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Aug 03, 2026
In Arizona, personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of the injury. This applies to all types of personal injury cases including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and other incidents where someone’s negligence caused harm. Exceptions to this deadline are rare but include the discovery rule, which allows the statute of limitations to begin when you reasonably became aware of the injury and its connection to the incident, and special provisions for minors who have two years from their 18th birthday to file.
In civil court matters, motions and petitions must be filed within certain deadlines. If you are planning to hire an attorney as a means of seeking compensation from someone who caused your injury, you should understand the basics of the Arizona personal injury statute of limitations. Meeting legal deadlines is a crucial first step when seeking financial compensation.
Understanding Arizona’s Statute of Limitations
All states have some form of formal deadlines for filing personal injury claims. Any statute of limitations is intended to promote timely court filings. Legal deadlines protect the rights of defendants by ensuring that claims are brought within a reasonable timeframe. Legal deadlines also protect the quality of evidence, which may become harder to find or less reliable after multiple years have passed.
In Arizona, any personal injury claim must be brought within two years of the date of the injury. For example, if you were injured in a motorcycle, car, bicycle, truck accident, or dog bite incident and had grounds to file a personal injury claim, you would have to file the claim within two years of the date of the accident.
If you waited longer than two years, the courts would likely not accept your case, and you could not use them to seek a settlement for your injuries. The defendant would certainly have an interest in objecting to the claim, citing the missed deadline.
Exceptions to Arizona’s Statute of Limitations
There are only a few exceptions to this deadline. One potential exception would be if you did not reasonably know that you were injured until after the date of the accident. This is known as the discovery rule.
This rule allows the statute of limitations to start at the point when you became aware or should have become aware of the injury and its connection to the accident or incident. If your case potentially qualifies for this exception, your personal injury lawyer can present their argument in court that the statute of limitations should be extended to account for the discovery rule.
Special rules often apply to minors. When a child is injured, the courts generally set the statute of limitations at two years from when the child turns 18. This affords children the same two-year period to file as adults.
A Much Shorter Deadline for Claims Against the Government
One exception works against you rather than for you. If a government entity or employee caused your injury, a city bus, a county road crew, a public hospital, or a government vehicle, a much tighter set of deadlines applies, and the usual two years does not.
First, you have to serve a written notice of claim within 180 days of when the claim accrues, under A.R.S. § 12-821.01. The notice has to lay out the facts behind the claim and a specific dollar amount that would settle it. A claim not filed within that 180-day window is barred, with no action allowed on it afterward.
Then the lawsuit itself must be filed within one year of accrual under A.R.S. § 12-821, not the two years that applies to private defendants. The public entity has 60 days to respond to your notice, and if it does not, the claim is treated as denied so you can move forward in court.
For an injured minor or a person who is incompetent, the 180-day notice period runs from the date the disability ends. Because these deadlines are short and strictly enforced, the single most important early step in any injury involving the government is identifying that a public defendant exists before the clock quietly runs out.
Other Situations That Can Change the Clock
A handful of other circumstances can move the deadline. In a wrongful death case, the two-year period under A.R.S. § 12-542 generally runs from the date of death, which can fall later on the calendar than the date of the underlying injury.
The clock can also pause. If the person who caused your injury leaves Arizona, A.R.S. § 12-501 provides that the time they are absent from the state is not counted against your deadline. And if the injured person is of unsound mind when the claim accrues, A.R.S. § 12-502 treats that period of disability as time that does not count, giving the person the same filing window once the disability is removed.
These situations are narrow and fact-specific, and more than one deadline can be in play at once. An attorney can confirm which rule actually governs your case before an assumption about the timeline costs you the claim.
Talking to an Insurer Does Not Stop the Clock
A common and costly misunderstanding is that ongoing settlement talks pause the deadline. They do not. The statute of limitations is satisfied only by filing a lawsuit in court within the time the law allows, not by negotiating with an adjuster or trading letters back and forth.
An insurer has no duty to remind you the deadline is coming, and some are content to keep the conversation going until it passes. Once it does, your leverage is gone, because the possibility of a lawsuit is what gives a claim its settlement value. Filing suit does not mean the case cannot still settle. Most cases resolve after a complaint is on file. It simply protects your right to be heard if the other side refuses to offer a fair number.
Benefits of Filing Personal Injury Claims Quickly
One of the main benefits of seeking legal counsel and taking swift action is avoiding missed deadlines. It is beneficial to file a claim as soon as reasonably possible because witnesses and physical evidence are often more readily available shortly after an accident, such as a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, than they are several years later.
That isn’t to say that legal matters should be rushed either. Your lawyer needs to review your case to make sure that you have a strong claim. One crucial step is to correctly list the defendants in the case. Your most trusted resource for when to take legal action should be a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury lawyer, who can take steps that serve your interests.
Why Arizonans Trust Bleaman Law Firm, P.C.
After any personal injury, meeting filing deadlines is crucial to protecting your rights and securing compensation. Gilbert residents trust Marc Bleaman at Bleaman Law Firm, P.C., because our attorney has a reputation for providing reliable legal representation. He is known for being a professional and reliable advocate for his clients.
Marc has worked for large companies in the past, so he understands their legal strategies. Our firm can provide clear and honest updates about your case. We can also make sure that any paperwork is filed in a timely manner so you never miss a deadline. Whether you are seeking to be a plaintiff in a wrongful death case or any other kind of personal injury case, you can rely on our lawyer to take the necessary steps to comply with state filing deadlines.
FAQs
How Long Can You Wait to Sue Someone in Arizona?
Personal injury claims in Arizona are subject to a two-year statute of limitations, so plaintiffs must file their claims within two years of the injury date. There are very few exceptions to this deadline. Failing to file within this timeframe can result in the plaintiff losing the right to pursue financial compensation for their injuries through the courts.
What Is the Deadline for Seeking Compensation for Bodily Injury in Arizona?
If you were injured due to someone else’s actions or misconduct such as a slip and fall accidents or premises liability, you will need to meet the state’s two-year deadline for filing a personal injury claim. This statute of limitations is intended to encourage timely resolutions to legal disputes. Your lawyer can review your case and file the needed paperwork to meet this important deadline.
How Does the Arizona Statute of Limitations Work?
The Arizona statute of limitations is a deadline for personal injury cases, which must be met in most cases. The start of the deadline is the date of the accident or event that caused the injury. If the injured individual tries to take legal action after this deadline, the courts may reject the personal injury claim on procedural grounds.
What Is the Average Personal Injury Settlement in Arizona?
Personal injury settlements vary widely, so there is no easy way to say what the average settlement is. The factors that determine the size of a personal injury settlement include the:
- Severity of the injury
- Financial losses incurred by the victim
- Level of misconduct committed by the defendant
Your attorney is your most reliable resource for calculating an estimate of what your final settlement could be.
Schedule Your Arizona Personal Injury Consultation Today
If you have concerns about missing important deadlines, your first step should be to work with an attorney who has a reputation for being professional and knowledgeable about legal deadlines. Injured Gilbert residents trust Bleaman Law Firm, P.C., because our law firm doesn’t miss important deadlines.
If you are worried about not filing a legal claim on time, don’t wait to seek legal representation. You can rely on our attorney to take timely action that serves your interests. To schedule your personal injury consultation, contact our office today.
Arizona Personal Injury Resources:
