Steven J. Bruzonsky

Attorney At Law

Call 480-969-3003

FAQs

Statutes of Limitation for Accident-Injury and Wrongful Death Claims:

If a lawsuit is not filed and your claim is not settled within this time period from the date of accident or other time as prescribed by statute (often when "the cause of action accrues"), then there is no further right to bring legal action to recover monetary damages. Most often "the cause of action accrues" on the date of the accident or injury. However, Courts have held in cases where the claimant didn’t initially appreciate that the tortfeasor negligently caused the injury that "the cause of action accrues" when the claimant "reasonably discovers" that the tortfeasor committed negligence causing injury to the claimant.

Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death:

The limitations period for injury to person, injury when death ensues, or medical malpractice, for claims against the tortfeasor, is that the lawsuit “shall be commenced and prosecuted within two years after the cause of action accrues.” Generally, for injury to person, the cause of action “accrues” on the date of accident, when one is injured. The statute states that an injury when death ensues “accrues” on the date of death. ARS 12-542.

Arizona Public or Governmental Entity or Employee:

In the case of the State of Arizona or any political subdivision thereof, including school districts, cities, state agencies and departments, etc. and their employees: You are required to file a “Notice of Claim” within 180 days and to file a lawsuit within one year after “the cause of action accrues”. A minor or an insane or incompetent person may file a claim within 180 days after the disability ceases. ARS 12-821 & 12-821.01.

Uninsured Motorist Claims:

Effective for date of accident 9-21-06 and thereafter: You must give written notice to the insurance carrier of your intent to pursue the claim within 3 years after the date of accident, except that you may give this notice within 3 years of the earliest of the following: The date you knew the tortfeasor was uninsured; the date you knew or should have known that the tortfeasor’s insurer denied coverage; or the date you knew or should have known of the insolvency of the tortfeasor’s insurer. You are required to request arbitration or file suit, pursuant to your auto insurance policy terms, within 3 years of providing the above written notice of uninsured motorist claim or the insurer is not liable to pay uninsured motorist benefits to you. ARS 12-555. [For date of accident 9-20-06 or before, ARS 12-555 requires that you give written notice of your intent to pursue the claim within 3 years after you knew or should have known that the tortfeasor was uninsured; and the Statute of Limitations is also 6 years from the time that your insurance carrier breaches the insurance contract, per Blutreich v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 170 Ariz. 541, 826 P.2d 1167 (App. 1991).].

Underinsured Motorist Claims:

Effective for date of accident 9-21-06 and thereafter: You must give written notice to the insurance carrier of your intent to pursue the claim within 3 years after the date of accident AND you have made a claim with the tortfeasor’s insurer or filed an action against the tortfeasor within the time limits prescribed by ARS 12-542 or the time limit prescribed by the law of the location where the accident occurred, except that you may make an underinsured motorist claim within 3 years after the date that you know or should have known that the tortfeasor has insufficient liability insurance to cover your injuries. You are required to request arbitration or file suit, pursuant to your auto insurance policy terms, within 3 years of providing the above written notice of underinsured motorist claim or the insurer is not liable to pay underinsured motorist benefits to you. ARS 12-555. [For date of accident 9-20-06 or before, ARS 12-555 requires that you give written notice of your intent to pursue the claim within 3 years after you knew or should have known that the tortfeasor was underinsured; and the Statute of Limitations is likely 6 years from the time that your insurance carrier breaches the insurance contract, by analogy to the uninsured motorist claim litigated in Blutreich v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 170 Ariz. 541, 826 P.2d 1167 (App. 1991).].

Workman’s Compensation Claims:

Arizona Workman’s Compensation law requires that Workman’s Compensation claims be filed with the Arizona Industrial Commision within one year from date of accident; that one year post-accident your personal injury claim against defendants is assigned to the Workman’s Compensation insurance carrier; that the carrier may reassign that right to you and your attorney thereafter; and that the limitations period for the lawsuit to be filed against the responsible defendants is 2 years from date of accident. It is best to file a lawsuit prior to one year from date of accident, to avoid the potential that the Workman’s Compensatoin carrier might include provisions in the Reassignment which limit who you can sue.

Minor Claims:

The limitations period starts to run when the minor becomes a legal adult, normally the minor’s eighteenth birthday. However, defense attorneys may claim that the parent has the obligation to pay the medical bills, and the claim for the medical bills is exclusively the parents -- and therefore, the medical bills can't be claimed after the parent's limitations period has run. This is a grey area of Arizona law in that there is at least some caselaw support for this proposition. Accordingly, it is best practice to file the minor’s lawsuit within the normal limitations period that applies for a non-minor to avoid this potential problem. In some cases it may be advisable for the parent to assign the claim for the minor’s medical expenses to said minor, but whether or not this should be done and may effectively “beat” the Statute of Limitations problem is complex and should be determined by a competent attorney.