Arizona FAQs

Yes — and this is one of the most important things to understand before you assume you don’t have a case.

A lot of people in Phoenix walk away from real compensation because they think being partly responsible for an accident means they can’t recover anything. That’s not how Arizona law works.

Arizona follows a rule called pure comparative fault. What that means in plain terms is that your percentage of fault reduces your compensation — it doesn’t eliminate it. So if you were found 30% at fault for a collision and your total damages came out to $100,000, you’d still be entitled to recover $70,000. Even if you were 90% at fault, you could technically still pursue the remaining 10%.

That’s a meaningful distinction. And it’s one insurance companies are counting on you not to know.

Here’s the part worth paying close attention to: the other side — whether that’s another driver, a property owner, or their insurer — has every incentive to push your fault percentage as high as possible. The higher they can get that number, the less they owe you. They have adjusters and attorneys working on that from day one.You should too.

Fault is rarely as black and white as the other party will try to make it seem. Evidence gets interpreted. Witness accounts get weighed. Details matter — and an experienced Arizona personal injury attorney knows how to build the full picture.

At Lerner and Rowe, we’ve helped clients across the Valley recover compensation even in cases where fault was genuinely shared. If you’re not sure where you stand, let’s talk it through.

Call us at (602) 977-1900. No fees unless we win.

Medical bills don’t wait. Insurance companies, unfortunately, sometimes do — and if you’re dealing with a delayed claim in Arizona, that gap can feel impossible to manage.
The good news is there are real, practical ways to bridge it.

A lot of local doctors and clinics will treat injury patients on a medical lien. That means no upfront payment from you — the provider agrees to wait until your case resolves, then gets paid out of your settlement. It’s common practice here, and it keeps you from having to choose between your health and your finances.

If you were hurt in a car accident, check your own policy for MedPay coverage. Medical Payments coverage kicks in regardless of fault and pays your bills while the liability claim is still being sorted out. A lot of people don’t realize they even have it.

Your personal health insurance is also worth using — don’t leave it on the table just because a third-party claim is pending. Yes, your insurer may later seek reimbursement through subrogation, but that’s something an attorney can help negotiate down. Getting treated now matters more.

And if the insurance company is genuinely dragging its feet without any real justification? That could be bad faith under Arizona law. Insurers here have a legal obligation to handle claims in a reasonable timeframe — and when they don’t, there are consequences.

Our team at Lerner and Rowe has handled these situations for Arizonaclients for years. We know the pressure you’re under, and we know how to push back.

Call us at (602) 977-1900. No fees unless we win your case.

Where you request your report depends on who responded to the scene — and that trips people up more than anything else.

If Phoenix PD worked the crash, head to their online records portal and submit a request there. You’ll need the date, location, and ideally your report number if the officer handed you anything at the scene. Reports usually take about a week to ten days to process, sometimes longer if it was a complex incident.

Highway accident? That falls under ADOT, not the city. Go to ServiceArizona.com, look for the crash report request section, and expect a small fee. It’s not a perfect system, but it works.

Out in unincorporated Maricopa County — think parts of Scottsdale’s outskirts, the far East Valley, areas without a city police presence — that’s Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office territory. They have an online records request option too.

One thing nobody tells you: some reports still aren’t fully available online depending on the agency’s backlog or whether the report is still under review. If you’re hitting a wall, the officer’s name and badge number from the night of the crash can cut through a lot of the bureaucracy.

Here’s why it actually matters. Insurance adjusters pull that report early, and they use it to frame what happened. If you were hurt and the other driver caused it, you want to see what’s in there before you talk to anyone.

Arizona gives you two years to file a personal injury claim, but the sooner you have your documentation in order, the better.

If you want a hand sorting through any of this, give Lerner and Rowe a call at (602) 977-1900. We work with accident victims across Arizona — we’re happy to help.

This is one of those questions where the honest answer is: more than one party might be responsible, and figuring out which one takes some digging.

Start with the basics. Uber and Lyft both carry $1 million liability policies that cover passengers during an active ride. So if you had a driver, the app was running, and you were in that car — that coverage exists. What it doesn’t do is automatically pay your bills without a fight.

If another driver caused the crash, their insurance gets looked at first. Arizona has no shortage of uninsured drivers, so if that policy is thin or nonexistent, the rideshare company’s underinsured motorist coverage becomes the next option. It layers. That’s the part most people don’t expect.

Your own health insurance? It can come in early, especially while liability is still being sorted out. Hospitals and clinics aren’t going to wait six months for two insurance companies to stop pointing fingers at each other.

What makes rideshare claims genuinely complicated — more so than a standard two-car accident — is the number of moving parts. You’ve got the rideshare insurer, the other driver’s insurer, potentially your own policy, and a company like Uber or Lyft that has a legal team whose entire job is protecting Uber or Lyft. Passengers often don’t realize that until they’re already deep into the process.

Arizona gives you two years to bring a personal injury claim. Don’t let that window close before you understand what you’re actually entitled to.

We’ve handled a lot of rideshare cases across in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Bullhead City, and other cities across Arizona. If you’re not sure where to start, call us at (602) 977-1900. We’ll tell you what we think, straight.

Arizona follows what’s called modified comparative fault. Here’s what that actually means when you’re the one dealing with the aftermath of a crash.

If you were partly at fault for the accident — say you were going a few miles over the speed limit when someone blew a red light at 7th and McDowell — you can still recover damages. Your payout just gets reduced by whatever percentage of fault gets assigned to you. So if your case is worth $100,000 and you’re found 20% at fault, you walk away with $80,000.
The cutoff is 50%. Once fault hits that threshold, you recover nothing. That’s the “modified” part — pure comparative fault states let you collect even if you’re 99% responsible. Arizona doesn’t work that way.

Why does this matter specifically at busy Phoenix intersections? Because fault is almost never clean-cut at places like Camelback and Central, or the 51 on-ramps, or anywhere along Peoria Avenue during rush hour. Multiple things are usually happening at once — someone was speeding, someone was distracted, the light timing is awkward, visibility is poor. Insurance adjusters know this. They use that complexity to push your share of fault higher than it should be, which directly cuts into what you’re owed.

The other thing worth knowing: fault percentages aren’t handed down from some neutral authority. They get negotiated. What’s in the police report, witness statements, traffic camera footage, even the physical damage patterns on the vehicles — all of it factors in. Having someone in your corner who knows how to push back on an inflated fault assignment makes a real difference.

If you were hurt at a Phoenix intersection and the other driver’s insurance is telling you that you share more blame than you think you do, that’s worth a second opinion. Call Lerner and Rowe at (602) 977-1900. We’ve been fighting these cases in Arizona for a long time.

Yes — and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise before you’ve talked to an attorney.

Drivers in Arizona have a legal duty to watch for people on foot. When they don’t, and someone gets hurt, that’s not a gray area. It’s negligence. The injured pedestrian has every right to pursue compensation for what happened to them.

What does that actually mean in dollars? It depends on the injury, honestly. A broken wrist is a different claim than a traumatic brain injury or a shattered pelvis — and pedestrian accidents in Phoenix produce serious injuries regularly. Think about how fast traffic moves on streets like Scottsdale Road or Baseline. The math on those collisions isn’t pretty.
Compensation typically covers your medical treatment — everything from the ambulance ride to surgeries to months of rehab. It covers income you lost while you couldn’t work. And it covers pain and suffering, which sounds vague but is very real when you’re the one who can’t sleep, can’t walk without a limp, or can’t get back behind the wheel — or back on a sidewalk — without your heart racing.

Where things get contested is when the insurance company argues you were partly at fault. Jaywalking. Crossing against a light. Walking on a road without a sidewalk. They’ll use anything. Under Arizona law, partial fault reduces your payout — but it doesn’t eliminate it unless you’re more than 50% responsible. That’s a fight worth having with the right people in your corner.

Don’t wait too long to act on this. Footage gets deleted. Witnesses forget. Two years sounds like a long time until it isn’t.

Call Lerner and Rowe at (602) 977-1900. We handle pedestrian accident cases throughout Phoenix and the surrounding area, and the consultation won’t cost you anything.

Much less time than you think. And the process is nothing like filing against a private driver.
When a Valley Metro bus, a city vehicle, or any other government-operated entity is involved in your accident, Arizona’s Notice of Claim law kicks in. You have 180 days from the date of the incident to file a formal notice — not a lawsuit, just the notice. Miss that window and you’ve likely lost your right to sue entirely. No extensions, no exceptions for not knowing about the rule.

180 days is six months. It sounds reasonable until you factor in that most people spend the first few weeks dealing with injuries, missing work, and sorting out basic logistics. By the time someone thinks about legal action, a big chunk of that window is already gone.
The notice itself has specific requirements too. It has to identify who’s being claimed against, describe what happened, and include a dollar amount for your damages. Get any of that wrong and the claim can be thrown out on a technicality. Government entities have attorneys who look for exactly those kinds of defects.

After the notice is filed, the government has 60 days to accept or reject it. If they reject it — which is common — you then have the right to file a lawsuit. That’s when the standard two-year personal injury statute of limitations comes back into play, but only if you cleared the notice hurdle first.

One more thing. Valley Metro, the City of Phoenix, Maricopa County — these aren’t small operations with overworked adjusters. They have legal teams that handle injury claims every day. Going at it without an attorney is a real disadvantage.

If a government vehicle hurt you in the Phoenix area, call Lerner and Rowe at (602) 977-1900. The 180-day clock is already running.

Yes. Put the phone down.

Insurance companies monitor claimants on social media. That’s not a conspiracy theory — it’s a line item in how they investigate cases. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, even LinkedIn. If your profile is public, it’s being looked at. If it’s private, don’t assume that protects you. Screenshots get taken. Friends tag you without thinking. Nothing digital is as locked down as people believe.

The scenario that kills claims goes like this. You’re telling the adjuster your injuries have affected your ability to walk, work, enjoy your normal life. Meanwhile, you posted a photo at Camelback Mountain last Saturday. Or you checked in at a rooftop bar on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix. Or your caption from Chase Field says you’re “feeling great.” None of that reflects the full picture of what you’re going through — but the adjuster isn’t interested in nuance. They’ll pull that post into a file and use it to argue your injuries aren’t what you say they are.

One good day doesn’t cancel out six bad ones. But it can absolutely cancel out your claim.
What you should do while your case is active: stop posting about your life. Not just about the accident — about your activities, your mood, your whereabouts. If you need to stay online for work or family reasons, stick to things completely unrelated to your physical condition. And don’t delete old posts. Removing content after a claim is filed looks like you’re hiding something, and that creates a legal problem on top of the one you already have.

The people who get burned by this usually say the same thing afterward — they didn’t think a random photo would matter. It did.

If your pedestrian accident claim is still open and you have questions about protecting it, call Lerner and Rowe at (602) 977-1900. We’ve seen how these things play out.