Wrongful Death Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ

Federal crash data counts 279 people killed in Phoenix crashes in 2024. That's nearly one death every day. From 2016 to 2024, 2,223 fatal crashes in the city killed 2,335 people, more than in any other city in Arizona.

If you lost someone in a crash in Phoenix, this page explains who can bring a wrongful death claim, the deadlines that apply, what a family can recover, and what we investigate. You don't have to decide anything today. A call with us is free and confidential.

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

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Arizona

Ron DeBrigida, J.D. reviews the legal framework on this page. Arizona's wrongful death statutes are ARS 12-611 through 12-613.

Under ARS 12-612, the claim can be brought by the surviving spouse, a child, a parent or guardian, or the personal representative of the estate. There is only one lawsuit, and it is brought for every eligible family member at once. The recovery belongs to the family, not the estate, so the decedent's creditors can't reach it.

A wrongful death claim is separate from a survival action under ARS 14-3110. The survival action belongs to the estate and recovers the losses the person suffered before death, such as medical bills and lost wages. The two usually run together, and the survival action is easy to miss.

Two-Year Deadline, One 180-Day Trap

The statute of limitations is two years from the date of death under ARS 12-611. If your loved one survived the crash and died later, the clock starts from the date of death, not the crash.

The trap is ARS 12-821.01. Phoenix's deadliest roads are public roads. If a City of Phoenix street, a Maricopa County road, or an ADOT freeway contributed to the crash through its design, signals, or lighting, a notice of claim has to be filed within 180 days. Miss it and the claim against the government is gone, whatever the evidence shows.

Where Phoenix Families Lose People

The fatal crash record points to the same roads year after year. From 2016 to 2024, I-17 had the most fatal crashes in the city at 75, followed by Indian School Road at 69 and I-10 at 67. Indian School Road is the deadliest surface street in Phoenix, and the city's own Vision Zero plan ranks two of its intersections as the worst in the city.

People on foot

1,660 pedestrians have been killed in Phoenix since 2000, 38 percent of every pedestrian death in Arizona. Pedestrians are involved in 44 percent of the city's fatal crashes. Our Arizona pedestrian deaths report, featured in Phoenix New Times, found that Indian School Road through West Phoenix is the deadliest pedestrian corridor in the metro, with 118 people killed over 25 years. Statewide, 72 percent of pedestrians killed died in the dark, and most of those died under streetlights that were on.

Riders

From 2020 to 2024, 569 motorcyclists were killed in Maricopa County, the highest per-capita rate of America's 12 most populous counties. 72 percent died in a crash involving another vehicle. Our Phoenix motorcycle crash lawyer page covers those cases.

Trucks on the freeways

Deaths in fatal truck crashes on I-10 rose from 83 in 2015 to 2019 to 146 in 2020 to 2024, according to our I-10 truck crash investigation. The 19 miles from downtown Phoenix to Chandler went from 2 deaths to 17. When a commercial truck is involved, the carrier and its insurance are usually part of the case. See our Phoenix truck crash lawyer page.

Impaired drivers

Maricopa County had 3,544 alcohol-related crashes in 2024, 64 percent of the state total. Our Phoenix DUI crash data covers the patterns. When an impaired driver kills someone, punitive damages may apply, and Arizona's dram shop law may make the bar that over-served the driver liable as well.

What a Phoenix Wrongful Death Case Can Recover

Arizona does not cap wrongful death damages. The Arizona Constitution prohibits it, so there is no ceiling on what a family can recover.

Economic damages cover the financial support the person would have provided over their working life, based on earnings, age, and career, plus funeral and burial costs and medical bills from the final injury. Non-economic damages cover the loss of love, companionship, and guidance, and the grief each family member suffers. Each eligible family member's loss is presented on its own. Punitive damages can apply when the conduct was reckless, and Arizona doesn't cap those either.

What We Investigate

We pull the Phoenix Police or DPS crash report, the investigative file, and any official reconstruction, then go after the evidence that disappears fastest: intersection and business video, dashcam footage, and the other vehicle's event data recorder. If a commercial truck was involved, preservation letters go to the carrier the day we take the case, and we pull its FMCSA record, driver file, and ELD data.

For damages, we document the person's income history and expected working years, retaining an economist when the amount at stake warrants it. We document each family member's relationship and loss, because that is what a jury weighs.

What It Costs

Nothing upfront. We handle every Phoenix wrongful death case on contingency. The family pays nothing unless we recover. We front the cost of reconstruction, economists, and record pulls.

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

All Injury Cases in Phoenix

Wrongful death is one part of what we handle in Phoenix. See the Phoenix injury law overview for car crashes, truck crashes, motorcycle crashes, and other case types. For wrongful death law statewide, see the Arizona wrongful death overview.