Arizona Car Accident Laws Explained

Arizona Is a Fault State, Not a No-Fault State

Arizona follows a fault system, sometimes called a tort system. The driver who caused the car accident, through their insurer, pays for the harm. You can file a claim with the at-fault driver's insurer, file with your own insurer, or sue the driver directly.

No-fault states work differently. There, each driver's own personal injury protection coverage pays initial medical bills regardless of blame. Arizona has no such requirement, so proving fault is the center of every claim here.

Fault controls the practical details too. The at-fault driver's property damage coverage pays for your repairs and usually a rental car. Their bodily injury coverage pays medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, up to the policy limits. The claimant carries the burden of proving negligence by a preponderance of the evidence.

This is why evidence matters so much in a Tempe crash. Fault determines who pays, and the percentage of fault determines how much. The full text of every statute in this guide is available at the Arizona Revised Statutes.

The Two-Year Deadline: A.R.S. § 12-542

A.R.S. § 12-542 gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or property damage lawsuit. Miss the deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, no matter how strong it is. The insurer then has no reason to pay anything.

Two years passes faster than it sounds. Treatment takes months, and a lawyer needs time to gather records and build the claim before filing. Waiting also lets camera footage get overwritten and witnesses move away.

Shorter deadlines apply in special cases, covered below. Claims involving a government vehicle allow only 180 days for the first required filing. Start early and let the deadline pressure work against the insurer instead of you.

Narrow exceptions can extend the two years, such as claims involving injured minors. Treat exceptions as a question for a lawyer, not a plan. Guessing wrong about tolling ends a case permanently.

Insurance claims are separate from lawsuits, but the deadline drives both. An insurer facing a claimant with an expired deadline stops negotiating, because nothing forces it to pay.

Pure Comparative Fault: A.R.S. § 12-2505

Arizona uses pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but sharing blame never bars your claim. Even a driver found 99% at fault can recover the remaining 1% of their damages.

Take a $100,000 case as a labeled example, not a prediction. If a jury values your damages at $100,000 and finds you 20% at fault, you recover $80,000. At 50% fault you recover $50,000, and even at 90% fault you still recover $10,000. The percentages themselves get argued, witness by witness and photo by photo.

Many states cut recovery to zero at 50% or 51% fault. Arizona does not, which makes fault percentages the main battleground in negotiation. Adjusters push fault onto victims precisely because every percentage point saves their company money.

Never accept an adjuster's fault assessment as final. A Tempe rear-end accident lawyer sees this fight constantly, because insurers argue sudden stops even in cases that look automatic.

Comparative fault applies to passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists as well. Injured passengers are rarely assigned any fault, which makes passenger claims comparatively strong. Pedestrian and bicycle cases often turn on crosswalk rights of way and driver attention.

Insurance Requirements: Minimums, UM, and UIM

A.R.S. § 28-4009 sets Arizona's minimum liability coverage: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage. One serious injury can exceed those limits quickly. Many drivers carry only the minimum, and some carry nothing at all.

Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills that gap. Under A.R.S. § 20-259.01, insurers must offer both on every auto policy, and you must reject them in writing. Many Arizona drivers carry UM and UIM without realizing it, so check your declarations page.

UM coverage pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. UIM pays when their limits fall short of your damages. If a driver without coverage hit you, a Tempe uninsured motorist accident lawyer can review your policy for these coverages.

Medical payments coverage, called MedPay, is another optional coverage worth checking. It pays initial medical bills regardless of fault, which helps while a liability claim is pending. A lawyer can map every policy that applies to your crash, and sometimes more than one does.

Check your declarations page today, before you need it. Coverage decisions made after a crash come too late.

Traffic Laws That Decide Fault

Fault in a car accident claim usually traces back to a traffic violation. A citation on the police report gives your claim a head start, though a claim can succeed without one. Speeding, red-light running, and unsafe lane changes drive fault findings in ordinary cases every day.

The stakes are statewide. ADOT recorded 121,107 total crashes and 1,228 traffic fatalities in Arizona in 2024.

A.R.S. § 28-914 is Arizona's hands-free law. Holding or supporting a phone with any part of the body while driving is illegal, and texting behind the wheel violates the statute directly. Phone records and witness accounts can prove a violation, which is core evidence for a Tempe distracted driving accident lawyer. NHTSA reports that distracted driving claimed 3,208 lives nationally in 2024.

A.R.S. §§ 28-1381 through 28-1383 cover DUI, extreme DUI, and aggravated DUI. A drunk driving conviction is powerful evidence in a civil claim, and it can support punitive damages. Victims of impaired drivers should talk with a Tempe DUI accident lawyer before settling anything.

Duties at the Scene: A.R.S. §§ 28-661, 28-662, and 28-663

A.R.S. § 28-663 requires every driver in a crash to stop, exchange identifying and insurance information, and render reasonable aid to anyone injured. These duties apply to every crash, from a parking lot tap to a freeway pileup.

A.R.S. §§ 28-661 and 28-662 make leaving the scene a crime. Fleeing a crash that caused injury or death is a felony. Fleeing a property-damage crash is a misdemeanor, and either one strengthens the victim's civil case.

The criminal charge punishes the driver but pays you nothing. Compensation comes through a UM claim or civil suit, which is where a Tempe hit-and-run lawyer comes in. Victims often recover even when police never identify the driver.

Compliance also protects you as a claimant. A driver who stays, exchanges information, and helps the injured builds credibility that carries into the civil case.

Crashes Involving Government Vehicles: A.R.S. § 12-821.01

Claims against a city, county, or the state follow special rules. A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a notice of claim within 180 days of the crash, and A.R.S. § 12-821 requires the lawsuit itself within one year. Both deadlines are far shorter than the standard two years.

The notice must include specific content, including a settlement amount the government could accept. A defective notice can end the claim. This applies to crashes with city trucks, transit vehicles, police cars, and other public fleets in Tempe.

We cover the process in our guide to claims against government vehicles in Tempe. If a public vehicle was involved in your crash, treat the 180-day clock as the deadline that matters. Calendar the 180th day the same week the crash happens.

Government cases also raise immunity defenses that private claims do not. The evidence standards stay the same, but the procedure is far less forgiving of delay or defects.

Wrongful Death, Punitive Damages, and the No-Cap Rule

A.R.S. § 12-613 governs wrongful death claims when a car accident kills someone. Surviving spouses, children, parents, and the estate can seek damages for their loss. These cases follow their own procedures and deserve early legal attention.

Wrongful death damages can include lost income, lost companionship, and funeral costs. The two-year limitations period generally applies, and the clock runs from the date of death.

Punitive damages punish conduct that shows an "evil mind" rather than ordinary carelessness. Arizona courts have allowed them in DUI cases and other extreme situations. They come on top of compensatory damages and require strong proof.

Arizona places no cap on compensatory damages in injury cases. The Arizona Constitution, article 2, § 31, prohibits laws limiting the amount recovered for death or injury. The full value of your losses is legally recoverable, which is not true in many states.

Applying these statutes to a real claim takes judgment, and every case turns on its facts. We connect victims with an Arizona car accident attorney for a free consultation. Call (623) 400-8417, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Arizona Revised Statutes
• NHTSA — Distracted Driving
• ADOT Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Facts