Arizona Accident Law Snapshot

Arizona Car Accident Claims

Legal Options After a Car Accident in Arizona After a car accident in Arizona, injured victims may pursue compensation through an insurance claim or by filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence system, allowing recovery even if you share fault. Compensation may include medical expenses, lost income, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering. Arizona's statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is two years, so timely action is critical.

Quick Facts

Statute: 2 years from the date of the accident.
Fault Rule: Pure comparative negligence.
Minimum Coverage: $25,000 bodily injury per person / $50,000 per accident / $15,000 property damage.

Arizona Law

Key Facts for Arizona Accident Claims

Statute of Limitations

2 years from the date of the accident.

Personal injury claims

Fault System

Pure comparative negligence.

Comparative fault rules

Min. Liability Coverage

$25,000 bodily injury per person / $50,000 per accident / $15,000 property damage.

State minimums

Uninsured Motorist

Must be offered; optional but commonly included.

Coverage status

Statute of Limitations in Arizona

In Arizona, injured individuals typically have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline generally results in losing the right to pursue compensation in court. The statute applies to most car accident injury cases. Courts strictly enforce this timeframe, making it important to begin the claims process promptly. Early action also ensures key evidence remains available.

Don't Wait: Evidence can disappear and memories fade. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after your accident.

Arizona's Fault System

Arizona operates under a pure comparative negligence system. This means you may recover damages even if you are mostly at fault for the accident. Your compensation will simply be reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. For example, if you are 60% responsible, you can still recover 40% of your damages. This system provides more flexibility than contributory negligence states. However, insurers often attempt to assign higher fault percentages to minimize payouts, making proper documentation essential.

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Insurance Requirements

Arizona requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of 25/50/15. This includes $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. Liability insurance covers injuries and damage you cause to others. Insurers must also offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, though drivers may decline it in writing. Carrying UM/UIM coverage can provide critical protection if the at-fault driver lacks adequate insurance.

Crash Data for Arizona

Of the 106 people killed in Arizona large-truck crashes in 2024, 85 (80.2%) were not in the truck, a pattern that consistently places other road users at greatest risk in semi-truck collisions (Cash4Crashes analysis of NHTSA FARS 2024). Median EMS arrival in Arizona rural crashes ran 72 minutes - 47 minutes longer than the 25-minute urban median - reflecting the time pressure injured accident victims face before reaching hospital-level care (Cash4Crashes analysis of NHTSA FARS 2024).

In Arizona, 162 of 263 pedestrian crash fatalities in 2024 (61.6%) took place where no marked crosswalk existed - a figure that points to how much pedestrian exposure falls outside protected crossing zones (Cash4Crashes analysis of NHTSA FARS 2024).

Author

Cash4Crashes Editorial Team

Legal Review

Cash4Crashes Legal Review Team

Last Updated

2026-08-04

Sources

Free AZ Case Review

Arizona FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Arizona's pure comparative negligence rule allows recovery even if you are found mostly responsible for the crash. Your compensation is simply reduced by your percentage of fault, so a driver assigned 60% fault can still recover the remaining 40% of damages. There is no cutoff point that eliminates the claim entirely, unlike states with a fault-percentage bar. That said, insurers routinely push to assign injured drivers a higher fault share specifically to shrink the payout, so documentation, photos, witness accounts, the police report, plays a direct role in how much of your claim survives negotiation.

Arizona gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a car accident lawsuit. That covers injury claims, lost wages, and property damage against the at-fault driver. Since Arizona reduces rather than bars your recovery based on fault percentage, the real cost of waiting isn't just the deadline, it's losing access to fresh evidence, witness memory fades and vehicles get repaired, that could otherwise limit how much fault gets pinned on you. Filing well before the two-year mark also preserves more negotiating leverage with the insurer.

No. Arizona insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, but you can decline it in writing, and many drivers do without realizing what they're giving up. UM/UIM coverage pays out when the at-fault driver has no insurance or carries less than the state's 25/50/15 minimum, which can leave a real gap on serious injury claims. Since Arizona also reduces awards by your assigned fault percentage under comparative negligence, having UM/UIM as a backup matters more here than in states where a single policy is expected to cover the full loss.

It's Arizona's minimum required liability insurance: $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, up to $50,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. This is what the at-fault driver's insurer is required to pay toward your injuries and vehicle damage, but it's a legal floor, not a ceiling on your claim's value. A serious injury can easily exceed $25,000 in medical costs alone, in which case the shortfall may need to come from the at-fault driver personally or from your own underinsured motorist coverage.

Get Help from a Arizona Attorney

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