Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ

From 2020 to 2024, 569 motorcyclists were killed in Maricopa County. That's 12.48 deaths per 100,000 residents, the highest rate of America's 12 most populous counties. It's higher than Las Vegas at 11.68 and more than three times Chicago at 3.69. Our Phoenix motorcycle deaths report ranks every one of those counties from NHTSA crash data and Census population.

If you were hurt in a motorcycle crash in Phoenix, or you lost someone in one, this page explains what these cases turn on, which Arizona laws apply, and what we investigate.

Call us at (602) 654-0202. The consultation is free. We don't charge unless we recover.

Most Phoenix Riders Who Die Are Hit by Another Vehicle

The usual picture of a motorcycle death is a rider alone, going too fast on an empty road. The Phoenix data says otherwise. Of the 569 riders killed in Maricopa County from 2020 to 2024, 410 died in a crash that involved another vehicle. That's 72 percent. Only 28 percent were single-vehicle wrecks.

That matters for your claim. In most of these crashes there is another driver, and that driver has an insurance policy. The most common pattern is a car turning left across a rider's path, or pulling out from a side street, because the driver didn't see the bike. "I didn't see him" is not a defense. It's an admission the driver wasn't watching the road.

Where Phoenix Riders Get Hurt

The same roads keep showing up in the fatal crash records. On the freeways, Loop 101, I-10, and US-60 lead. On surface streets, Bell Road, 35th Avenue, Cave Creek Road, and Indian School Road appear most. Indian School Road is also the deadliest surface street in Phoenix for all road users.

The toll isn't limited to the city. 59 percent of the riders killed died outside Phoenix city limits, in Mesa, Glendale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and the rest of the Valley. We handle cases across the metro from our Phoenix office on 35th Avenue.

Timing follows a pattern too. 55 percent of the riders killed died on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and 43 percent died after dark. The deadliest month is October, after the summer heat empties the roads.

The Toll Is Rising

Maricopa County's motorcyclist death rate rose 41 percent across the decade, from 8.86 per 100,000 residents in 2010 to 2014 to 12.48 in 2020 to 2024. The yearly count climbed from 49 riders killed in 2010 to 153 in 2023. For the statewide picture, see our Arizona motorcycle fatality report.

Arizona Motorcycle Law in Phoenix Cases

Ron DeBrigida, J.D. reviews the legal framework below.

Helmet law (ARS 28-964)

Arizona requires helmets only for riders under 18. In Maricopa County, 42 percent of the riders killed from 2020 to 2024 wore no helmet. Insurers use that to argue your injuries were worse than they had to be. That argument goes to the severity of some injuries, never to who caused the crash.

Lane filtering

Since 2022, Arizona has allowed a rider to filter between stopped vehicles on roads with two or more lanes in the same direction and a speed limit of 45 mph or less, at 15 mph or below. Insurers sometimes call legal filtering "lane splitting" to shift blame. We check the conditions against the video and the crash report.

Pure comparative fault (ARS 12-2505)

Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but never eliminated. Adjusters are trained to inflate a rider's fault percentage. We counter that with the ADOT crash diagram, scene evidence, and reconstruction.

Deadlines (ARS 12-542, 12-611, 12-821.01)

Two years from the crash for personal injury, and two years from the date of death for wrongful death. If a City of Phoenix or ADOT road defect played a part, a notice of claim is due within 180 days. That deadline runs first.

Insurance minimums (ARS 28-4009)

Arizona drivers must carry only $25,000 per person in bodily injury coverage. Motorcycle injuries routinely exceed that. We look at your own underinsured motorist coverage and every other liable party. For more, see our Arizona motorcycle law guide.

What We Pull on Every Phoenix Motorcycle Case

We pull the Phoenix Police or DPS crash report and the officer's crash diagram, then go after the evidence that disappears fastest: intersection and business camera video, dashcam footage from other drivers, and the other vehicle's event data recorder. When the driver's phone use is in question, we preserve those records too. If a commercial truck or a rideshare driver was involved, we pull the carrier's or company's records and the higher insurance policy that comes with them.

Preservation letters go out the day we take the case. Your bike and gear are evidence as well, so don't let the insurer's salvage yard take the motorcycle before it's been inspected. Our motorcycle crash action plan covers what to do in the first days.

What It Costs

Nothing upfront. We handle every Phoenix motorcycle crash case on contingency. You don't pay unless we recover. We front the cost of reconstruction, record pulls, and medical experts.

Call (602) 654-0202 or use the intake form. Hablamos espanol.

All Injury Cases in Phoenix

Motorcycle crashes are one part of what we handle in Phoenix. See the Phoenix injury law overview for car crashes, truck crashes, pedestrian, wrongful death, and other case types across Maricopa County. For motorcycle cases across Arizona, the Arizona motorcycle crash overview covers statewide law.