Investigations
Data-Led Reporting for Arizona Families
We pull the public data. We name the patterns. We give families the information they need before they even know they need a lawyer.
Recent Investigations
When a Vehicle Hits an Animal, the Rider Is Usually the One Who Dies
Motorcyclists are 51.9% of everyone killed when a US vehicle hits an animal, about four times their 12.8% share of all traffic deaths, federal records show.
Arizona Drivers Flee Pedestrians 8.5 Times More Than Vehicle Occupants
Arizona drivers fled 22.1% of fatal pedestrian crashes, 2009-2024, against 2.6% for vehicle occupants. One west Phoenix corridor runs worse than 1 in 3.
365 Truck Crashes: Maricopa Tops Its Next 3 Counties Combined
Ten years of federal crash data show Maricopa County has more deadly truck crashes than Pima, Yavapai, and Pinal counties combined.
2,042 People Died on Arizona's I-10, and the Toll Is Climbing Again
AZ Law Now counted every fatal crash on Arizona's I-10, 2000 to 2024: 2,042 deaths. After a decade of decline the toll is rising again, and rollovers lead it.
Every Summer, Maricopa County Counts Its Dead. This Year, Faster.
NOAA's storm record credits Arizona with 1,842 of 4,417 US heat deaths since 2000. The count says as much about Maricopa County's surveillance as the heat.
53 People Have Died Walking Through One West Phoenix Patch Since 2000
In one west Phoenix patch, 53 people have died walking since 2000. Nine in ten died in the dark, and most of those died under streetlights that were on.
Arizona's New Safety Plan Skips the Target It Already Set
Arizona's new campaign names no number. The state already set one: cut life-altering crashes 20% by 2030. Its own 25-year record runs the other direction.
Red-Light Running Killed on a Phoenix Road the City Already Targeted
Phoenix secured nearly $25M to rebuild its deadliest corridor in 2023, yet the road won't be touched until 2028.
Arizona Fines Daycares $100 a Violation. Nursing Homes? $1,000.
Arizona caps daycare civil fines at $100 per violation per day. The same state charges $1,000 for nursing homes and hospitals. After a worker was filmed beating a 21-month-old, the total fine was $300 and the license was kept.
About 4x the Crash Rate, and ADOT Graded It the Worst Tier There Is.
ADOT's safety consultants graded the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel to I-17 split the worst on the safety scale, with a crash rate about four times comparable segments. The fix is funded but construction does not start until 2028.
Drowning Is the #1 Killer of Arizona's Youngest Children
Arizona's state reviewers judged every child drowning death preventable in 2022, 2023, and 2024 -- 97 kids across three years.
Arizona's Third Tier: The Small Group Homes With the Weakest Oversight
Arizona's health agency lowered the priority level on 98% of its open high-priority care-home complaints, a state audit found.
The Arizona ERs That Leave Admitted Patients Waiting the Longest
CMS data shows a 264-minute spread between Maricopa County's best and worst ER wait times, but Arizona doesn't publish the comparison for patients.
AHCCCS Approved the Terminations. 37 of 300 Transitioned.
AHCCCS approved the ABA contract terminations, then its own court declaration showed only 37 of 300 kids had found a new provider.
3 Checks Around the Child. The Aide Alone With Them Clears None.
A 2026 JAMA Pediatrics study found 574 private-equity-owned autism therapy centers across 42 states, scaling a model where Arizona lets aides start before clearance clears.
5 BNSF Filings, 3 Phoenix Crossings, Same Phrase
Camelback Road sits inside the same west Phoenix rail corridor where BNSF filed 5 "AUTO PRECEDED THE GATES" reports, and it's never been retrofitted.
Gates Went in June 2024. Sonja Was Struck 22 Months Later.
Four pedestrians died at the 27th Avenue and Thomas Road FRA grade crossings in the years before BNSF installed gates in June 2024. Twin crossings 50 feet apart need channelizing medians, not just gates.
AZ Nursing Homes: Billing Fraud and Resident Harm Are the Same Audit
Arizona's Adult Protective Services substantiates under 1% of investigated reports while the national rate runs 29 to 33%.
AZ Has No Workplace Heat Standard. Denial Rate Isn't Public.
Maricopa County recorded 602 heat deaths in 2024 while Arizona still has no codified workplace heat standard and doesn't publish claim denial rates.
APS Cut a Sun City Widow's Power After Ending the 95-Degree Hold.
Arizona's AG secured $7M from APS and turned a voluntary 95-degree heat hold into a binding obligation covering all APS customers year-round.
AZ ESA Voucher Ring Indicted for $600K Used 17 Children, 5 Fictitious.
A 12News I-Team review of 384,000 Arizona ESA voucher purchases found nearly 84,000 didn't meet program rules -- and insiders ran a $600K ghost-children ring inside the same system.
ACC Voted 3-2 to Hike Sewer Rates 154% for Robson Ranch Retirees.
The ACC voted 3-2 to raise sewer rates 154% for Robson Ranch retirees after a Dutch private-equity fund bought their utility.
ASU Prep Lost $5.4M on $82M. The Audit Names ASU as the Related Party.
ASU Prep's FY2024 Form 990 shows it spent $5.46M more than it took in while leasing a school building from a related party named in its audit as Arizona State University.
Walgreens Will Pay $300M, Up to $350M, Over Opioids.
Arizona recorded 1,928 opioid overdose deaths in 2023 -- the state's own data, the same year a federal settlement forced Walgreens to pay up to $350M.
AZ Sued the Surprise ICE Plan. A Chemical Warehouse Across the Street.
The federal government paid $70M for a Surprise warehouse to hold detainees, directly across the street from a hazardous-chemicals facility storing hydrofluoric acid.
Arizona Disciplined 325 Educators in 2024. Maricopa Drove It.
Arizona disciplined 325 educators in 2024, the highest count on record and a 491% jump from just 55 cases twelve years ago.
AZ Schools Bought MERV 13 Filters. Without a Sealed Housing They Fail.
EPA tightened the annual PM2.5 standard to 9 micrograms per cubic meter in February 2024. The WHO guideline is 5. Maricopa County is in serious non-attainment, yet schools publish no indoor air data.
Arizona Licensed 237 Private Career Schools. 37 Got Adverse Actions.
Arizona's Board for Private Postsecondary Education licensed 237 institutions and issued 37 adverse actions in fiscal year 2025, a 15.6% action rate.
Hurt on Tempe Pavement Near ASU? You May Have Only 180 Days.
Arizona law gives injured students just 180 days to file a Notice of Claim against a public entity -- four times shorter than the standard two-year deadline most people assume.
Buckeye Chose a Signal Over a Roundabout at Durango and Yuma
Federal safety data shows roundabouts slash angle crashes by 91%, but Buckeye chose a signal at Durango and Yuma instead.
A Mesa Arrest, HB2228, and the Math on Arizona Elder Sexual Abuse.
Nursing home sexual abuse complaints jumped 60% since 2017, and Arizona's HB2228 targets the registry gap that lets accused caregivers move between facilities.
Arizona Pedestrian Deaths Are Nearly Twice the National Average.
200 of 261 fatal pedestrian crashes in Arizona in 2024 happened after dark, on roads built for cars, not people.
Fatigued Truckers on Arizona Highways: What HOS Data Shows.
A federal survey of nearly 12,000 drivers found almost all of them struggle to find safe parking, pushing fatigued truckers back onto the road.
Ghost Fleets on I-10: How Chameleon Carriers Hide Their Records.
Federal enforcement cases fell from 3,843 to 617 in 2025 while 700,000 carriers share just 350 investigators on US roads.
Arizona Logs a Hit-and-Run in 1 of Every 8 Crashes
Arizona logged 16,136 hit-and-run crashes in 2024, yet nationally nine in ten cases close without an arrest.
Truck Crashes in Maricopa County: The Data Nobody Publishes.
When a truck and a passenger car collide, the car absorbs nearly all the force -- and 97% of the people who die are in the car, not the truck.
Wrong-Way Crashes on AZ Highways: $4M in Tech, Deaths Continue.
Wrong-way crashes on Arizona highways kill at 27 times the rate of typical collisions, yet the state recorded 1,740 incidents in 2024 alone.
The Same West Valley Intersections Turn Up Deadly Every Year
ADOT data shows 79% of fatal pedestrian crashes in Arizona occur in dark or dusk conditions, exposing a structural lighting gap on West Valley arterials.
Which Arizona Nursing Homes Draw the Most Federal Violations
The national average gives you a baseline; multiple Arizona facilities fall measurably below it, and the data is free to check right now.
967 Crashes in Five Years on Maricopa's Only Highway Out
ADOT counted 967 crashes on SR-347 in five years on a two-lane road that's the only daily route for tens of thousands of commuters.
42 States Skip School Bus Seat Belts. Arizona Is One.
NHTSA recorded 971 fatal crashes involving school transportation vehicles from 2014 to 2023. More pedestrians died than bus occupants. Arizona is one of 42 states with no seat belt requirement on full-size buses.
What Arizona Law Allows When a School Restrains Your Child
A federal watchdog found most U.S. school districts report zero restraints, making any published count a floor, not the real total.
I-10 Through Buckeye and Goodyear: One of Arizona's Deadliest
Maricopa County recorded 88,094 reportable crashes in 2024, one every six minutes, with I-10 through Buckeye and Goodyear among the deadliest corridors.
Sponsoring Paws & Claws: Why Community Presence Matters
AZ Law Now sponsored the Third Annual Paws & Claws Festival at Pacana Park in Maricopa on April 6, 2026. Why showing up for the community matters to us.
SR-347 and I-10 Interchange: Maricopa's Daily Choke Point.
SR-347 funnels 31,000+ vehicles a day through a single I-10 merge built for far less, and it took over a decade of advocacy to fund the fix.
Buckeye Doubled in Size. Its Busiest Crossing Didn't Change.
Buckeye's population more than doubled since 2010 while Watson and Yuma's signal geometry stayed the same.
Why AZ Law Now Opened a Local Office in Maricopa
AZ Law Now opened its Maricopa office at 21300 N John Wayne Pkwy on March 5, 2026. Why injured Maricopa residents shouldn't drive an hour for a lawyer.
347 Arizonans Died in Alcohol-Related Crashes in 2024
Arizona's 2024 Crash Facts counted 347 alcohol-related traffic deaths -- nearly 3 in 10 fatalities statewide, despite some of the country's strictest DUI laws.
19 Families, One In-Home Daycare: The Coolidge Lawsuit.
Nineteen Coolidge families found each other after two years of complaints against the same certified in-home daycare provider.
One Fatal Crash Shut the Only Highway Out of Maricopa
ADOT records show SR-347 logged nearly 1,000 crashes between 2017 and 2022 on the only highway out of Maricopa.
Killed Riders 55+ Were Helmetless Nearly 3 Times as Often as Under-25s
Motorcycles are 4% of registered vehicles in Arizona but riders account for nearly 1 in 5 traffic fatalities, per ADOT 2024 Crash Facts.