Auto & Motor Vehicle Accidents in Arizona

Motor vehicle collisions are the largest group of injury cases we handle: car and truck crashes, motorcycle and bicycle wrecks, rideshare collisions, pedestrian knockdowns, and everything in between. This page explains how Arizona law treats an auto accident claim — who is at fault, what insurance must pay, and the deadlines that decide whether you can recover at all. When you are ready to talk about your own crash, our Phoenix car accident lawyers review every case free of charge.

Arizona is an at-fault state

Arizona follows a fault-based system: the driver who caused the collision (through their insurer) pays for the harm it caused. There is no personal injury protection requirement and no restriction on suing the at-fault driver — a common point of confusion we cover in Is Arizona a no-fault state?

Fault is rarely all-or-nothing. Under A.R.S. § 12-2505, Arizona applies pure comparative negligence: your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can recover even if you were mostly to blame. A claimant found 30% at fault for a $100,000 loss still recovers $70,000. Insurers use this rule aggressively to discount settlements, which is why fault percentages are usually the real battleground in an Arizona claim. Our complete guide to comparative negligence works through the case law and examples.

What insurance must every Arizona driver carry?

Arizona's minimum liability limits, set by A.R.S. § 28-4009, are $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $15,000 for property damage. Insurers must also offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under A.R.S. § 20-259.01 — coverage that becomes decisive after a hit-and-run or a crash with a minimally insured driver. We break down what each coverage actually pays in Arizona car insurance requirements.

How long do you have to file?

The core deadline is two years from the date of injury under A.R.S. § 12-542. Two traps shorten it dramatically: a claim against a city, county, or state defendant (a government vehicle, a dangerous road) requires a formal notice of claim within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, with suit filed within one year; and evidence — camera footage, vehicle data, witness memory — degrades far faster than any statute runs. Filing deadlines are covered in depth in how long do I have to file a personal injury claim?

What should you do after a crash?

Arizona law requires drivers to stop, exchange information, and render aid (A.R.S. §§ 28-661 through 28-663), and police complete a report for injury crashes — the first document any adjuster reads. The practical steps that protect a claim, from photographs to medical documentation to what not to say to the other driver's insurer, are collected in what to do after a car accident and insurance help after a crash.

Crash types we handle

Every collision type has its own liability patterns and evidence:

• Rear-end collisions · head-on collisions · intersection accidents · rollovers
• Hit-and-run · drunk driving · distracted driving · passenger injuries
• Motorcycle accidents · truck accidents · bicycle accidents · pedestrian accidents
• Uber & Lyft accidents · ATV accidents · bus accidents · golf cart wrecks

Statewide crash patterns — where, when, and why Arizona collisions happen — are summarized from ADOT data in Arizona car accident statistics. We also serve the East Valley and West Valley from Phoenix: Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and Glendale.

What is an auto accident claim worth?

Case value turns on medical costs, lost income, permanent impairment, and pain and suffering — Arizona's constitution prohibits caps on injury damages (Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 31). Settlement ranges by injury type are covered in our settlement guide, and the settlement calculator produces a working estimate. Fees are contingency-only, explained plainly in how much do car accident lawyers charge?

When should you involve a lawyer?

Not every fender-bender needs counsel — minor-crash cases can sometimes be handled alone. Involve a lawyer when there is any injury requiring treatment, disputed fault, a commercial or government vehicle, an uninsured driver, or a lowball offer. The earlier the involvement, the more evidence survives; when to call a car accident lawyer lays out the decision points, and a free case evaluation answers it for your specific crash.