How do I sue someone for a car accident? Suing someone for a car accident involves filing a civil complaint before the statute of limitations expires, outlining the driver’s negligence, your injuries, and the damages you’re seeking, and then having the defendant formally served.
Once the lawsuit begins, both sides exchange evidence through discovery, negotiate potential settlement, and proceed to trial if the insurer still disputes liability or undervalues your losses.
Medical bills, lost wages, and property damage can add up fast following a car accident. Insurance companies often question injuries, minimize damages, or push quick payouts that do not cover long-term needs.
Understanding negligence, fault, and the steps in an accident lawsuit helps you protect your rights and build a stronger case.
This guide explains when and how to sue the at-fault driver after a collision in Arizona.
We’ll cover evidence collection, the insurance claim and demand letter, when to file a complaint, what discovery looks like, how settlement and mediation work, and what to expect at trial under the preponderance of the evidence standard.
The Sorenson Law Firm brings 130+ years of combined Arizona litigation experience to car accident cases across Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tucson. Get a free case evaluation and speak with a personal injury lawyer today.
Suing for Auto Accident in Arizona
Suing vs. Filing an Insurance Claim
Filing an insurance claim starts the process with the at-fault driver’s insurer. Your evidence supports a demand letter that lays out injuries, property damage, and a settlement number.
Suing for auto accident losses begins when talks stall and you file a civil complaint in court. The complaint names the defendant, states facts, cites negligence, and requests damages.
The court issues a summons that must be served on the defendant, which officially opens the accident lawsuit.
Most car accident matters begin with a claim. Many resolve with negotiated compensation once medical care stabilizes.
A lawsuit becomes necessary when liability is disputed, damages are undervalued, or the insurer refuses to pay for clear losses. Common triggers for a suit include denied liability, low offers that ignore future care, or delays that threaten the statute of limitations.
Legal action places deadlines on both sides, allows subpoenas, and brings the case under court oversight.
How Arizona’s Fault System Impacts Your Claim
Arizona uses a fault-based system. The at-fault driver bears financial responsibility for injuries and property damage caused by negligent driving.
A.R.S. § 12-2505 adopts pure comparative negligence. Your compensation drops by your share of fault, but recovery still remains possible even with a high percentage on your side.
For example: a jury values your car accident losses at $100,000 and assigns you 20% fault for speeding. Your net recovery would be $80,000.
Fault shares can involve multiple parties, including drivers, employers, or vehicle owners.
What Damages Can You Seek After a Collision?
Arizona law permits recovery for economic and noneconomic losses tied to the crash. A claim may include both property damage and bodily injury components.
Property damage covers vehicle repair or total loss and can include diminished value. Bodily injury damages cover medical costs and human losses tied to the trauma.
- Economic losses: Emergency care, surgery, rehab, prescriptions, medical devices, mileage, lost wages, and lost earning capacity.
- Noneconomic losses: Pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, and impact on daily living.
- Future costs: Ongoing treatment, attendant care, and life-care plans for permanent impairment.
Clear documentation of each loss improves settlement value and supports a verdict if trial becomes necessary.
How Do I Sue Someone for a Car Accident in Arizona?
Always start with health and safety. Get medical care, follow treatment plans, and save every record. Gather evidence from the scene, including photos, videos, contact information, and the police report.
File a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurer and notify your own carrier when required by your policy. Once treatment reaches maximum medical improvement or stabilizes, your attorney sends a demand package with records, bills, and evidence of wage loss.
If the insurer minimizes your injuries or rejects liability, your next step is legal action.
How To Sue Someone for a Car Accident
Suing someone for a car accident begins with drafting a complaint and filing it within the statutory deadline. A car accident lawyer evaluates liability, calculates damages, and advises on timing for suit.
- Step 1: Medical care and evidence preservation.
- Step 2: File a claim and present a strong demand.
- Step 3: File a lawsuit when negotiations fail or deadlines are near.
Where Do You File and Who Gets Served?
Larger car accident cases usually go to Superior Court. Maricopa County handles Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Mesa; Pima County handles Tucson; and Pinal County covers many corridor crashes along I-10 and SR-87.
Smaller property damage disputes can proceed in Justice Court or Small Claims based on dollar limits.
Your complaint starts the case, and a process server delivers the summons and complaint to the defendant.
After service, an in-state defendant typically has 20 days to file an answer under the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer admits or denies allegations and may include defenses. Missing this deadline can lead to default, so service and timing matter for both sides.
Important Deadlines for Your Case
Most personal injury claims from a car accident carry a two-year statute of limitations under A.R.S. § 12-542. Missing that window can end your claim.
Claims against cities, counties, or the State of Arizona require a notice of claim within 180 days and a one-year lawsuit deadline under A.R.S. § 12-821.01 and § 12-821.
Shorter timelines often arise with public buses, road maintenance issues, or police vehicles. Early attorney involvement helps safeguard every deadline and preserves evidence that can fade fast in metro areas.
Arizona’s Legal Standard for Car Accident Lawsuits
What You Must Prove To Win
A negligence claim rests on four elements.
- Duty: Drivers must operate with reasonable care.
- Breach: A failure to meet that standard, such as running a red light or texting while driving.
- Causation: The breach created a chain leading to your injury.
- Damages: Medical bills, wage loss, and human losses tied to the collision.
The burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence. Your case succeeds when the evidence shows your version is more likely true than not.
Medical records, treating doctor opinions, and objective findings help link the crash to your condition. Traffic statutes, scene photos, and physical damage patterns support breach and causation.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Payout
Pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. § 12-2505 reduces compensation by your share of fault. A Phoenix freeway merge crash might place 70% fault on a lane changer and 30% on a speeding driver. A Mesa left-turn collision could split 60/40.
Recovery still occurs for each party based on proven damages minus their fault share. For example, $50,000 in damages with 30% fault on you would mean $35,000 net recovery.
Jury verdict forms in Superior Court often list each party with a percentage, including nonparties at fault.
Defenses Insurers Raise
Common defenses question medical causation or the size of claimed damages. Insurers point to pre-existing conditions, gaps in treatment, missed appointments, or delayed care. They may argue failure to mitigate damages if reasonable care or work restrictions were not followed.
Police reports, traffic citations, and Arizona traffic statutes become focal points in these debates. Respond with complete medical histories that distinguish old issues from crash-related injuries, and use treating providers and experts to explain causation and necessity of care.
Examples of Situations Where Suing Makes Sense After a Collision
When Suing Someone for a Car Accident Is Necessary
Some crashes demand a lawsuit. Serious fractures, traumatic brain injury, spine injuries, or permanent impairment require full compensation planning. A lawsuit may be needed when an at-fault driver denies fault, blames you, or lacks coverage for the full loss.
Insurers sometimes stall or make low offers in large-loss cases, making litigation the only route to fair value.
Suing makes sense for these situations:
- High medical bills and extended time off work.
- Disputed liability at busy intersections or complex multi-vehicle scenes.
- Commercial vehicle, delivery van, or rideshare collisions.
Can You Sue Someone for Hitting Your Car With Only Property Damage?
Yes. Property damage claims can proceed without bodily injury. Smaller disputes fit in Small Claims or Justice Court. Larger losses, late-model vehicle totals, or diminished value claims may belong in Superior Court.
Evidence that helps includes body shop estimates, pre-loss vehicle photos, market valuation, and expert appraisals for diminished value.
What if the At-Fault Driver Is Uninsured or Underinsured?
Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage on your policy can fill gaps when you’re facing an uninsured motorist claim. You can sue the driver personally, and you may present a UM/UIM claim with your own insurer.
Rideshare crashes raise special coverage layers tied to app status. Hit-and-run cases rely on UM and careful evidence gathering such as traffic cameras and 911 recordings.
Legal Process for a Car Accident Lawsuit in Arizona
What Happens After You File a Complaint?
After service, the defendant files an answer. Counterclaims can appear if the other driver alleges your negligence caused their loss. Early motions may challenge parts of the complaint.
The court sets a case management conference and issues a scheduling order covering discovery deadlines, mediation windows, and trial settings.
- Key filings: Answer, disclosure statements, nonparty-at-fault notices, and expert disclosures.
- Early evaluation: Liability strength, venue, judge assignment, and insurance policy limits.
The Discovery Process
Discovery builds or breaks a car accident lawsuit. Each side exchanges information through interrogatories, requests for production, admissions, and depositions. Medical authorizations and employment records verify damages. Independent medical examinations (IMEs) may occur.
Experts such as accident reconstructionists, biomechanical engineers, and life-care planners help explain cause and future needs. Depositions lock in testimony and expose weaknesses early, and comprehensive document production supports causation and damage models.
What Comes Before Trial?
Courts in Maricopa and Pima Counties often require mediation or a settlement conference. Pretrial filings include motions in limine, jury instructions, exhibit lists, and witness lists.
Trial readiness covers direct and cross-examination outlines, exhibit technology, and demonstratives that show impact forces and medical findings.
When Fault Is Shared or Disputed
How Is Fault Divided Between Drivers?
In contested crashes, fault can be split among drivers and even nonparties. A jury or judge assigns percentages based on the evidence. Arizona permits allocation to nonparties at fault, which can reduce a defendant’s share even if that nonparty is not in the courtroom.
Clear reconstruction helps jurors understand speed, braking, visibility, and right-of-way rules pertaining to the collision.
What if the Insurance Adjuster Claims You Were Partly at Fault?
Insurers often seek recorded statements and rely on scene diagrams, crash profiles, and event data recorder (EDR) downloads. Push back with photographs, third-party videos, and expert analysis.
Witness statements and 911 audio help confirm sequence and timing. Request camera footage from nearby businesses or traffic systems promptly. Use spoliation letters to preserve vehicle data and surveillance video.
A strong response can move an unfair split toward a fairer apportionment.
Can Someone Sue You for a Car Accident When Both Drivers Made Mistakes?
Yes. Cross-claims and counterclaims are common. Pure comparative negligence still grants recovery to each driver for proven damages reduced by their own fault share. Careful evidence development protects your claim and defends against inflated allegations from the other side.
Key Evidence in Arizona Car Accident Cases
Evidence proves negligence and supports damages. Police reports, citations, 911 recordings, and traffic camera footage frame liability. Scene photos, skid marks, vehicle damage patterns, and dash cam video add clarity.
Medical records document injury patterns and timing tied to the collision. Treating providers and retained experts explain the mechanism of injury and future care.
Be sure to:
- Collect photos of vehicles, intersection controls, debris fields, and road conditions.
- Ask witnesses for detailed contact information and written statements.
Documents That Show Lost Wages and Future Losses
Wage claims rely on employer letters, pay stubs, W‑2s, tax returns, and timesheets. A vocational expert can address work restrictions and job market impact. Economists quantify lost earning capacity.
Long-term injuries often require a life-care plan for medications, therapy, medical equipment, and home modifications.
How To Protect Evidence
Send spoliation letters (legal notices requesting recipients preserve evidence) to preserve vehicle electronic data, dash cam files, and store surveillance.
Move fast for traffic video in busy corridors such as Tempe Town Lake, Old Town Scottsdale, or downtown Phoenix where footage cycles quickly.
Secure the damaged vehicle for inspection until your expert completes a download and analysis.
Insurance Company Tactics and Settlement Negotiations in Arizona
Tactics Commonly Used by Insurance Companies
Common strategies include quick low offers, broad medical authorizations, and unnecessary delays. Carriers sometimes dispute clear injuries or hint at partial fault with little supporting evidence.
A.R.S. § 20-461 bars unfair claim practices and sets claim handling standards. Careful documentation and a well-supported demand help counter these tactics.
Limit authorizations to relevant time frames and providers. Respond with records that connect the crash to each billed service.
How Settlement Talks Work
Your demand package includes a liability summary, medical records, bills, wage proof, and a damages analysis. Offers and counteroffers follow.
Many cases reach resolution after treatment stabilizes, once future needs can be outlined with confidence. Courts in Phoenix and Tucson use mediation or settlement conferences that utilize a neutral party to facilitate agreement.
What if the Insurer Denies Your Claim?
If negotiations fail or the carrier rejects clear liability, file a lawsuit and use discovery to obtain the evidence the insurer relies on. Upcoming trial dates often prompt movement. A strong case theme, credible experts, and well-prepared testimony increase pressure for a fair settlement.
The Role of a Car Accident Attorney in Arizona
An accident attorney investigates liability, secures evidence, and builds a strategy that fits Arizona law.
The lawyer can help coordinate medical documentation, calculate damages, and present a demand that values both present and future losses. When needed, the attorney files suit, manages discovery, and prepares the case for trial.
Who Deals With the Insurance Adjuster and Court Filings?
Your car accident attorney handles communications with insurance companies and manages all court deadlines. Preparation covers your deposition, mediation sessions, and trial testimony. This approach reduces stress and keeps the case aligned with the scheduling order.
How Do Fees and Consultations Work?
Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee, so there is no upfront payment involved. Fees come from the settlement or verdict percentage.
Our firm offers a free consultation and a free case evaluation to assess liability, damages, and timelines before any commitment.
How The Sorenson Law Firm Can Help
Arizona-Specific Advantages
We bring 130+ years of combined experience to car accident litigation across Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe. Our team knows A.R.S. § 12-542, A.R.S. § 12-2505, and local rules in Superior Courts.
We understand freeway dynamics on I‑10 and Loop 101, urban traffic in downtown cores, and suburban patterns that shape how crashes occur and how jurors view fault.
Services That Move Your Case Forward
Our services include rapid investigation, accident reconstruction, medical record analysis, damage modeling, and expert development.
We negotiate with insurance companies using complete demand packages and litigate when talks fail. Trial advocacy remains available for cases that require a verdict to reach fair value.
Get Started Today
Call us at (480) 839-9500 for a free consultation. Contact us today to speak with a lawyer today and protect your rights before deadlines expire.
Key Points To Remember
- Arizona is fault-based with pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. § 12-2505, so you can pursue compensation even with partial fault.
- File a lawsuit within two years for most injury claims under A.R.S. § 12-542; public entity claims require a 180‑day notice and a one‑year deadline.
- Win by proving duty, breach, causation, and damages by a preponderance of the evidence.
- Start with an insurance claim and a detailed demand; sue if the insurer denies or undervalues your losses.
- Evidence drives outcomes and includes police reports, photos, medical records, wage proof, experts, and preserved electronic data.
- A car accident attorney handles insurers, discovery, negotiations, and trial to help you recover compensation within Arizona’s timelines.
Additional Resources
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-542 and § 12-2505: Statute of limitations and comparative negligence rules, straight from the Arizona Legislature.
- ADOT Crash Facts: Statewide crash data and safety trends that support causation analysis and risk context.
- NHTSA: Fact and guidance on driver and road safety, risky driving, vehicle safety, and more.
