Arizona car accident statute of limitations
Attorney Representation in Phoenix, Arizona Since 1996
Arizona Car Accident Attorneys
Arizona car accidents maintain different statute of limitations. If you are hit by a private vehicle, you typically will have a two year statute of limitations. However, this changes if you were on the clock at the time of the accident. If you are on the clock at the time of the accident then under you have workers compensation laws that you have to be aware of.
Under A.R.S. 23-1023 workers compensation is also allowed recovery rights or reimbursement from settlement proceeds from a third party. A injured person must inform workers compensation as well as get permission from the workers compensation carrier to settle their third party claim. There are many other statutes and laws that govern individuals when they are on the clock and have been in a car accident in Arizona that injured people have to be aware of when in an auto accident in Arizona. Under A.R.S. 23-1023(c) this lien is actually an exception to the "anti-subrogation" common law rule that third parties cannot have assignments to a third party claim.
Further, if you are on the clock at the time of the accident even if you are hit by a private individual because you are working at the time of the accident, assuming you have workers compensation, then your statute of limitations becomes one year not two years. If you do have workers compensation and miss the one year statute of limitations for a car accident while on the clock then there is a possibility to get what is called a reassignment. This requires the Arizona workers compensation carrier to give you permission to take their claim for the auto accident as in effect your auto accident claim now belongs to the workers compensation carrier.
If you were in a motor vehicle accident in Arizona and were hit by a government entity driver, such as the City of Phoenix, City of Mesa, or any other city bus driver then the statute of limitations for a car accident becomes completely different from a private individual driver. The statute of limitations for a car accident when you are hit by a driver for a government entity in Arizona is two fold. First, you have to file what is called a notice of claim. That is basically a notice that requires many details to be met and that has to be filed with the city clerks office and then served on the appropriate officials of the city. That has to be done within 180 days of the car accident. Some people think 180 days is 6 months but actually 180 days is a little bit shy of six months and is very important as we have received many calls where the notice of claim date has been missed by a couple of days because the injured individual thought they have 6 months and did not realize that 180 days is less than six months.
Next when you are in an auto accident in Arizona and are hit by a city vehicle or driver of any governmental entity then you must not only file the notice of claim within 180 days, but you must also file a law suit within one year, not two years. If you do not file a law suit then if your claim is not settled, you will lose all rights to your car accident claim. Many people think that if they are negotiating their claim with the Arizona insurance company that they do not have to file a notice of claim or a lawsuit. Whether you are hit by a driver of a government entity vehicle or an individual driver it goes for both that negotiating a claim does not preserve the statute of limitations. Negotiations during this time means nothing and it is imperative that the case either be settled or that a lawsuit be filed to preserve the statute of limitations for the car accident claim.
Recently I had a call where a person was hit by a private individual and he had broken his back, had a dislocated arm and broken ribs. He had been hit by a semi truck in the Phoenix, Arizona area. After his accident, he was in a lot of pain and was unable to work. It took him a long time to recover and ultimately he had lost his job so he had to find new work. Needlesstosay, he had a long road to recovery and he was focused on his recovery and landing himself new employment. He was just about up on his feet at about 19 months after the accident. This is when he called our office. Unfortunately, we had to tell him the bad news that his auto claim was lost because he had missed the statute of limitations.
Every week about we receive a call where a person was injured in an auto accident in Arizona and they were either negotiating their claim and did not realize they still had to file a lawsuit to protect the statute and missed the statute or they were involved with a city entity and missed the one year statute of limitations. Many claims don't need lawyers but it is important to try to speak to a lawyer just to find out the deadlines that are important. Sometimes even with some of these claims were are able to look into different things like if the person was a minor or if there can be a claim as to why the person should be an exception to having met the law of the statute of limitations. Hopefully, by this article people will beware and not miss the statute of limitations.
