Personal Injury Laws in Arizona: Deadlines, Fault Rules & Damages

Short answer: In Arizona, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit for ordinary negligence (car crashes, slip-and-falls, dog bites, most injury claims), under Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 12-542. Arizona uses pure comparative negligence, has no caps on economic or non-economic damages (including medical malpractice) because the Arizona Constitution forbids them, is an at-fault (tort) state for car insurance, and treats dog bites as strict liability. If your claim is against a city, county, state agency, or other government body, the deadline is much shorter — read that section before you do anything else.

1. Arizona's personal injury statute of limitations

Under A.R.S. § 12-542, an action for "injury done to the person of another" — the general negligence claim that covers most car accidents, premises liability (slip-and-fall), and dog bite cases — must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues (usually the date of the injury). By the terms of the same statute, the two-year period also applies to medical malpractice claims. Wrongful death claims arising from the injury are treated as accruing on the date of death.

Some circumstances (a minor plaintiff, a defendant who leaves the state, fraudulent concealment, and other statutory tolling provisions) can pause or extend this clock. Because missing the deadline usually ends your case permanently, don't rely on a blog post or a general rule of thumb — confirm the current accrual date and any tolling that might apply to your specific facts with the actual statute or an Arizona attorney.

2. Arizona's fault rule: pure comparative negligence

Arizona follows pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. § 12-2505. This is one of the more claimant-friendly systems in the country:

• Your compensation is reduced by your own percentage of fault, whatever that percentage is.
• Unlike a "modified" comparative negligence state, there is no cutoff — you can still recover a partial award even if you were found 60%, 80%, or 99% at fault. Only 100% fault bars recovery entirely.
• Example: if a jury finds you were 40% at fault for a crash and your damages total $100,000, you can still recover $60,000.
• The statute carves out an exception: there is no comparative-negligence reduction available to a claimant who acted intentionally, willfully, or wantonly.

This differs sharply from "modified comparative negligence" states (which cut off recovery once you're 50% or 51% at fault) and from the small number of "pure contributory negligence" states (where being even 1% at fault can bar recovery completely). Arizona is neither of those — confirm this hasn't changed by checking the current text of A.R.S. § 12-2505 for your case.

3. Damage caps in Arizona: there generally aren't any

Most states put some kind of statutory ceiling on non-economic damages, especially in medical malpractice cases. Arizona is different. The Arizona Constitution contains two provisions that specifically forbid this:

• Article 2, § 31: "No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person."
• Article 18, § 6: "The right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation."

Arizona courts have repeatedly enforced these provisions, striking down legislative attempts to limit or eliminate injury damages. As a practical result, Arizona does not cap economic damages, non-economic (pain and suffering) damages, or punitive damages by statute, in medical malpractice cases or otherwise. This makes Arizona one of a small handful of states where the state constitution itself blocks the legislature from capping personal injury awards. Because this is a constitutional rule rather than an ordinary statute, it would take a constitutional amendment — not just a new law — to change it, but always verify there hasn't been a subsequent amendment or new court ruling before relying on this.

4. Arizona's car insurance system: at-fault (tort), not no-fault

Arizona is an at-fault (tort) state for car accidents, not a no-fault/PIP state. That means:

• The driver who caused the accident (and their liability insurance) is financially responsible for the damages of everyone else involved.
• There is no requirement to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage and no statutory injury-severity "threshold" you must clear before suing — an injured person can generally pursue a claim directly against the at-fault driver's insurer or the driver.
• Arizona law requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance; check current minimum limits with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions before assuming a specific dollar figure, since minimums are periodically updated by the legislature.

5. Arizona's dog-bite rule: strict liability

Arizona follows a strict liability rule for dog bites under A.R.S. § 11-1025. If a dog bites a person who is in a public place, or lawfully on private property (including the dog owner's own property), the owner is liable for the resulting damages — regardless of whether the dog had ever bitten anyone before and regardless of whether the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous. Arizona is not a "one-bite" state, and the statute specifically bars courts from considering the dog's breed when deciding liability. Arizona's dog-bite statutes recognize provocation by the injured person as the principal defense. The statute also requires the dog's owner or keeper to provide their contact information to the bitten person.

Shorter deadlines for claims against the government

If your injury involves a city, county, state agency, public school, or a government employee acting within the scope of their job (a school bus, a city vehicle, a pothole on a state highway, a fall on public property), the ordinary two-year deadline does not protect you. Arizona's Tort Claims Act imposes two much stricter requirements:

• Notice of claim: Under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, you must file a written notice of claim with the proper public entity within 180 days after the claim accrues. The notice must state facts sufficient to explain the basis for liability and must include a specific dollar amount for which the claim can be settled. Missing this window generally bars the claim entirely, even though the regular statute of limitations hasn't run yet.
• Lawsuit deadline: Under A.R.S. § 12-821, any lawsuit against a public entity or public employee must be filed within one year after the cause of action accrues.

Because these deadlines are unforgiving and the "who counts as a public entity" question is not always obvious, treat any injury that might involve a government actor as an emergency — the effective deadline could be a fraction of the two years you'd otherwise expect.

Where to start: Arizona's state courts

Personal injury lawsuits in Arizona are filed in state court, not federal court, unless there's a special basis for federal jurisdiction (such as parties from different states and a large enough dollar amount). Depending on the amount in dispute, that generally means:

• Arizona Superior Court (the state's general trial court, organized by county) for most injury claims.
• Justice courts for small claims-type disputes below the relevant dollar threshold.

You can confirm current filing procedures, forms, and self-help resources through the Arizona Judicial Branch's official court self-service center for your county.

What to do in Arizona

1. Get medical care and document everything — medical records are the backbone of any injury claim, and gaps in treatment are commonly used to dispute claims.
2. Identify whether a government entity might be involved (city vehicle, public property, school, state agency). If so, treat the 180-day notice-of-claim deadline as your real deadline, not two years.
3. Preserve evidence — photos of the scene, the vehicles, the dog, or the hazard; contact information for witnesses; the at-fault party's insurance information.
4. Report the incident to the relevant insurer (auto, homeowner's, or the property owner's liability carrier) promptly, but be cautious about giving recorded statements before you understand your claim.
5. Track your own conduct leading up to the incident — because Arizona reduces awards by your percentage of fault rather than barring them, even partial fault on your part is worth discussing honestly with whoever is evaluating your claim.
6. Confirm your specific deadline by checking the current text of A.R.S. § 12-542 (or § 12-821/12-821.01 for government claims) or by consulting the Arizona court system or a licensed Arizona attorney — do not rely solely on a general two-year rule of thumb if your situation involves a minor, a government defendant, or a delayed discovery of the injury.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; confirm current Arizona law and how it applies to your situation with an official source or a licensed Arizona attorney.