a duty to), breach (the owner failed to maintain safe conditions or warn of a known hazard), causation (that failure caused your injury), and damages (actual harm — medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering). The critical issue in most cases is notice: did the owner know — or should they have known — about the hazard? Evidence of notice includes maintenance records, prior complaints, surveillance footage showing how long the condition existed, and incident reports from prior events at the same location.
The filing deadline
Arizona gives most personal injury victims two years from the date of injury (A.R.S. § 12-542). Claims against government entities require a Notice of Claim within 180 days. See our post on the Arizona personal injury statute of limitations.
Our premises liability attorneys handle claims throughout Phoenix and Scottsdale on a contingency fee basis. No fee unless we win. Call (480) 418-SHER (7437) or reach out online.