A personal injury case is a civil claim you bring to recover compensation when another party’s careless conduct injures you. Most people hear the phrase for the first time from an insurance adjuster, usually within days of the crash. By then, the other side has already started building its file.
What gets left out of that call is that not every injury becomes a case. Arizona law sets specific conditions that decide the difference, and those conditions are worth understanding before anyone asks you for a recorded statement. Hartley Law Car Accident & Injury Lawyers represents injured people throughout the state, and you can ask our team to look at the facts of your situation directly.
A personal injury case is a civil action, which means it asks for money rather than jail time. Prosecutors handle criminal charges; an injury case belongs to the person who was hurt. Both can follow the same crash, and each answers a separate question.
The compensation almost never comes out of the responsible person’s pocket. An insurance policy pays in most matters, which is why our work centers on coverage, policy limits, and the adjuster’s file rather than the other driver’s bank account.
That distinction shapes how the other side behaves. An adjuster is measured by how much the file costs the company, so early contact tends to occur before anyone knows how serious an injury really is.
Naming a case is easy. Proving one decides whether you recover anything.
Every injury claim rests on the following elements:
Remove any one of these and the claim stops being a case.
Injury law covers more ground than car crashes, though collisions drive most of the calls we take. Hartley Law handles personal injury claims across Arizona arising from a range of incidents.
Several situations regularly produce viable claims:
The label matters less than the proof, because each category runs on the same elements.
What changes between them is the evidence. A truck case turns on driver logs and maintenance records, while a premises case turns on inspection history and how long a hazard sat there untouched.
Some accidents are painful without being actionable. If no one breached a duty, no claim exists, however serious the outcome.
Documentation is the second common gap. Injuries that were never treated or that were treated only for months give an insurer room to argue that the harm was minor or caused by something else.
A prior injury to the same body part raises a related question. Having one does not end a claim, though it does mean the records have to show what changed after the crash.
Recoverable losses matter just as much. The law compensates measurable harm, so an event that left you shaken but cost you nothing rarely supports a claim worth pursuing.
Collection is the last problem. A responsible party with no insurance and no assets can still be at fault, which is why we check underinsured motorist coverage before telling anyone what their claim is worth.
Sorting that out usually takes one phone call. Call Hartley Law at (602) 529-2222 for a free case evaluation, and we will tell you plainly whether the elements are there. If they are not, we will say so.
Insurers often respond to a claim by blaming the injured person. Under state law, that argument reduces the recovery rather than ending it.
Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 12-2505 makes contributory negligence and assumption of risk questions of fact that are left to the jury. If the jury applies either defense, the action is not barred. Full damages are instead reduced in proportion to the injured person’s relative degree of fault that is a proximate cause of the injury or death.
The same statute withholds that protection from anyone who intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly caused or contributed to the harm.
Practically, the rule is arithmetic. A person found 20% responsible for a collision keeps 80% of the damages awarded.
An accusation is not a finding. That percentage is evidence to be argued, which matters most when an adjuster claims you were partially at fault for the crash.
A valid claim can die on the calendar. Under A.R.S. § 12-542, an action for injuries done to the person of another must be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues.
Accrual is not automatically the date of the crash, which is where people get caught. Where death results from those injuries, the statute treats the action as accruing at the death of the injured party.
Two years sounds generous until you subtract months of treatment and insurer delay. The two-year filing deadline is an outer limit, not a target.
Evidence follows a shorter schedule than the statute does. Surveillance video gets overwritten within weeks at many businesses, and witnesses grow harder to reach the longer a claim sits.
Injuries on public property or involving a government vehicle follow a separate track. A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a claim against a public entity, public school, or public employee to be filed within 180 days after the cause of action accrues, and a claim filed after that window is barred.
That statute defines accrual as the point when the damaged party realizes there is damage and knows or reasonably should know its cause. A separate provision, A.R.S. § 12-821, requires any action against a public entity or public employee to be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues.
Missing either step ends the matter regardless of how strong the evidence is. Our breakdown of the 180-day rule for government claims walks through the filing requirements.
No. A prosecutor decides criminal charges, while your injury case is a civil claim you control that seeks compensation rather than incarceration.
An insurance company pays under the responsible party’s policy in most matters. We identify every applicable policy, including underinsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy.
Often yes. Delayed symptoms are common with soft tissue and head injuries, and we document that gap with medical records rather than letting an adjuster define it.
No. Most resolve through negotiation, although we prepare each file as though a jury will see it, which is what gives a demand credibility.
Yes. A claim is available when injuries result in death, and the timing rules differ from a standard injury claim, so we review the dates early.
Workers’ compensation usually covers a workplace injury itself. A separate injury claim may still exist against a third party, such as a negligent driver or an equipment manufacturer.
If an insurer has already told you that what happened does not amount to a case, that is a position, not a ruling.
Matt Hartley spent more than a decade as a partner at one of the world’s largest law firms. He represented Fortune 500 corporations and teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League, in matters involving more than $1 billion. He brings that preparation to injured people, supported by a team based in Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale.
We evaluate each matter before accepting it, and we explain how the value of a claim is built rather than handing you a number. You will know what strengthens your position and what weakens it.
A free case evaluation costs nothing and carries no obligation. Our fees work on a contingency fee basis, and we put the terms in writing before you sign anything.
Call us at (602) 529-2222 or reach our team through the contact page to find out where your claim stands.
Serious injury cases deserve careful evaluation and experienced judgment. Hartley Law PLLC represents clients across Arizona with a focus on strategy, preparation, and personal attention. We review each matter carefully and help you understand whether your case should move forward.
Get Free Ebook
