Phoenix Car Accident Lawyer
A car accident on a Phoenix freeway or surface street can change your life in seconds. One moment you are driving home on the Loop 101 or heading through a busy intersection on Camelback Road, and the next you are dealing with totaled vehicles, mounting medical bills, missed paychecks, and an insurance adjuster who is already working to pay you as little as possible. At Caruso Injury Law, we represent injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians across the Valley, and we level the playing field against the insurance companies. Attorney Alec J. Caruso spent years on the other side of these cases as an insurance defense lawyer, and he now uses that insider knowledge to fight for the people the insurers used to target.
Why Phoenix Drivers Trust Caruso Injury Law
Choosing the right attorney after a crash is one of the most important decisions you will make, because it directly affects how much you recover and how quickly you can move on with your life. Our firm is built around a simple promise: you talk directly to your attorney, not a rotating cast of case managers. We know how the major auto insurers in Arizona evaluate claims, what they look for to reduce payouts, and how to build a file that pushes the value of your case as high as the facts allow.
We handle every type of motor vehicle collision, including rear-end crashes, T-bone intersection accidents, head-on collisions, multi-vehicle pileups on I-10 and I-17, distracted-driving wrecks, drunk-driving crashes, hit-and-runs, and uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. Whether your injuries are soft-tissue strains or catastrophic, we treat your claim with the same urgency and attention to detail.
Arizona Car Accident Law: What You Need to Know
Arizona is an at-fault (tort) state, which means the driver who causes a crash and that driver's insurance company are responsible for the resulting damages. To recover, you must show the other driver was negligent and that their negligence caused your injuries. Arizona also requires every registered vehicle to carry minimum liability insurance of 25/50/15 under A.R.S. § 28-4009: $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $15,000 for property damage. Those minimums are often far too low to cover a serious injury, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can be critical to your recovery.
One of Arizona's most claimant-friendly rules is pure comparative negligence. Under A.R.S. § 12-2505, you can still recover compensation even if you were partly at fault for the crash; your award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurers know this rule and frequently try to shift blame onto you to cut what they owe. We anticipate that tactic and gather the evidence — crash reports, scene photos, vehicle data, and witness statements — needed to keep the fault where it belongs.
Timing matters. The Arizona statute of limitations for most car accident injury claims is two years from the date of the crash under A.R.S. § 12-542. If a government entity is involved, such as a city bus or a hazardous road condition on a public roadway, you must serve a formal notice of claim within just 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, and the lawsuit deadline shrinks to one year. Missing these deadlines can permanently bar your claim, so it is essential to involve a lawyer early.
Compensation You May Be Entitled To
Arizona places no artificial cap on the damages you can recover. The Arizona Constitution (Article 2, Section 31) prohibits the legislature from limiting compensatory damages in injury cases, so your recovery should reflect your actual losses. Depending on your situation, those losses may include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, hospital stays, physical therapy, and assistive devices
- Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work
- Property damage to your vehicle and its contents, including diminished value
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Permanent disability, scarring, or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life and loss of consortium
What to Do After a Car Accident in Phoenix
The steps you take in the hours and days after a crash can make or break your claim. If you are able, call 911 and report the collision, seek medical attention even if you feel only minor pain, photograph the vehicles and the scene, collect the other driver's insurance information, and get the names of any witnesses. Just as important: be careful what you say to the other driver's insurance company. Adjusters may call within hours sounding friendly and helpful, but their goal is to lock you into a recorded statement or a quick lowball settlement before you understand the full extent of your injuries.
Before you sign anything or accept any offer, talk to us. We will handle every conversation with the insurers, preserve the evidence, coordinate your medical documentation, and calculate the true long-term value of your claim. You focus on healing; we focus on the fight.
No Fee Unless We Win
Caruso Injury Law handles car accident cases on a contingency-fee basis. You pay nothing up front and owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. Your first consultation is always free, confidential, and comes with zero obligation. Call us at (602) 247-8600 or request a free case review online, and let a Phoenix car accident lawyer who knows the insurance company playbook go to work for you.
This page is attorney advertising and is provided for general informational purposes only; it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Caruso Injury Law handles personal injury matters on a contingency-fee basis; however, clients may be responsible for certain case costs and expenses regardless of outcome. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, as every case is unique. Alec J. Caruso is licensed to practice law in Arizona and is not certified as a specialist by the State Bar of Arizona.
