Arizona Personal Injury Settlement Calculator
Arizona is the most generous state on this site when it comes to what you can recover. The constitution forbids the legislature from capping injury damages, and pure comparative fault means being mostly at fault never ends a claim.
The catch is speed, and it only applies to one kind of defendant. Enter what you know below — nothing is submitted or stored.
- Filing deadline2 yearsOne year against government
- Shared faultPure comparativeRecoverable even at 99% fault
- Damage capsNoneForbidden by the constitution
- Minimum insurance25/50/15Raised from 15/30/10 in 2020
This is an estimate, not legal advice. No calculator can value a real claim — that depends on medical evidence, the available insurance policy, liability disputes and how the case is negotiated. PILNY is an advertising and referral service, not a law firm, and using this tool does not create an attorney–client relationship.
How this estimate is calculated
The calculator adds your provable losses, estimates pain and suffering using a multiplier applied to your medical costs, and reduces the total by your share of fault. In Arizona nothing is capped afterwards and nothing is barred, so the reduction is the only thing that shrinks the figure.
The reasoning behind the multiplier method, attorney fees and how gross settlements become net is covered in our full guide to settlement values.
The constitution forbids damage caps here
Most states cap something. Ohio caps pain and suffering in every claim. Texas and California cap medical malpractice. North Carolina caps malpractice and punitive damages.
Arizona cannot. Article 2, Section 31 of the state constitution provides that no law shall be enacted limiting the amount of damages recoverable for causing death or injury. That is not a policy choice the legislature could reverse — it would take a constitutional amendment.
The result is that Arizona has no cap on pain and suffering, no medical malpractice cap, and no statutory cap on punitive damages either. A claim is worth what the evidence supports.
Pure comparative fault: no cut-off at all
Under A.R.S. § 12-2505, your award is reduced by your share of the blame and that is the end of it. There is no threshold that bars recovery. At 60% fault you recover 40%. At 99% fault you recover 1%.
This makes Arizona one of only a dozen or so pure comparative states, and it matters more than it sounds. People who believe a crash was mostly their fault routinely never contact a lawyer — and in Arizona that belief only changes the size of the recovery, not whether one exists.
One exception: comparative fault is not available as a defence where the defendant acted intentionally or with wilful or wanton misconduct, and a claimant who intentionally caused their own injury cannot recover.
Arizona has also abolished joint liability under § 12-2506. Each defendant pays only its own apportioned share, so an insolvent defendant’s share is simply lost.
The 180-day notice, and the one-year deadline behind it
This is where Arizona turns harsh, and it applies whenever a public body is involved — a city vehicle, a county road defect, a school district van, a state employee.
A written notice of claim must be served within 180 days under § 12-821.01. And unlike most states, the lawsuit deadline shortens too: suit must be filed within one year under § 12-821, not the usual two.
The notice itself carries requirements Arizona courts enforce without flexibility. It must go to the correct official, contain enough facts to understand the claim, and state a specific settlement figure — a sum certain. Notices that are late, sent to the wrong person, or that omit the dollar amount are fatal to the claim regardless of its merits.
Punitive damages are also unavailable against public entities under § 12-820.04.
What this calculator cannot account for in Arizona
- Whether a public entity is involved. If one is, the real deadline is 180 days and the claim needs a sum-certain demand built from records work that takes weeks.
- Several liability. Fault apportioned to an uninsured or absent defendant is simply deducted, with nobody to collect it from.
- Dog bites. Arizona’s strict liability dog bite statute, § 11-1025, carries a one-year deadline under § 12-541, not two.
- Medical and health plan liens. Both reduce what actually reaches you.
Treat the number above as a starting point for a conversation, not a valuation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover if the accident was mostly my fault?
Yes. Arizona applies pure comparative fault, so your award is reduced by your percentage of blame but never eliminated, no matter how high that percentage is.
Is there a cap on pain and suffering in Arizona?
No. Article 2, Section 31 of the Arizona Constitution prohibits any law limiting damages for injury or death, so no cap applies to compensatory or punitive damages.
Why is the deadline only 180 days against a city or the state?
A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a written notice of claim within 180 days, and § 12-821 then gives only one year to file suit. Both are enforced strictly.
What has to be in the notice of claim?
Enough facts to understand the claim, the basis for liability, and a specific dollar amount the claim can be settled for. Missing the sum-certain figure has barred otherwise strong claims.
What if the at-fault driver only carried the minimum?
Arizona’s minimum is 25/50/15, raised from 15/30/10 in 2020. Beyond that policy, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and any second liable party are the remaining routes.
Related
- Arizona filing deadline checker — including the 180-day notice rule
- Arizona injury claims overview
- How settlement values are calculated: the full guide
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